Episode 347 - What Windmill?

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HostsMelissa Ellis Simon Mackley

Roving reporter"Action Man"

Show notes

Simon is back this week, but he didn’t parkrun. Mel did a re-run but can’t blame sunscreen for missing the windmill. Confused? Well, add a late breaking blog post, a Wentworth Common (opens in a new tab) roving report and a hill climbing Intern, and maybe you’re in the ball park.

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

Roving reports

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Simon Mackley on Quandamooka Country, officially joining the team for a regular third-Monday slot, with Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country. They confirm PALM 2024 will be in Toowoomba on 13 April, with Eman on the ground for local knowledge and Simon heading there in a couple of weeks for a South East Queensland ambassadors catch-up. Simon missed parkrun after sunscreen in his eye the day before; Mel was at Diamond Creek (event 437, 239 runners) on Wurundjeri land for Craig Ryan's 250th with TOC, Jacqui O'Connell and Mel Fletcher, brunch at the Vines Cafe, and still no sighting of the course's Windmill House; Streaky September is a week away with audio from Pippa.

• Streaky September starts at 7:27

  Simon crosses to the first of Pippa's weekly Streaky September inserts ahead of the 2023 season, a week and a bit out from the start. Pippa sets the challenge, two kilometres of running or walking a day (a little more on the bike, a little less swimming, or call it 30 minutes) every day of the 30-day month, starting a minute after midnight, asks returners to reflect on last year and set a target, and dates the challenge to "around 2018-ish", predating both the pandemic and Mel and Ollie. Melissa confirms Pippa will bring Streaky September news every week from here.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 9:38

  Melissa reads a late-breaking parkrun blog post, "Changes to the Nordic Special Day Events", noting up front that it was read after the Monday-evening recording because it dropped on Monday UK time. The Nordics move to a single joint special day on Ascension Day (Thursday 9 May 2024) after 2023's separate national days drew unmanageable crowds, 300 in Finland, 500 in Norway, close to 1,500 each in Denmark and Sweden, with 644 at Amager Strandpark on 5 June and 727 the day after, raising permit, capacity and duty-of-care issues. No other countries' special days change.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 17:34

  One report this week: Action Man (Alistair) at Wentworth Common parkrun in Sydney Olympic Park, interviewing local parkrunner Clara about the course, her top three events and why visitors should come. Simon adds that he loved Wentworth Common when he visited a couple of months ago, and that his former Mossman co-ED Mary is now one of the Run Directors at Galston.

• Dazza's starts at 23:19

  World Photography Day edition. Posts read out from Billo (Matthew Billington), with Roberta standing alone under the RD; Brett Bailey at Pegasus in New Zealand, 98 parkrunners in a daffodil theme for a Cancer Society fundraiser on his 150th; Greg Garner timekeeping at Wes Mitchell Park with Tin Can Bay behind; the Office Lady Sam Schroder's plan-E trip to Panania with Luke, Asher and Evie, where Brendan Peel made it after a cancelled flight; Helen Davis's 250th at Frank Keenan; Andrew at Kadina Trail for Dave Allmark's 100th volunteer; Geoff Glaab's 100th volunteer as Tail Walker at Joe Creason in the US; Booz Dayton at Hamsterley Forest with the Gruffalo and Pooh Sticks Bridge; Chris and Karen Gore completing their self-invented Nor'wester Challenge at Hampton Oval; and Andrew Turner's first South African parkrun at Zandvlei. Extra mentions for Joyce Adams posting from Roosevelt Island and Andy Airey's wife's sixth alphabet.

• the Obi Award — Geoff Glaab starts at 32:00

  Melissa has the envelope in hand this week (a running gag about lost envelopes and post-it notes) and awards the Obi to Geoff Glaab, a repeat winner, for his World Photography Day post from Joe Creason parkrun in the US, a photo of himself with V100 foil balloons, marking his 100th volunteer occasion as Tail Walker in a field of 39. She notes it was probably a close draw with all the 100-volunteer club members posting this week.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 32:55

  For Saturday 19 August (Melissa corrects herself from the 12th): of 448 members, 348 took part in seven countries across 186 locations. Thirty UK events, three in South Africa, two in the US, one each in Germany and Ireland; locally 42 in New South Wales, 40 in Queensland, 34 in Victoria, 12 in South Australia, seven in WA, five on the North Island, four in the ACT, two each in Tasmania and the South Island and one in the Northern Territory. Largest gatherings: Knowsley and Merthyr with two each internationally, Shellharbour with nine, Casula with seven and Diamond Creek with six.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 35:42"Where is the cake?"

  Five launches worldwide. Jakes Point parkrun at Kalbarri, WA (21 participants, six volunteers, two laps out and back on a sealed coastal path); Lavender Mill parkrun outside Middelburg in Mpumalanga, South Africa, covered in a pre-recorded piece by Johan, replacing the closed Middelburg parkrun; Aberfields in Wales (180 participants); Wisbech in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire (129 participants); and Lackawanna Rail Trail at Elmira, New York State, with two finishers, which the hosts think is the first event in New York State.

• Sign-off starts at 40:02

  Mel said it was time to look forward and they took Streaky September Bingoe card suggestions - the intern asked for hill-climbing challenges as training for the Punish and Mount Panorama's 174 metres of elevation, Mel suggested returning to an event for a second time, and Simon suggested volunteering in a role you have never done - with more welcome by email before the card is made. Simon said he was heading back to Sydney for the third weekend running, to Whalan on Darug Country, to complete his Rayfarers, the 30-event regional challenge named for Cathy Ray; Mel was taking her little green car on a long drive to Parkindula Reserve parkrun near Mount Barker in South Australia for its event 17, hoping to say cooee to Anne Fry. Mel thanked Simon, noted he was on the roster for the third Monday of the month, and closed with the Facebook and email contacts.

• Streaky September starts at 40:07

  Bingo-card planning for the coming Streaky September. Only one listener submission arrived, a clip from the Intern, training for the Punish on Mount Panorama's 174 metres of elevation, asking for seven or eight hill-climbing challenges; Melissa agrees to one hill square. She adds a square for returning to an event for a second time (picking up the re-index discussion earlier in the show) and Simon suggests volunteering in a role you have never done. Submissions still open; the card has not been made yet.