Episode 269 - Criminal Intent

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersLyndell Murray Tracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

This week Olly & Mel return to regular programming with news from Wentworth Common (opens in a new tab) parkrun & Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve (opens in a new tab) parkrun , a full round up from Dazza's

and a new Obi recipient

.

We welcome back Tracey for 20-2-2 at Des Connor Park junior parkrun and Lyndell returns to the crease from Baringa (opens in a new tab) parkrun .

Meanwhile The Informant gets technical with naming conventions

From the podcast feed

This week Olly & Mel return to regular programming with news from Wentworth Common (opens in a new tab) & Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve (opens in a new tab) parkrun, a full round up from Dazza's and a new Obi recipient. We welcome back Tracey for 20-2-2 at Des Connor Park juniors (opens in a new tab) and Lyndell returns to the crease from Baringa (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Meanwhile The Informant gets technical with naming conventions.

Roving reports

1·2Baringa and Des Connor Park juniors

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Ollie Spake on Dharawal land and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri land. Ollie's parkrun day began with a bag over his head, abducted by Chris Fraser and delivered to Wentworth Common in Sydney Olympic Park for his first event number two and 30th unique event, his first recorded parkrun since Bowral in May; he barcode scanned, found a cafe with no sausage rolls and walked off with half the finish tokens. Mel did Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve event two on Bunurong land with her sister Cassie, missing her last bingo number by a second, then celebrated Eynesbury Heritage Trail juniors' first birthday dressed as a butterfly, with Brendan Peel and Jodie visiting; both note rising COVID numbers and the strain on volunteer rosters.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 15:48

  Mel throws to the week's roving reports - "perhaps time to throw to this week's roving reports, a couple of our favourites have dropped reports" - covering back-to-back crossovers from Lyndell Murray at Baringa parkrun and Tracey Natutu at Des Connor Junior parkrun. Ollie thanks both.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 16:08

  Lyndell Murray files from Baringa parkrun on the southern Sunshine Coast, badging the report herself "checking in from Baringa parkrun for the Channel 5 News crew". She interviews Run Director Christina on the course (mixed grass, concrete and trail), its three-year history, its position inside a growing housing development, COVID volunteer shortages, and its welcome for tourists.

• Emails starts at 25:09

  "But Mel, we've got mail." Ollie reads an email from Geoff Glaab (previous week's guest, USA) reporting the launch of Spindletree parkrun near Houston, Texas - a relocation of the former Woodlands Waterway parkrun - and confirming he joined the Adventurers Club. Mel then relays a message from Irene Bumacanti about the mass aeroplane-pose start line at Sherwood Reserve parkrun, NZ, explained by Alison as co-ED Scott Harrell's #ScottAirplanes tradition.

• Dazza's starts at 28:11

  Cricket-themed Summer Series edition, pegged to the fifth Ashes test at Bellerive. Contributors read out: Richard (The Entrance, palindrome 6446), Tracy Wood (Kedron, 319 not out), Alison King (RD at Puarenga, parkrun birthday), Phil Olson (UK), Mark Porritt, Abigail's mum (The Entrance, first toilet selfie), Bruce Purdy, Ingrid Botha (99th at Dolls Point), Sam Schroder, Val Warwick, Sonja Pohlman (Beaches run 300, RD Tricia's double ton), Tanya Bailey, Bec Bailey, Brett Bailey, Claire Stachbury, Joe Richards, Helen Jane Davis, Steve Warwick, Greta Wilkinson, Janet Reid, Chantelle Hosking, Andrew Turner (111 "Nelson"), Tamsin Smith and Pippa White. Next week's theme announced as tennis.

• the Informant starts at 41:48

  Weekly unofficial stats for parkrun day 15 January 2022: 434 events down under (a post-COVID record), 39,488 Aussie/NZ attendance, seven launches, 3,709 PBs, milestone counts, 15 new statespeople, top-20 most-events movers and Wilson Index climbers. He runs a four-letter-event-name quiz (Nui, Roma, Sail, Bega, Lota, Kirra), awards a virtual Mars Bar to Quizmaster Simon Mackley for pointing out Frankston isn't the longest parkrun name, and two to "Adjudicator TOC" for the short-name/long-name technicality that lets him dodge a retraction.

• the Obi Award — Chris Fraser starts at 46:50

  No Obi was awarded the previous week (the hosts were running the summer series). This week Ollie opens the envelope and awards it to Chris Fraser - the show's "creative director" - for abducting Ollie with a bag over his head, driving him to Wentworth Common parkrun and filming the whole kidnapping, footage shared to the adventurers page and the Aussie parkrun Tourism page. Ollie: "Clearly crime and breaking all the rules pays." This is the source of the episode title, "Criminal Intent".

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 48:05

  Adventurers Club membership up six to 90, ten short of the 100-member shirt. 72 members appeared on this week's Consolidated Club Report: seven UK events (Haigh Woodland, Norwich, Chipping Norton School, Central parkrun Plymouth, Watermead Country Park, Cranbrook Country Park, Bartley Park), two in New Zealand (Pegasus, Owairaka), two in South Africa (Greytown Woodside Trail plus one pronounced for them by Janet) and one in the USA (Joe Creason). Mel notes seven adventurers at Frankston Nature Conservation Reserve, a club PB for a single event.

• the Notties starts at 51:20New Zealand not parkruns

  Weekly rundown of the best-attended New Zealand "not parkruns", credited to Alison: Whangarei first on 27, Pegasus second on 21, Millwater third on 10, with numbers down now that parkrun is back in most of the country. Referred to by the hosts as "the Notties" and compared to the previous week's 20.

• Sign-off starts at 51:56

  Mel asked what was coming up: Ollie noted the coming Saturday, the 22nd, was the tutu day and urged listeners to suggest the theme at their own events, and they wished friend of the pod Errol Poole well for his 350th parkrun that weekend. Mel then teased that she would bundle Zoe into the car and head west across a border for a new event, not telling Chris because he was behind her on the most events list, and Ollie said he would be at Lake Conjola with extended family, probably revisiting Husky or Batemans Bay unless he had to dash back and volunteer. Mel signed off with the Facebook and parkrunadventures@gmail.com contacts, "hashtag be like Jeff", and "that's it for another week".