Episode 299 - Buzz Buzz

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersDavid Bravos Lyndell Murray Tony O'Connell

Show notes

This week, we hear about Mel’s visit to Frank Keenan Reserve (opens in a new tab) parkrun, while Olly stayed local for milestones and tributes. TOC brings us a conference roving report with ABC Presenter Lisa Millar, David Bravos drops in from Byxbee (opens in a new tab) parkrun, and Lyndell is feeling the cold out at Stanthorpe (opens in a new tab) parkrun. We discuss how good Melbourne coffee is, Olly’s mullet growing potential, and enjoy the usual buzz from Dazza’s. And yes, Olly sings.

The podcast feed and the Facebook post carry the same notes.

Roving reports

1·3Kingscliff and Stanthorpe2Byxbee

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, marking 299 by sending listeners back to episode 99 and noting the parkrun Ambassadors Conference (APAC) flooding Mel's feed. Mel did a 4am drive to event four of Frank Keenan Reserve parkrun in Yarrawonga, running solo to eighth place and meeting listener Sarah; Ollie RD'd Shellharbour for Sue King's 250th, Sam Schroder's PB, and a touch-of-blue tribute to the late David Gill, with Julie Turner reading her memorial poem on air. Feedback: Joe Dinan shared an Umbagong District link about Graham; in news, Tony Martin's stat that Harris Avenue event 111 had 111 finishers in 1:11:33.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 15:56

  Mel throws to the week's roving reports "that goes to me now to throw to our roving report. So we've got a couple of roving reports, three, in fact, from Saturday Just Gone." Three reports follow back to back, TOC from the APAC ambassadors conference at Kingscliff, David Bravos from Byxbee parkrun in Palo Alto, and Lyndell from Stanthorpe, with Ollie thanking all three in the crossover back.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 16:19

  Both the first and third roving reports are filed explicitly under the Channel 5 News Crew banner: TOC opens "Toc [TOC] reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew" and Lyndell closes "Lyndell checking out Stanthorpe parkrun for the Channel 5 News crew on the parkrun adventurers."

• Emails starts at 40:07

  Listener correspondence, opened by Ollie "Mel, we've got some mail. You've got mail." Richard writes in from Toronto with a follow-up on North American drip coffee versus espresso (prompting a long Melbourne-coffee tangent), and Brett Bailey writes from New Zealand confirming mullets are alive and well in the rugby fraternity, which turns into a campaign to get Ollie to grow one.

• Dazza's starts at 44:57

  Opened "at Dazza's [Dazza's] this week" with the prompt "It's World Honeybee Day. Did Honey make an appearance in your pre- or post-parkrun breakfast?" Contributors: Tony O'Connell (most likes, from the conference), Sarah Dee (rainbow at Port Arlington), Alison King (tail walking at Kingscliff with Janet Reid), Roberta Winters (alphabet U at Umbagong, regained ACT statespersonship), Steve ("beezy doing an ollie"), Heather Hunter (finally got to Zillmere on the sixth attempt, completing her alphabet), newbie Margaret Love (Forster NSW), Greg Garner (first parkrun in three months at Stones Corner), Kelly Smale (family volunteer morning at Stebonheath), Helen Rutter (UK, son's 50th at Flatts Lane), newbie Yvette Turner (quarter cow at Umbagong) and Andrew Turner (Upton Court with views of Windsor Castle).

• the Obi Award — Tony O'Connell starts at 52:02

  Ollie hands out the Obi "it's time to award an Obi [Obi] Mel", digging it out "under all the caramel". It goes to TOC "Toc [TOC] gets it for really just being a part of the fun as well as something that we failed to miss, which was a pretty snazzy time as well, a finish time that he didn't mention in his report", Mel adds he was paced to it by newest parkrun adventurer Will Barlow, and Ollie confirms after checking that it was an all-time PB.

• the Informant starts at 53:36

  The weekly unofficial stats rundown, "coming to you live from Level 2 with a view": 451 events down under (418 Australia, 33 New Zealand) out of 1,766 worldwide, attendance 37,091, 4,608 PBs, 1,527 first-timers, one UK launch. Milestones, 21 bingo calls, 12 new statespeople, top-20 movement (Jim Woodruff, Kathleen Wellington, Tony Jennings), biggest mover Simon Nash up 45 to 127, Cow Club inductees Joanne Blackbourn and Amanda O'Reilly, and a revamped I-Index rebranded the Intern Index (biggest mover Nathan Castle). Signs off "my spreadsheet is more revamped than yours."

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 57:08

  274 club members, of which 221 took part at 114 different locations. Ollie prompts it "Mel, consolidated club report", with the full report pointed to on the Facebook page.

• the Frond starts at 57:32

  Largest frond of the week was 18 adventurers at Kingscliff for the parkrun Ambassador Conference: Tony and Jacqui O'Connell, Jeff Whiffen, Simon Mackley, Nadine Crawford, Amanda O'Reilly, Charlie and Paul Butler, Kate Corner, Michelle Dezago, Bruce 'the Ideas Man' Purdy, Ria Lambino, Greta Wilkinson, Alicia Hopper, Anne Fry, Emma Nicholson, Alison King and Janet Reid, plus Will, who joined too late to make the report. Other sizeable fronds noted: 11 at "the Voldemort parkrun", seven at Umbagong, and six at Ollie's home parkrun.

• Streaky September starts at 1:01:25

  Ollie flags the coming challenge and admits the Bingoe card is still in the pipeline. Pippa White contributes a pre-recorded explainer from the UK (01:02:11-01:03:32): a daily 2km walk or run, or ~30 minutes of swimming or cycling, checked in on the Facebook group, and the advice to nominate a "streak saver", a default 2km loop for bad days. Mel reveals she is already on day 28 of a streak and used her streak saver that day.

• Sign-off starts at 1:04:57

  Asked where she would be taking her streak next parkrun day, Mel said she was heading back out to Puckapunyal with a couple of parkrun adventurer friends. Ollie said he would be away in the northern Sydney area and had chosen Willoughby over Galston for his 40th different event, having only ever been there on a longest run. They then set up the promised episode 299 song, recalling former host Scotty's rendition of 99 Red Balloons in German on episode 99, with Ollie confirming he would attempt one, apologising that he had taken up none of the listeners' suggestions and that it would not be a duet, before Mel gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.