Episode 353 - Mel’s a dot

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HostsMelissa Ellis Tony O'Connell

Roving reporterBec Bailey

Show notes

It’s the ABC episode – All ‘bout Collingwood! TOC joins Mel on Level 2 to recap the weekend’s parkrun party at Batemans Bay (opens in a new tab), explain dots, and admit that Keto cupcakes taste rather good! Rachel’s back, Dazza hosts the prematch parkrun function, and Pippa wraps up Streaky September.

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

Roving reports

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:12

  Opens with a snatch of the Collingwood theme song, then Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country and TOC (Tony O'Connell) on Bunurong Country, joking about Germany and the Magpies' grand final win. Mel recaps a weekend north with Andrew Johnston and Martine Barrot: big things at Euroa, Glenrowan and Canberra, the Mint, finding the pink gnome Floyd at Floriade, then Batemans Bay parkrun (event 322, 174 participants, on Walbanga Country of the Yuin Nation) where she fell one second short of a post-pandemic sub-30, brunch at JJ's, and watching Collingwood win the premiership from a Queanbeyan motel; Ollie was spotted RDing at Shellharbour in the Collingwood socks she sent him.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 8:19

  Bec Bailey's field audio from Batemans Bay parkrun, capturing the surprise gathering for Melissa Ellis's 400th parkrun at her 200th different event. She interviews TOC and Jackie, Sam and Luke Schroder, Sarah and Matt, Andrew and Martine, and finally Mel herself.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 30:05

  TOC runs through eight Australian events that broke their attendance records in one weekend, Warragul, Rooty Hill, Launceston, Jakes Point, Dorset Recreation Reserve, Dolls Point, Christies Beach and Carine Glades, noting Launceston did it at event 526, boosted by a Clifford Craig Foundation heart-health group, and reflecting on Australian growth from 42 events and 5,611 finishers ten years ago to 464 events and 60,000 finishers this weekend.

• Streaky September starts at 39:17

  TOC hands over to Pippa for her closing comments on the month. Pippa reports a second injured September, three first-time streakers she recruited (including her daughter), an unfinished Bingoe card, and signs off "See you next year". Mel completed the month with 10,000 steps and a minimum 3K a day.

• Dazza's — Holly Pleasance starts at 41:32

  Grand-final-themed listener posts read out by Mel and TOC: Errol Poole at White Rock, Holly Pleasance and six others in tartan at Warwick, Renata Koch at Parramatta's 500th, Margie Lewis and Katie Young tail walking, Carmel Rowe at Mitchelton, Cheryl Loves Raymond back four weeks after a hip replacement for her 150th at Port Macquarie, Chris Gore on the Team Gore send-off at Shipwreck, Joanne Blackbird at Tallangatta Station, and Calum Burrell at Lister Park, Bradford. Winner announced off TOC's post-it note.

• Emails starts at 49:09

  Three emails: Cathy Crispin on Rocky, the painted-rock mascot of Panania parkrun; Scott Earl ("Scott Aeroplanes") promoting the Great Auckland 7 parkrun Challenge on 7 October; and Renata Koch on another hard-to-pronounce Polish launch, with a voice file of the correct pronunciation attached.

• Club Corner starts at 53:37

  Rachel explains 'headlining', the term that has replaced 'takeover days' for a group or club filling all the volunteer roles at an event, and why the change emphasises that parkrun still owns the event. Followed by studio chat about takeovers the hosts have been part of.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 56:52

  Saturday 30 September 2023: of 473 members, 375 took part in 13 countries across 194 locations. Largest international frond at Riemer, Germany (Mark, Nicole, Elise and James Scarborough, with James equalling his PB); locally two events with 10 participants, one of them Batemans Bay with Matthew Stevens.

• Adventurers PBs starts at 58:34

  A new addition to the Consolidated Club Report: all-time PBs by adventurers who list the parkrun adventurers as one of their five clubs. This week Gavin Porter at Cleethorpes and Manish Bindaroo at The Ponds "got to ring the bell".

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 59:23"Where is the cake?"

  Five launches: Bahnstadt Promenade (Heidelberg, Germany, 131 finishers), Sunset Hills Shitasanbashi (near Sakura, Japan, 45 finishers and 20 first-timers), Groene Ster (Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 33 finishers), Młynówka Królewska (Poland, no stats yet) and Baysgarth Park (Barton-upon-Humber, UK, 80 finishers), all landing just in time for parkrun's 19th birthday on 2 October.

• Sign-off starts at 1:03:03

  Mel said she had another flight and was heading to New South Wales, thinking she would check out Parramatta, a top-100 list event; TOC said they would travel a long way just up the road to Inverloch, staying close to home because Victoria had bushfires burning with towns evacuated and a flood alert issued for the Wednesday. They then wished Oliver Spake a happy birthday for the coming Saturday, a milestone birthday falling on parkrun day, before TOC gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.