Episode 321 - GO!

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersLyndell Murray Sarah Jefferson

Show notes

This week, Mel’s South Australian adventure concludes at Oaklands Estate Reserve (opens in a new tab) parkrun with celebrations and a roving report from Sarah from the Westside. We hear from Lyndell out at Kirra (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Rachel returns with more Club Corner. And we have some announcements!!! Be sure to tune in.

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

Roving reports

1Oaklands Estate Reserve2Kirra

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Episode 321, the 'Go' episode, with Melissa Ellis back home on Wurundjeri Country and Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country. Mel finished her SA holiday at Oaklands Estate Reserve's first birthday and attendance record of 274 on Kaurna Country, meeting Sarah Jefferson, Anne Fry, Michelle Dezago and ambassador Melissa Cox and shaving more off her post-injury PB, with Sarah interviewing the RD and local politicians for a roving report. Ollie ran the 7 km leg of the Wollongong Australia Day aquathon as a duo with Bec, finishing third in mixed teams, then run-directed a hot Shellharbour full of refugees from cancelled North Wollongong. Feedback from Peter Pohlman on closed Australian events, and parkrun Australia's all-time participation record of 68,160.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 12:37

  Ollie crosses to the roving reports, "let's have a listen to Sarah and also Lyndell with some roving reports now". Two reports run back to back: Sarah Jefferson from Oaklands Estate Reserve parkrun's first birthday in South Australia (00:12:49-00:19:57) and Lyndell Murray from Kirra parkrun on the Gold Coast (00:20:00-00:25:57). The hosts debrief both.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 25:39

  Lyndell signs off her Kirra report with the crew's standing sign-on: "that is it from me, Lyndell. I am reporting in from Kira [Kirra] parkrun for the Channel 5 News crew." A companion "Channel 2 News crew" is name-checked in Mark Scarborough's Dazza's post about James's 100th parkrun.

• Dazza's starts at 28:19

  Ollie: "Well, Mel, I think it's time to catch up at Dazza's." The week's prompt is International Lego Day, "Can you click together a block of a story filled with the colour of a parkrun day?" Contributors read out: Catherine Pirotta (volunteering, new red vest), Mark Scarborough (most likes; James's 100th with the Wagyu [Wagga] Bridge Troll), Sue Keane (Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens), Sarah Jefferson (Oaklands Estate Reserve first birthday, alphabet completed), Julie Doolin (tail walking at Broken Hill Racecourse with Charlie), Johan Duvenhage (from South Africa, with Bruce and Gill Fordyce visiting), Graeme Wilkinson (Springburn, Glasgow), William "Bill" Ellis (Newy's 500th) and Jonathan Morgan (Precinct 18 parkrun Putrajaya, Malaysia).

• the Obi Award — Julie Doolin starts at 38:30

  Ollie retrieves the envelope from his desk and announces the winner-. Awarded off the back of her Dazza's post, tail walking at Broken Hill Racecourse with Charlie the pup in the selfie frame, with the hosts noting that she is "getting around at the moment", having recently been at Christies Beach, Port Pirie and now the outback, and having just notched up 250 parkruns. Ollie adds that background research showed she has also completed the Namely challenge. She also receives the Office Lady's classy challenge stickers.

• Club Corner starts at 40:28

  Rachel's pre-recorded segment on the "Namely" club, spelling your own name out of parkrun event initials, and the older trick of spelling words in reverse down your personal results page (so parkrun had to be run as n-u-r-k-r-a-p). She notes tracking apps have made the order irrelevant, and that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial. The hosts then compare their own missing letters: Mel needs one more "I", Ollie needs I, O, V and E.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 43:03

  For Saturday 28 January 2023: of 377 Adventurers members, 310 took part at 172 locations. 21 events in the UK, four in South Africa, one each in the USA and Malaysia; domestically 39 in NSW, 34 in Victoria, 32 in Queensland, 12 in WA, eight in South Australia, six in the ACT, five in Tasmania, four each on the North and South Islands, and, thanks to Roberta Winters at Nightcliff, one in the Northern Territory. Honourable mentions for seven adventurers at South Toowoomba and seven at Lake Wallace.

• the Frond starts at 44:33

  Largest frond of the week was at Schlaba [Shellharbour], nine people with no disqualifications: housemate Lance, Rebecca Bailey, Blake and Julie Wells, Bruce Perry, Gordon and Julie Turner, Jason Green and Gaillyn Cooper, the last of whom Ollie identifies as "AKA mum".

• Sign-off starts at 48:50

  Ollie asked which direction Mel was heading next parkrun day: out to the most recent Victorian launch at Calembeen, about an hour's drive west, assuming she got her car back after it did a clutch. Ollie did not know - he was not needed in the Run Director vest, might have a run, and had to work out logistics around his daughter's new dance classes - and Mel said she would stalk him on the 5K app. He said that was all the news and all the looking ahead, gave the Facebook and email contacts and said that was it for another week.