Episode 278 - Goldilocks

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reporterTracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

This week Mel & Olly were both adventuring at home with visitors, but there's news of events returning

mothballing

and closing

Tracey in a Tutu checks in from Noosa (opens in a new tab) parkrun, we have all the

fun from Dazza's and… wait…. The Obi ??

The Informants are back, but it seems there's someone else looking around on level 2 with a view

From the podcast feed

This week Mel & Olly were both adventuring at home with visitors, but there’s news of events returning, mothballing and closing – whaaaaat??? Tracey in a Tutu checks in from Noosa (opens in a new tab) parkrun, we have all the fun from Dazza’s and wait…. The Obi ?? The Informants are back but there’s someone else looking around level 2 with a view…

Roving reports

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, with budgies and chihuahuas (Bambi) in the room, and Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country with his cicadas. Mel has done her pod homework and resolves not to query pronunciations this week; she stayed local for her 17th Toolern Creek, where Lynn from Cobram and her grandson Axel turned up for their T after messaging her the night before.

• the Frond starts at 2:51

  Fronds (gatherings of Adventurers Club members at the same event) are tracked through the episode: Melissa Ellis has "a little frond going on" at Toolern Creek with Lynn from Cobram and her grandson Axel; Oliver Spake is "on the edge of another frond" at Shellharbour with Sam, Luke, Bec Bailey and Paddy Oshimo; Chris Fraser takes part in one at Main Beach; and the club report names the week's biggest frond as seven members at the Warrandyte River Reserve parkrun launch.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 7:14

  Events returning, mothballing and closing. Pioneer Dairy officially mothballed as of 22 March over a $200 park licensing fee, with Run Director Dr Gordon Spence on breakfast radio pushing for local support, compared to Little Stoke in the UK. Lancefield (Victoria) returned for event 107 with 16 people, its first since 15 May 2021. Jindabyne returns on a new course as Jindabyne Sport and Recreation parkrun because of Lake Jindabyne flooding. Bowral parkrun stays on ice but the team returns as Southern Highlands Botanical Gardens parkrun on 14 May. Plus a shout-out to Nicola Forward of With Me Now for five marathons in five days for charity.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 13:10

  The week's single roving report: Tracey Wood ("Tracey in a Tutu") at Noosa parkrun, Tewantin, where she is volunteering as Barcode Scanner rather than running because she has the 30km Noosa Ultra Trail that afternoon. She interviews Tony, an injured volunteer who started parkrun in the UK in 2011 and co-founded Southwick Country Park parkrun in Trowbridge before moving to the Sunshine Coast, and Sarah, the day's Run Director, on the Noosa course and community.

• Emails starts at 19:03

  Three pieces of correspondence. Chris and Karen Gore write about their son Phil Gore, ED of Shipwreck parkrun near Armadale WA with wife Gemma, who won the Herdy's Frontyard Ultra with 50 laps of 6.71km (335km in 50 hours), assisted by Shetan Sadana on 49 laps; Phil holds the Australian backyard record of 51 laps. Paddy Oshimo writes about being called Patty on last week's St Patrick's Day Dazza's and promises a return to Strava art in a couple of months. Stephen and Jen, founding EDs of Bathurst parkrun and organisers of the Panorama Punish, write about completing their ACT Statesperson Challenge at Coombs parkrun.

• Dazza's starts at 24:58

  Theme, tied to National Ride to School Day: how did you get to parkrun this morning? Contributors include Michael Charlton (drove to Grafton), Brett Bailey from New Zealand (five drove 10km to Pegasus, back after a two-month break), Simon Mackley (800m walk to Main Beach for his COVID-delayed 250th), Chris Fraser (flew in to witness the Quizmaster's 250th, zero stars for an ant bite), Joanne Blackbird (three connecting trains to Williamstown, became a pirate), Andrew Turner (ran 4km to Maribyrnong, 5k PB plus 50th volunteer occasion, reverse flag photo), Carol Pryle (taxi to Hamilton for her last stopwatch bingo number after 234 runs), Steve's Bike's cryptic clue, Lyndell Murray (drove an hour, shuttle bus, ended up at a brewery trail run with no parkrun in sight), Renee Jackson aka Abby's mum (Wyndham Vale, first sub-30 in two years) and Christine Imbert (carpooled to Woodhouse Moor, now nine of the first ten parkruns).

• the Obi Award — Stephen (the Obi Award recipient, ep278) starts at 33:52

  The envelope is opened by Melissa Ellis and delivers a curveball, for the first time the winner is not a Dazza's participant but an email correspondent, recognised for completing their ACT Statesperson Challenge at Coombs parkrun and sharing photos, including one in the Coombs parkrun selfie frame. Oliver Spake wonders aloud who puts the envelopes together, setting up the new-person-in-the-office teaser.

• the Informant starts at 35:27

  Played as a two-hander this week ("The Informants are back"), opening with an office argument about the new lady in the kitchen throwing out unnamed yoghurt. Stats: three junior parkruns, 225 juniors, 32 first timers, 61 PBs, with half-marathon and marathon wristbands named. 423 5k events down under (394 Australia, 29 New Zealand) out of 1,679 worldwide; attendance up 671 to 36,377 of 200,073 worldwide. Nine launches including Jarrahdale Heritage (WA) and Warrandyte River Reserve (Victoria). 4,868 PBs, 1,458 first-timers, 149 fifty milestones, 105 hundreds and a post-COVID record 31 people reaching 250. Fifteen called bingo. Three new ACT statespeople: Stephen Jackson, Jennifer Arnold and Bianca Keane. Running gag over "Windex" versus the Wilson Index, ending with the spreadsheet being accidentally overwritten.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 41:00

  Adventurers Club up to 148 members, with 124 taking part on the Saturday across 75 different locations: ten UK events (Woodhouse Moor, Southampton, Rotherham, Rushmoor, Cheadle Hulme, Whinlatter Forest, Clapham Common, Brooklands, Frickley Country, Storey's Field), four in New Zealand (Pegasus, Greytown Woodside Trail, Hobsonville Point, Owairaka), one in the USA (Joe Creason), and locally 25 Victorian, 13 NSW, 12 Queensland, three WA, three SA, three ACT and one Tasmanian. Biggest frond was seven members at the Warrandyte River Reserve launch. Extended discussion of the target of 210 members to reach parkrun Australia's "largest clubs" list, revised when they spot an entry at 198.

• Sign-off starts at 44:56

  Ollie said he looked forward to seeing everyone's adventures over the coming week and asked Mel whether that was about it for the podcast; she said she had run out of things to talk about and offered to take requests. Ollie invited listeners to drop requests in the episode post, gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.