Episode 290 - 98, 99, 100!

— open the full-size cover

HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersSarah Jefferson Tony O'Connell Tracey Wood

Show notes

This week’s podcast is dedicated to those that help us enjoy our parkrun vicariously when we inevitably have to miss that special day of the week… The parkrun Adventurers catch up on a lot of celebrations and speed, with parkrun and personal milestones, and a whole lot of pace! Several of the parkrun Adventurer community visit Dolls Point (opens in a new tab), with Tracey in a Tutu and TOC bringing us the buzz of the morning, while Tania reports in from Pegasus (opens in a new tab)’s and Brett Bailey’s combined milestone and Sarah chats with a new member of the team at Cottesloe (opens in a new tab) while searching for a message in a bottle. We’ve got mail, Dazza’s, and a whole lot of great friends and company to help us all savour our parkrundays, even if we missed them.

From the podcast feed. No Facebook post text is recorded for this episode.

Roving reports

1·2Dolls Point and Dolls Point3Cottesloe4Pegasus

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, noting episode 300 is nearing. Mel missed parkrun and juniors for a work training weekend and guiltily enjoyed it; Ollie took Kathy, his mum, Zali and Ava to Dolls Point's fifth birthday kids'-party dress-up (Ollie as Jack Sparrow, eyeliner included), welcomed by Tracey in a Tutu, scanned by TOC, but missing host Ingrid. Feedback: Karen Hamilton named the Picton cafe from the longest run, and Faye from Canberra reported a friendly Moora WA parkrun and asked after the Informant's missing stats.

• Fines starts at 10:48

  Running gag in which hosts and listeners nominate each other for 'fines'. Ollie asks to "get the fine counters at the ready, because there's a bit of pronunciation involved here", Melissa asks "is it double demerits this week?", and Ollie explains "one of those wonderful items that on this podcast we do fine people for is mispronunciation". Returns with Ian Shaw's email nominating TOC as fine-worthy for finishing ahead of him in a Po Teletubby costume, and again where Melissa grants Michael Gentle amnesty for naming "that parkrun that shall not be named".

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 12:07

  Weekly news round-up, opened by Melissa "about other news Mel, what's been happening". Covers Colin (98) in New Zealand topping the age grade at Whangarei with 101.36% and a 52:50 in the VM95-99 group; New Zealand's National Volunteer Week (19-25 June); Sandgate parkrun's Speed Week 2022 with two new course records (male to Kieran Perkins in 14:14, female to Cara in 16:18), 13 runners under 15 minutes and a 200th finisher PB of 21:09 by Brad Carr; and the weekend stats read by Melissa in the Informant's absence, 455 events, 39,895 walkers, joggers and volunteers, 1,293 first-timers.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 16:25"Where is the cake?"

  No launches in Australia or New Zealand this week ("And there were no launches in Australia or New Zealand"), but two milestone birthdays dominate the episode: Dolls Point parkrun's fifth birthday with a kids' party dress-up theme, cupcakes, lollies and chalk drawings along the path, and Pegasus parkrun's (NZ) sixth birthday with a rainbow theme, cookies, lollies and a rainbow celebration cake baked by the flat white cafe.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 16:52

  Melissa crosses over "now we've got some roving reports this week. We have three roving reports coming to us from some events that we have already mentioned, but some voices that we haven't heard for a while." Three self-contained reports follow: TOC and Tracey Wood at Dolls Point (NSW), Sarah Jefferson at Cottesloe (WA), and Tania at Pegasus (NZ). The hosts recap all three.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 17:16

  TOC's Dolls Point report, opening "Howdy, parkrunners. Toc reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew." Repeatedly derailed by Tracey Wood interrupting him on a sugar high, then settles into interviews with Barcode Scanner Sharon and run Report Writer Ali, plus a joint sign-off with Tracey.

