Episode 314 - Records & Legends

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HostsMelissa Ellis Simon Mackley

Roving reportersAlison Fraser (King) Tracey Wood

Show notes

This week there are records a plenty and we all stop to bathe in the glory that is the greatest state. That’s right, while the cat’s away… Simon Mackley joins Mel in the host chair. We hear from Tracey at Surfers Paradise (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Alison is back with a report from Hamilton Park (opens in a new tab) parkrun in NZ. Dazza’s has an all abilities theme, the Obi envelope turns up somewhere rather pretty, and we’ve all moved on from kick-yay.

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

Roving reports

1Surfers Paradise2Hamilton Park

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country with Simon Mackley filling in for Ollie from Quandamooka Country. Mel, now out of the moon boot, tail-walked event 52 at Puckapunyal on Taungurung Country with Irene and Parth (10 finishers, no emus found) before brunch in Seymour; Simon did his first Minnippi parkrun on Yugara land, RD'd by adventurer Jenny Reedman, with Underwood as his next NENDY. A big weekend of records: Samantha Harrison's 15:37 global women's parkrun record at Long Eaton, Steve Moneghetti's 15:52 over-60 5000m in Collingwood, Brett Robinson's and Sinead Diver's Australian marathon records, and Ron Clarke elevated to legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame; Australia is out of the kick-yay World Cup after losing to Argentina.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 17:04

  Tracey Wood ("Tracey in a tutu") reports from Surfers Paradise parkrun on the Gold Coast, thrown to by Simon Mackley. She sets the scene at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) precinct, notes most locals are at Main Beach for their 555 or at Kirra for the Gold Coast 50 Run Festival, then interviews volunteer Natalie (barcode scanning, 270 parkruns, event's 7th anniversary the previous week), Liam on course (third visit, working back towards a sub-30), and Run Director Davina, who founded the event seven years ago and has ~160 volunteer credits and ~350 participations. Signs off with Nick and his "parkrun Puff of the Week" chat group.

• Dazza's starts at 25:49

  All-abilities themed edition tied to the International Day of People with Disability. Posts read out from Matthew "Billo" Billington (300km drive to Highlands parkrun, 12th straight tourist streaking event), Oliver Spake (most-liked post, Hannah's 50th at Hamilton Island parkrun, and Ollie's shaved beard), Bec Bailey (completed the alphabet at Orange), Caro Vos (VI guiding at Woy Woy), Tracy Leiper (555 at Main Beach), Renee Jackson (Gardiners Creek family trip), Ian Shaw (gingerbread ugly at Jindabyne, ASD sensory walks at Wagga Bridge), Leigh (Parramatta, then axe throwing), Andrew Turner (guiding), Michael Blain (Domain parkrun), Louise Minty (Homestead, WA), Helen Rutter (Pontypridd, UK) and Anne Fry.

• the Obi Award — Andrew Turner starts at 35:18

  The Obi envelope is found on the beach at Mosman parkrun in Sydney by Dorota, who opens it on tape and announces the winner. Awarded to Andrew Turner, Melissa Ellis's stated reason on air is "congratulations, Andrew Turner, and thank you for volunteering", following his Dazza's post about guiding. Simon Mackley calls Mosman "my favourite Sydney parkrun and the most beautiful one in Sydney".

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 39:00

  Alison Fraser reports from Hamilton Park parkrun, which, she stresses, is in the South Island town of Gore, not Hamilton, and is not to be confused with Hamilton Lake, Hamilton Island or Hamilton parkrun. She tail walks, then interviews Event Director and Run Director Bridget McLeod on the two-year path to launch (2020 floods, COVID lockdowns, launch February 2022), the "boutique" field of 12-30, what to do in Gore (MLT centre, art gallery, whiskey-history museum, the country music festival) and the double-lollipop riverside course with its lupins. Alison stayed with Invercargill ED Liz Henry.

• Emails starts at 45:24

  "You've got mail." One item, from Michael Blain, sharing his Spotify 2022 wrapped stats showing parkrun adventurers as his number one podcast, and suggesting a Facebook survey on the same. Both hosts admit they have never listened to the show on Spotify.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 46:17

  Adventurers CCR for 3 December 2022: 339 members, 284 taking part at 139 locations. 21 events in the UK, two in South Africa, one each in USA, Germany, Ireland and Singapore; locally 32 in Victoria, 28 NSW, 22 Queensland, eight SA, seven ACT, five WA, four Tasmania and three across the New Zealand islands.

• the Frond starts at 47:08

  Largest frond of the week went to Main Beach with eight adventurers for their event 555, Leonie Butler, Linda Coombes, M Nicholson, Pauline Taylor, Jessica Williams and Tracy Leiper among them. Runner-up was Shellharbour with seven.

• Sign-off starts at 47:50

  Asked what there was to look forward to, Simon and Mel batted away the World Cup, tennis and cricket, and then swapped plans: Simon would probably be on the Gold Coast doing one of the events at the southern end he had not done before, though he had not picked which, and Mel was not sure either but was due a long drive north, maybe in the vicinity of Goulburn, where she hoped she might see Melissa Currie, and she hinted at a possible launch in Victoria that week. Simon gave the Facebook and email contacts and said that was it for another week.