Episode 345 - Level 2 with hygge
2023-08-09
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Tony O'Connell
Roving reportersLyndell Murray Melissa Ellis
GuestCarlos Duque
Show notes
TOC joins Mel this week on Level 2 with a view to share some of his highlights from his recent European vacay. We’ve got news from a giant orange moustache, clarifications, graphs, age grade 1st finishers, Club Corner and roving reports from Studley (opens in a new tab) and Greenbank (opens in a new tab) parkruns.
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Enhanced transcript
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Read the transcriptGuest
Carlos Duque
A self-recorded piece: running the New York City Marathon on 5 November for the Movember team representing Australia, raising awareness of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. He describes breaking his femur in 2019, going from 140km a week to a hospital bed, and the support that got him running again; quotes Australian male suicide statistics, and lists upcoming events - Stockton parkrun, City to Surf, and a 24-hour endurance run.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:24
Tony O'Connell (TOC) on Bunurong Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country. TOC is back from overseas, remarking on Oslo's near-endless summer daylight and on being back to Melbourne's changeable weather, jumpers and Australian parkruns with friends on a Saturday morning.
Level 2 with a View starts at 1:27
TOC is back in the studio after a European trip and Mel asks for his top three highlights. He picks Vaxjosjon parkrun in Sweden (a lake lap with an ABBA warm-up and a post-parkrun swim off the jetty) and Bushy Park (1,200 finishers, position 1,038, run alongside Jack); 10 parkruns and two junior parkruns across 10 countries, event teams turning up with Prosecco and homemade cake, and Caffarella in Rome.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 5:50
The hosts' own weekend parkrun round-up. Mel returned to Studley parkrun (her fifth visit, 207 finishers) to catch up with Bec Bailey, back from a six-country South American trip, and spotted the apricot-clad international tourist she later interviewed. TOC went back to Koonwarra in Gippsland (his seventh visit, Jack's fifth, and a new p-index of five for Jack), caught up with Bernie and Ray Larson from Sale, and talked about the sense of hygge that founding ED Ebony Knox described at the Koonwarra launch.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 22:25
Two reports this week: Melissa Ellis from Studley parkrun in Melbourne interviewing visiting American Joyce Adams, and Lyndell Murray from Greenbank parkrun south of Brisbane interviewing Run Director Wayne on the event's sixth anniversary.
Dazza's starts at 35:33
The virtual cafe, read by TOC and Mel, with about 190 comments this week. Posts from Bec Bailey (back at parkrun after six weeks, touristing to Studley by tram and bus), Jo McLean (Mt Penang with friends, cake for Natalie Wilson's 100th plus birthdays), Susan Rodak (San Remo, park walking with her VI son Fred while Dexter scanned barcodes), Joyce Adams (first Australian parkrun at Studley), Andrew Yateman (Kadina Trail with Alan Raven and Dave Allmark), Janet Reid (fifth birthday at Pakapakanthi with fellow EAs Alicia and Kate and RA Greta, plus Alicia's puppy Mitch completing his first 5K), Sherry Brandtman (RD with the volunteer crew) and Cherie Martin (Run Director debut at Wynnum in an L-plate).
the Obi Award — Jo McLean starts at 40:19
Mel sends TOC hunting through Ollie's messy desk for the envelope. The Obi goes to Jo McLean for her Dazza's contribution from Mt Penang parkrun - the adventure with friends, the cake for Natalie Wilson's 100th, the birthday celebrations and the selfie-frame photo. Mel notes she is now a double Obi winner, "she has letters after her name and everything", and wishes her a happy birthday.
Club Corner starts at 41:53
Rachel, coming from Arrernte Country, explains date bingo - collecting all 366 calendar dates as parkrun dates, against 60 for time bingo and 100 for finish-position bingo - and notes the last Saturday 29th of February was 2020 and the next is 2048. She reminds listeners that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun. Mel (81%) and TOC (87%) then compare their own date bingo totals.
Consolidated Club Report starts at 45:26
For Saturday 5 August 2023: of 445 members, 353 took part in eight countries across 186 locations. Overseas - 27 events in the UK, three in South Africa, two in the USA and one each in Ireland, the Netherlands and Singapore. Locally - 40 events in Queensland, 37 in NSW, 35 in Victoria, 14 in South Australia, seven in WA, six on the North Island, five each in the ACT and Tasmania, one each in the Northern Territory and South Island: another bowling strike.
the Frond starts at 46:40
Largest fronds this week. Outside Australia and New Zealand: three at Fort Ward in the USA (Darren, Lucille, Pede and Helen Rubin) and three at Penrose in the UK (Stuart, Tamsin and Morglen Smith). At home, seven adventurers across two events - Shellharbour in NSW (Julie and Gordon Turner, Louise Aitkin, Sue Keane, David Foster, Kirsten and Delvene McKenzie) and Woodlands Historic Park in Victoria (Scott Wilson-Smith, Jason and Ollie Andrews, Dawn Branton, Cheryl Smit, and Irene and Parth Bommakanti), who featured in the report's photo.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 48:34"Where is the cake?"
Harmony Boulevard parkrun launched in the suburb of Palmview on the Sunshine Coast, just inland from Brightwater and Kawana, with 173 attending. A four-lapper on flat concrete - two larger laps around the outside of the park and two smaller ones through the middle - with parking recommended at the Display Village. The hosts note Queensland still leads the country on event numbers. Greenbank parkrun's sixth anniversary is covered separately inside Lyndell's roving report.
Sign-off starts at 49:40
TOC moved them along from parkrun global domination to next Saturday: Mel said she would be at the largest frond at Centennial parkrun, the catch-up before the City to Surf, a new event that would continue her tourism streak and one she was keen to see for its famous horse marshal; TOC said he and Jack were heading up to Kilmore Racecourse Walking Track for its event 12, one of the greater state events launched while they were in Europe. The episode ended on a gag, with TOC tidying Ollie's desk and starting to read out a post-it saying palm24 would be on 13 April, cut off by Mel's sign-off with the Facebook and email contacts.