Episode 241 - Toolern Creek

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersAlison Fraser (King) Cameron Drake Grette Wilkinson Lyndell Murray Mark Scarborough Paul Kitching Tony O'Connell Tracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

There's a 'shift' in the ledger this week with Victorian parkruns returning while NSW deals with covid restrictions.

Plus, we hear from most of the Channel 5 news crew, dialling in from Tamworth Wetlands (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Kedron (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Inverloch (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Puarenga (opens in a new tab) parkrun Rotorua, Fairpark Reserve (opens in a new tab) parkrun, New Farm (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Wagi Bridge (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Mount Barker (opens in a new tab) parkrun,

and there is a strange similarity in their reports....

And Mel has two new suggestions for challenges in Western Victoria. Who's up for the the Gold Miner Challenge & The Western Wanderers? But, who's already achieved it?

And of course, The Informant joins us again for your parkrun stats fix for the week.

Photo - Toolern Creek (opens in a new tab) parkrun

From the podcast feed

There's a shift in the ledger this week with Victorian parkruns returning while NSW deals with covid restrictions. Plus, we hear from most of the channel 5 news crew and there is a strange similarity in their reports. And Mel has two new suggestions for challenges in Western Victoria.

Roving reports

1·5Kedron and New Farm2·4Inverloch and Fairpark Reserve3Puarenga6Wagi Bridge7Mount Barker

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Ollie Spake, in a New South Wales lockdown area, and Melissa Ellis, in a currently COVID-free Victoria. Mel stayed local after a wet 12 km Friday run left her hips sore, started Sunbury with tourist friends Helen and Steve but had to walk from 500 m, finally made sense of the Sunbury B course, and then found the puddle dry on her Eynesbury Heritage Trail juniors course check, with 13 kids, first-timers and PBs after four weeks of lockdown. Ollie barcode-scanned at Shellharbour under new mask rules, got a sausage roll, and saw Hannah run and Damien Leith back for a second time with his daughter Kiki.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 13:47

  An unusually long crossover block of nine roving reports, teed up by Mel "we've had rather a lot of roving reports this week... And there's some strange theme happening." In order: Cameron Drake (cold vox-pop at his local), Tracy Wood (Kedron, including an event-day course check and an interview with RD/ambassador Bronwyn), Tony O'Connell (Inverloch's 313th and Victoria's return), Alison King (Puarenga, Rotorua NZ), Nadine (Fair Park Reserve), Greta (a brief check-in after a long absence), Lyndell Murray (New Farm, staying close to home under border restrictions), Mark Scarborough (Wagga Bridge, alphabet-challenge letter T) and Paul Kitching (Mount Barker, interviewing drummer Paul Butler and 200-milestone Kim). Every single report shouts out Toolern Creek parkrun, the episode's running gag, set up so listeners can spot the theme.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 14:17

  The show notes flag it, "we hear from most of the channel 5 news crew and there is a strange similarity in their reports". Three reporters explicitly badge themselves as the crew: Cam "reporting in for the channel 5 parkrun adventurers podcast", Alison King "reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew from Puarenga parkrun", and Mark "reporting in for the Channel 5 news crew from Wagga Bridge". The crew's coordinated gag is that each report works in a Toolern Creek mention.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 36:09"Where is the cake?"

  Brief anniversary beat: Ollie "happy birthday, Puranga [Puarenga]... it was Puarenga parkrun's birthday in there and National Volunteer Week in New Zealand", following Alison King's report of Puarenga's fifth birthday with 90 parkrunners and a course-map cake baked by volunteer Megan and decorated by her husband Russell. Also noted within Dazza's: Pegasus's 250th event and fifth birthday (Tanya Bailey's number-five cookies), and Wondai parkrun's 200th.

• Dazza's starts at 36:37

  Long run through listener cafe posts, opened by Mel "we've got a plethora of reports coming in from Dazza's Cafe this week". Contributors read out include Ingrid Botha (Dolls Point cancelled, run 96), Claire Statchbury (88th event at Nambour), Alison King, Brett Bailey and Tanya Bailey (Pegasus 250th and fifth birthday), Bernadette Bennett (Taree), Bruce Purdy (a Mary MacKillop 5k musing), Tracy Wood (Kedron), Chris Fraser (coining the "sausage roll mile"), Rebecca Bailey and Hannah Newton (Shellharbour), Melissa Ellis herself (Happy Hill), Chantelle Hosking and Judy Franklin (Laylaw), Greg Garner (Wondai), Annie Holmert (Highlands), Sam Schroder, Val Warwick (Launceston, in fog), Adelina Trott's 250th and Sally Heppleston at Westerfolds, Sonja Pohlman (forgotten barcode on 248 runs), Mark Scarborough (Wagga Bridge) and Janet Reid (South Australia). Includes a correction to Tony O'Connell's barcode number read out last week.

• the Informant starts at 48:48

  Weekly unofficial global stats rundown, thrown to. Highlights: Northern Ireland back with 28 events and 87 Victorian events back from "COVID exile"; 665 events worldwide, a post-COVID record, up 111 on last week; 46,132 participants worldwide, 32,709 of them in Australia and New Zealand; one launch at Magnitogorsk Eco Park, Russia; 20 people called bingo (Glennis Frizzell quickest on 159 events, David Legg slowest on 341); seven new ACT Territorians; Andy Mears completed the South Island at Dunedin; biggest movers Ed Wilson, Mark Hibbard and Bridget Hewardson-Bevis. Running joke this week: the character is rebranded "the Informant the Second" after HR ruled the intern had to be made permanent, and she has been promoted to "Level 2 with a view".

• Sign-off starts at 1:02:42

  Mel said they should mention, as always, that listeners can contact them via Facebook or their gmail address, and Ollie said they would love to hear from everyone. He then said that whilst they could not say with any great certainty where they would be or what they would be up to next parkrun day, Mel cut in that that was it for another week and they would see everyone next week for more adventures.