Episode 300 - Tricentennial

— open the full-size cover

HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reporterTracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

This week, in honour of episode

, both your hosts were touristing!

Olly was testing his legs at Willoughby (opens in a new tab) parkrun, while

Mel ventured back to Puckapunyal (opens in a new tab) parkrun and grabbed a

female position.

A new

Australian male record

was set,

PSH hit a big milestone, and

Tracey met up with the Quizmaster (amongst others) at Fodder Forest (opens in a new tab) parkrun.

There's also

mail,

Dazza's,

the Informant, and a new

Obi recipient.

Thanks to everyone who has come along on the journey to

.

From the podcast feed

This week, in honour of episode 300, both your hosts were touristing! Olly was testing his legs at Willoughby (opens in a new tab) parkrun, while Mel ventured back to Pucka and grabbed a 1st female position. A new Australian male record was set, PSH hit a big milestone, and Tracey met up with the Quizmaster (amongst others) at Fodder Forest (opens in a new tab) parkrun. There’s also mail, Dazza’s, the Informant, and a new Obi recipient. Thanks to everyone who has come along on the journey to 300.

Roving reports

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Episode 300, Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country and Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country, thanking the community and the hosts who came before. Mel's streak ended after a 1pm-to-10pm work day; Ollie snuck away with his mum to a wet Willoughby parkrun in northern Sydney, still sore from City to Surf; Mel returned to Puckapunyal with Andrew Reynolds, his son James and Michelle Carlos, taking first female and fourth overall with kangaroos and an emu on course, then RD'd Eynesbury juniors on market week, where Abigail and Hannah made a 300th-episode poster and the kids named two new sharks Gary and Barry.

• Emails starts at 11:04

  Listener feedback on episode 299 and the week's mail. Geoff Glaab on mullets being big in the US; Val Warwick praising the roving reports and Oliver Spake's "completely unintelligible song"; Heather Hunter wanting to meet Phyllis; Johan congratulating adventurers David and Ralph at Comrades. The explicit "we've got mail" block starts with Eman on completing the Compass Challenge at University of Western Australia parkrun, and Bruce "the ideas man" proposing that a statesman of the greatest state should be a "greatsman".

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 23:01

  Two news items read by the hosts. A new Australian male parkrun record of 13:53 set by James Hansen at Launceston parkrun, relayed from an interview by parkrun adventurer and social media ambassador Sally Heppleston; and Paul Sinton-Hewitt and wife Joanne running their 500th parkrun at Dietenbach parkrun in Freiburg, Germany.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 28:47

  Tracey Wood ("Tracey on the Travels") reports from Fodder Forest parkrun at Victoria Point in the Redlands, Queensland, chasing her NENDY. She interviews Event Director and parkrun Australia outreach ambassador Shirley about the not-yet- event, and then Simon Mackley, "the quiz master himself", for whom Fodder Forest is now his home parkrun.

• Dazza's starts at 38:00

  International Banana Day prompt, "did you include bananas in your pre or post parkrun morning?" Contributions from Nathan Castle, Isaac Hill (PB at The Entrance parkrun), Alison King in New Zealand (marshalling with son Axel), Steve Spike (Chelsea/bicentennial pun), Johan at Bronberrik parkrun in South Africa, Val Warwick (first time RD-ing), Chris Fraser (a home 5k of 250 hallway laps while isolating with COVID), Richard in Oakville Ontario, Geoff Glaab at Joe Creason with dog Pepper, Christine Imbert tail walking at Malahide parkrun in Dublin, and Paris Lawrence walking with friend Leanne. Melissa Ellis also reports spotting a car with a personalised DAZZA number plate on the Hume Freeway.

• the Frond starts at 40:39

  Alex Turner submits a frond from UWA parkrun after meeting fellow adventurers Eman, Chris and baby Juno (there for Juno's first birthday) at the start line; Oliver Spake rules that it "absolutely does constitute a frond". The largest frond of the week is covered inside the Consolidated Club Report, a draw on seven adventurers at Orange parkrun and seven at Umbagong parkrun, with a special mention for six at The Ponds parkrun.

• the Obi Award — Alex Turner starts at 47:52

  Awarded to Alex Turner as a new club member and "freshly invited guest to Juno's first birthday", for the frond submitted from UWA parkrun. An honorary runner-up Obi also goes to Team Fraser for Chris Fraser's 250 laps of the hallway with a homemade lap timer while isolating with COVID.

• the Informant starts at 49:51

  Weekly unofficial stats: 457 events down under (419 Australia, 38 New Zealand) out of 1,765 worldwide; attendance 39,255; five event launches including Beaufort Lake in Victoria and Lake to Lake Trail in New Zealand; 4,951 PBs and 1,769 first-timers; milestone counts; a record 31 people called bingo; six new statespeople; Wilson Index, I-Index, Cow Club and half-cow movers. Signs off "my spreadsheet is bigger than yours".

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 53:08

  Adventurers CCR for Saturday 27 August: 284 members, up 10 on the previous week, with 236 taking part at 129 different locations across the UK, USA, South Africa, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Four South African events represented (larger than normal) and Victoria topping the Australian list with 32 events.

• Streaky September starts at 55:16

  Launch-week check-in for the streaking challenge, with a contributed audio tip from Pippa in the UK on focusing on the head rather than the legs, using the streak as time out, calling a friend, breathing exercises and a "five senses" five-four-three-two-one mental health walk. Oliver Spake nicknames her "the Streakmeister" and promises a Bingoe card; Melissa Ellis plans a 2K lunchtime streak on recording days.

• Sign-off starts at 1:00:53

  Ollie wished everyone happy streaking and asked where the coming parkrun day would take Mel: she was off to the brand-new Beaufort Lakes parkrun at Beaufort in western Victoria for event two, while Ollie had no idea but expected to pull on a volunteer vest somewhere local, being away the following parkrun day and chasing a volunteer goal. He then thanked Mel for recording the "tricentennial" episode with him and thanked everyone who had been part of the podcast, acknowledged Bruce and Tracy for their song suggestions after butchering a special running song of his own, pointed listeners to the kudo board, the Streaky September Bingoe card and the Facebook group, gave the email address and said that was it for another week.