Episode 249 - Becky Maybury
2021-08-26
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake
Roving reportersMark Scarborough Tracey Wood
GuestsBecky Maybury Renee Gimbert
Show notes
From the Facebook post
As we creep closer to our milestone episode, Olly checks in with Becky Maybury on the return of Richmond Olympic (opens in a new tab) parkrun in
Canada. Meanwhile Mel catches up with Renee Gimbert from parkrun Australia HQ to find out all the complexities involved with bringing parkrun back in Asia Pacific.
We've also got Tracey at Mudgeeraba (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Mark chats to Bayview Road (opens in a new tab) parkrun ED Zoe, Streaky September updates, and the usual weekly stats from our cheeky The Informant.
It's another bumper pod!
From the podcast feed
As we creep closer to our milestone episode, Olly checks in with Becky Maybury on the return of Richmond Olympic (opens in a new tab) parkrun in Canada. Meanwhile Mel catches up with Renee Gimbert from parkrun Australia HQ to find out all the complexities involved with bringing parkrun back in Asia Pacific. We've also got Tracey at Mudgeeraba (opens in a new tab), Mark chats to Bayview Road (opens in a new tab) ED Zoe, Streaky September updates, and the usual weekly stats from our cheeky Informant. It's another bumper pod!
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
Becky Maybury
Richmond Olympic parkrun's return on 14 August after a 17-month pause, the history of parkrun Canada (its fifth birthday that very day), the course under the Vancouver airport flight path, the "time travelling parkrunner" dateline loophole closed on New Year's Day 2020, why she volunteers more than she runs, and her parkrun highlights - Gorky in Moscow, Etna in Italy, and Olympic race walker Evan Dunfee at her home event.
Renee Gimbert
The complexity of opening and closing events across Asia Pacific during COVID - a team of 10 in the region and 45 globally, differing state classifications (event system tier three in Victoria, community sport in Queensland), metro versus regional splits, late-night Friday crisis calls, the policy of never applying a blanket cancellation where events can still run, the status of Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and New Zealand, the new Australian parkrun shop and its forthcoming mid socks, and her own parkrun life at Coomera.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:24
Ollie Spake with Melissa Ellis, introduced as the Elphaba of the West. Ellis Palace event 50 went 1950s rock and roll with burgers, fries and mudslide milkshakes, Daryl and Paul in sideburns and Mel in a Pink Ladies jacket and victory rolls; Ollie finally joined Bec for about a kilometre and a half of Banksia Avenueparkrun as far as Windang Bridge, his first non-household running company in a long time. Mel captained a team in the Curfew Crushers Relay run by Mick Duyvestyn and Peter Mitchell, running 16km of estate loops from 5am in full green witch makeup with a broomstick, and the hosts thanked Alison and Andrew for the Saturday live and asked listeners whether 7am lives should continue, before Ollie's interview with Becky at Richmond Olympic parkrun in Canada.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 35:24
Tracey Wood ("Tracey in a tutu") reports from Mudgeeraba parkrun on the Gold Coast after Tamborine Mountain cancelled its event. She interviews Donna (regular, 210 parkruns, Barcode Scanner on the day), Trent (newbie briefer, six years at the event, just hit 200 parkruns, son on his 93rd) and Peter, the Run Director, who has been with Mudgeeraba since about run 15. Signs off "Toodles from Tracey. See you on the B-side."
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 41:01
Two Channel 5 News Crew contributions this week. Mark Scarborough reports from Karratha in the Pilbara, WA - 1,100km from the last parkrun course he could reach - and interviews Zoe, Event Director of the two-month-old Bayview Road parkrun, on how it started (Running Mums Australia, a mock parkrun at Cattrall Park, the move to Bayview Road for its wide double footpath), its local sponsors, and what it means to the town. Later, TOC files the Streaky September explainer under the same Channel 5 badge.
the Informant starts at 48:38
A deliberately abbreviated stats report - "Under orders from Mel just to get it done" because of the Renee Gimbert interview. 1,171 events in 17 countries; four launches (Sonsbeek in the Netherlands; Grove Fields, Sandy Water and Torvean in the UK); 18,429 Aussie/NZ runners of 158,227 worldwide; 2,276 PBs and 527 first-timers down under; milestone counts; six people called bingo (quickest Samantha Jo Leonard in 197 events, slowest Lorna Davin in 344); five new Statespeople. Signs off "This has been The Informant and my stats report has been abbreviated."
parkrun news bulletin starts at 52:11
Not announced by name in this episode, but the standing news round-up: Panorama Punish at Bathurst is cancelled for 2021 (the hosts pledge to be "on the grid in 2022"); Finland is launching what will become the world's most northerly parkrun in September; and the state-by-state "lockdown latest" - New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and all of New Zealand still paused.
The Compass Club starts at 54:17new tourist club
Prompted by Finland's forthcoming most-northerly event, the hosts discuss whether there is a global Compass Club and how you would even define the most easterly and westerly parkruns on a round planet - date line, clock, or flat map. Melissa Ellis notes the Australian Compass Club is about geographic extremes, not events with compass points in their names. They put the question out to listeners and nominate Peter Pohlman as the man likely to know.
Streaky September starts at 1:22:23
Build-up to the fifth annual Streaky September, starting the following Wednesday; the Bingoe card is done but not yet revealed, and Melissa Ellis prefers to call it "Swoopy September" because of the Victorian magpies. A three-part expert package follows: TOC explains the origins and the rules (a minimum 2km walk/run or 30 minutes of other exercise daily, plus Facebook bingo and bin chickens), Alison Fraser reports mid-streak from New Zealand as she closes on 365 days, and Pippa describes how a September 2019 start turned into a permanent, life-changing streak.
Sign-off starts at 1:30:37
Ollie said he was in admiration of the streakers and that he thought that could be it for the week, jam-packed. Mel asked whether listeners minded the recent extra-long episodes and invited them to say if it was too long, or not long enough, for their long run. Ollie invited feedback and hellos via Facebook and at Dazza's Cafe when Dazza returned from his week off on the Saturday, gave the email address, and said that was it for another week from all of them, trailing a bit of a milestone episode next week, which Mel told listeners to stay tuned for.