Episode 228 - Bookrun
2021-04-01
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake
Roving reportersAlison Fraser (King) Cameron Drake Mark Scarborough Tony O'Connell
GuestsEileen Jones Paul Relf
Show notes
From the Facebook post
In this week’s packed episode the parkrun adventurers share in a whole lot of parkrun excitement across opposite sides of the globe.
Author and parkrunner, Eileen Jones joins Mel to discuss the 330-mile Bookrun relay
across the UK celebrating the launch of her new book “how parkrun changed our lives” while former Main Beach (opens in a new tab) parkrun
parkrun ED Paul Relf shares some of his Main Beach (opens in a new tab) experiences with Olly ahead of this weekend’s 10th anniversary celebration!
We hear from the Channel 5 News Crew with roving reports from Cam at Rockingham (opens in a new tab) parkrun, TOC at Peppertree (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Alison at Tauranga (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Mark at Lalor (opens in a new tab) parkrun, plus have a debut roving report from our first Channel 2 News Crew member James, coming in from Eynesbury Heritage Trail junior parkrun!
And of course, we enjoy a relaxed post-parkrun cuppa
at Dazza’s and hear what The Informant really thinks...
(maybe on your long run) here
From the podcast feed
In this week’s packed episode the parkrun adventurers share in a whole lot of parkrun excitement across opposite sides of the globe. Author and parkrunner, Eileen Jones joins Mel to discuss the 330-mile Bookrun relay across the UK celebrating the launch of her new book “How parkrun changed our lives” while former Main Beach (opens in a new tab) parkrun ED Paul Relf shares some of his Main Beach (opens in a new tab) experiences with Olly ahead of this weekend’s 10th anniversary! We hear from the Channel 5 Team with roving reports from Cam at Rockingham (opens in a new tab) parkrun, TOC at Peppertree (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Alison at Tauranga (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Mark at Lalor (opens in a new tab) parkrun, plus have a debut roving report from our first Channel 2 News Crew member, James! And of course, we enjoy a relaxed post-parkrun cuppa at Dazza’s and hear what The Informant really thinks...
Listen
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptGuests
Eileen Jones
Her parkrun story from fell running to Fell Foot and parkrun tourism; how the book came to be written during the pandemic; the 330-mile 'Bookrun' relay that carried the book from Cumbria to Bushy Park over seven days to hand it to Paul Sinton-Hewitt at the original Bushy start line; favourite stories from the book; how to buy it from Australia; and her top three parkruns (Mount Edgcumbe, Whinlatter Forest, Sewerby Hall).
Paul Relf
Ahead of Main Beach parkrun's 10th anniversary: finding parkrun in December 2013, tag-team run directing with his wife Zoe, taking over as ED from Libby Maxwell, the 8th-birthday event during the 2018 Commonwealth Games with Tim Oberg and a Queen's Baton runner, his costume habit (the Flash, pink Power Ranger, Gandalf), the 'regal' crown-and-cape handover of the ED role to Martin, life as an event ambassador on the Gold Coast, and the meniscus surgery that has put his 250th parkrun on hold.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:22
Melissa Ellis with Ollie Spake, 'he whose volunteering spans three generations', promising a mammoth episode. Ollie barcode-scanned at Shellharbour with Hannah on camera and his mum marshalling in the puddles, then ran the 12k Run West in Western Sydney on Sunday, through the new zoo and the Rooty Hill parkrun course, alongside Dirty Cheetahs Simon Mackley and Mary. Mel did event three of the closed military Puckapunyal parkrun, bringing friend Megan and her daughter Maddie to their first parkrun, then RD'd event 10 of Eynesbury Heritage Trail juniors (37 kids) with TOC and Jackie volunteering and visitors James and Elise Scarborough from the ACT; a clip of Abigail celebrating 33rd place follows, and Mel introduces her interview with Eileen Jones, author of the book behind the UK book run relay.
Dazza's starts at 44:00
Mel and Ollie read out the week's post-parkrun cafe posts from listeners, Helen Jane Davies (St Peter's/Greenway), Mark Scarborough (Lalor), Andrew Turner (Maribyrnong, with a Scott Trickett sighting), Alison King (Tauranga), Kirsten Louise Russell (Riverside), Jenny Reedman (Wilson Index level-up), Jacqui O'Connell (Peppertree, Victorian statesman), Amanda O'Reilly (Westerfolds), Bill Eldridge (Mawson Lakes), Val Warwick (Devonport), Cameron Drake, Ingrid Botha, Tony O'Connell, Janet Lewin-Reed (Lochiel Park), Bruce Purdy (Hamilton), Jodie Maisie/Brendan Peel (Avondale University College launch), Heather Patzel (Mount Gambier), Adelina Trott (Cascades on Clyde), Dawn Brandt (Parkville, prompting a digression about Melbourne's 'UU' sheep sculptures), Shell Sparkles (Rockingham), Tracy Wood (Bunyaville), Steve Batesta (Cairns), Errol Poole (Pallara).
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 1:19:01
Four back-to-back roving reports from the crew: Alison from Tauranga parkrun in New Zealand (interviewing founding core team member Warren, regular Peter Hall on his cardiac-arrest recovery, and Kat on her 50th); Mark from Lalor parkrun in Melbourne, down the Hume from Canberra (interviewing club member Melissa, walk-to-run graduate Michelle, and ED Kieran); TOC from Peppertree parkrun at Bacchus Marsh (interviewing ED Adrian and RD Bronwyn); and Cam from Rockingham in WA (vox-pops on how far people travel, plus RD Elizabeth). Mel and Ollie close the block by formally welcoming Alison to the crew.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 1:45:58
Debut of a junior counterpart to the Channel 5 News Crew: James, a child reporter, files a report from Eynesbury Heritage Trail junior parkrun, his own first junior parkrun, interviewing fellow junior Hannah, host Mel, and TOC, who was volunteering as Warm-up Leader and marshal. Mel and Ollie afterwards float building out a whole Channel 2 crew.
Sign-off starts at 1:52:08
Mel said she was hoping to get to Main Beach parkrun's anniversary that Saturday, with red zones and border restrictions to navigate, and that they might manage a live cross on the morning. Ollie told everyone to tune in to the page for a bit of the festivity, said it had been a challenge stacking everything into the podcast and thanked everyone for their many contributions, then said they wanted to finish on a high and handed over to the Informant.
the Informant starts at 1:53:40
Closing unofficial-stats rundown: one launch (Avondale University College, Cooranbong NSW); 442 events worldwide, 390 in Australia and New Zealand, 44,491 runners; 6,450 PBs and 1,642 first-timers; milestone counts; Peter Walker longest to 304 events and Jared Gibson quickest to 100 (an Australia/NZ record); seven new statespeople; movements on the most-events and Wilson Index tables, with Carol Parise still highest windexer on 172. Closes by fact-checking Ollie and Mel's on-air scepticism from last week about Brian Peters having run more events than Main Beach has held, working through 486 non-COVID Saturdays to 479 runs.