• Emails starts at 36:08

  Melissa "But yes, Ollie, we've got mail." Bruce Purdy "the ideas man" submits another song suggestion for the episode 299 milestone, Plastic Bertrand's "Ca plane pour moi", prompting a riff on Ollie's non-existent French and a nod to Scotty singing in a foreign language. Then Ian Shaw's email about meeting Ollie and Tracey Wood at Dolls Point, nominating TOC for a fine over the Po Teletubby costume; the hosts welcome Ian into the adventurers. Earlier listener feedback is also read-: Karen Hamilton on the Picton cafe name and on lorikeet taxonomy, and Faye from Canberra on Moora parkrun in WA.

• Dazza's starts at 40:18

  This week's Dazza's theme is parkrun friendships: "one of Dazza's favourite things on Saturday is hearing about all the friendships that you have made thanks to parkrun". Posts read out from Steve Spike (cryptic clue for his arbitrary 50th different parkrun), Ingrid Botha (missing Dolls Point's fifth birthday on day three of isolation), Sam Schroder (on her friendship with Mel, at Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens), Brett Bailey (100th parkrun at Pegasus), Michael Gentle (encore frond at Shellharbour with Chris Fraser handing out free finish tokens), Jacqui O'Connell (Dolls Point fifth anniversary), Paris Lawrence (200th at Avondale University College), Johan (a Kaapse draai detour to Langebaan parkrun in South Africa en route to Namibia), Renee Jackson (birthday volunteering at Werribee Mansion with daughters Abigail and Hannah), Tracy May (NENDY at Huntington) and Helen Davis (meeting Christine at Hastings, UK). Melissa closes by coining "FINMIs", friends I've not met yet.

• the Obi Award — Brett Bailey starts at 50:42

  Melissa calls for the envelope and a drum roll; Ollie announces "the Obi [Obi] this week goes to... Brett Bailey." Awarded for his long-delayed 100th parkrun at Pegasus parkrun in New Zealand, "Across the ditch... With some great festivities, a long-awaited milestone, and I'd say a touch of fin-mise [FINMIs]." The previous week's winner, Darwin the rainbow lorikeet, is also referenced.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 51:37

  Melissa's weekly club rundown for Saturday 18 June 2022: 224 members total, 170 taking part at 95 different locations. 20 UK events (Southampton, Margate, Rushmoor, Hastings, Lydiard, Bath Skyline, Cirencester, Pontefract, Stonehaven, Walsall Arboretum, King's Lynn, Huntington, Henlow Bridge Lakes, Halstead Magpies, Crosby, Macclesfield, Tooting Common, Sutcliffe, Severn Bridge, Jesmond Dene), two in South Africa (Langebaan, Atlasville), one in the Netherlands (Maxima) and one in Germany (Friedrichsau). Domestically: 26 in Victoria, 18 Queensland, 12 NSW, 5 WA, 2 Tasmania, 4 South Australia, none in NT or ACT, plus three on New Zealand's North Island and one on the South. Melissa notes the UK is again the second biggest locality after Victoria.

• the Frond starts at 53:16

  Reported inside the Consolidated Club Report. The largest frond was 11 at Dolls Point: Eman and Kristine Vergara, TOC and Jacqui O'Connell, Nicole Robinson, Patrick Peacock, Patty Oshimo, Tracey Wood, Caro Vos, Gaillyn Cooper "and some random guy dressed as Jack Sparrow" (Ollie himself). Volunteer fronds: four at Werribee Mansion (Renee, Hannah and Abigail Jackson, Robin Rishworth) and four at "the parkrun that shall not be named" (Gordon and Julie Turner, Michael Gentle, Chris Fraser). TOC also flags a frond in progress live from Dolls Point.

• Sign-off starts at 54:43

  Asked whether she was back at parkrun next week, Mel said she had deliberately planned an adventure after missing one: flying to Queensland just for the night, hoping for New Farm, and catching up with Tracey in a tutu; she also reminded Ollie that Eynesbury Heritage Trail junior parkrun was celebrating its 50th event on the Sunday. Ollie said he would be much closer to home, back in a volunteer vest and hoping to shadow a Run Director of the future. They wished each other an active parkrunning Saturday, thanked each other for the company, gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.