Episode 355 - Mimosas and Jell shots

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HostsMelissa Ellis Simon Mackley

Show notes

Simon‘s in the co-host chair this week after visiting the greatest state for a J, while Melissa enjoyed a refreshing post-wedding run closer to home. We discuss the release of the Christmas compendium and back-end changes to some parkrun metrics, and the Birthday Boy brings all November’s highlights.

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

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country and Simon Mackley back on Quandamooka Country after a Melbourne trip for a Bliss n Eso concert. Mel's daughter got married on the Mornington Peninsula (unscripted recap), then she ran a wet, windy Rosebud parkrun with her sister Cassie followed by morning mimosas at a theatre-themed wine bar, and RD'd Eynesbury juniors on Sunday with eight kids and visiting volunteers from Thorndon juniors. Simon Ubered to Jells for his J, among about 40 first-timers mostly from Brisbane for marathon weekend, arriving half an hour early on Brisbane time, and stood near listener Andrea without meeting her.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 10:57

  Simon opens with "let's have a look at news and discussion". Two items: parkrun has released the Christmas Compendium, with both Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on a Monday in 2023 and event teams under no obligation to put on an event, anything not declared by Monday 11 December shows as not taking place (parkrun.com.au/special-events/ or the 5K app under Utilities > Special Events); as of that afternoon 47 events had said yes to Christmas Day and 40 no, 50 yes to New Year's Day and 35 no. Second item: the "most events" tables have been rebased, Australia doubled from 20 to 40 different events, the UK from 20 to 50, New Zealand dropped from 20 to 10, and no country now sits at the old 20 line. Includes the hosts' Christmas Day traditions (Melissa: Frog Hollow, now Toolern Creek).

• Dazza's starts at 15:40

  Dazza's prompt was Adventure Day, Dessert Day, Chess Day and Universal Music Day, drawing 173 comments. Read out: Helen Rutter (WI13 at Ashington Community Woodland parkrun, completing the North East England region, 71% age grade, fastest post-pandemic run); Craig Ryan (pilgrimage to Bushy parkrun with Rebecca, who finished 1,200th of 1,328); Adrian Royce (proposed to Lynette at Wishart parkrun on his 500th, with video), corroborated by Michael Lyttle who also flagged John White's 250th; Mark Scarborough (Wöhrder See parkrun, Nuremberg, his 50th different parkrun course, with Amanda the Riverbank ED there); Heather Hunter (Albert Melbourne parkrun with almost 700 others, 55 first-timers, photo with Albert the Black Swan; adventurer Thomas Martin first finisher); Sue Smith (mini Frond at Chipping Norton's 200th, plus Andrew in his new adventurers singlet); Claire Corkill (cupcakes for Jack Corkill's 250th at Mt Penang).

• the Obi Award — Mark Scarborough starts at 22:02

  Melissa opens the envelope and announces the winner: "The Obi goes to Mark Scarborough over there at Wöhrder See parkrun", his post from Nuremberg, Germany marking his 50th different parkrun course. The hosts follow it with a joking plea for the travelling Scarboroughs to send in a roving report from overseas.

• the Birthday Boy starts at 22:56

  Pre-recorded monthly rundown for November 2023, delivered in character by the Birthday Boy. Four parkrun days (4th, 11th, 18th, 25th); around 40 events celebrating something, with the standard caveat to check the local event page. Albert parkrun Melbourne joins the 12 Club as the nation's third event and the first in a second Australian state. First anniversaries: Jurien Bay Foreshore (WA, 11th) and Prince of Wales (Victoria, 18th). Three events reaching parkrun independence: South Bank and Sandgate (Queensland) and Launceston (Tasmania). Three tenth anniversaries: Maitland (NSW), Diamond Creek (Victoria) and Minnippi (Queensland). Also flags events delayed from 2020 finally starting: Our Park (Tasmania), Garvey Park (WA) and Centenary (Queensland). Signs off pointing listeners to Mel and "hopefully, Ollie" with requests.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 26:27

  CCR for Saturday 14 October 2023: 477 members (flat on last week), 366 took part in seven countries across 191 locations. UK 30 events; two each in Italy and the USA, one each in Germany and South Africa. Locally: NSW 41, Queensland 40, Victoria 36, WA none, SA eight, ACT and North Island six each, Tasmania four, South Island three, NT two. Internationally four at Ashington Community Woodland (Patricia and Andy Rutter, Graham Wilkinson, Claire Vinicich) and four at Wöhrder See, Nuremberg (the Scarborough family). Fronds: nine at Shellharbour; six at Campbelltown (Sam and Luke Schroder, Roberta Winters, Jan Yates, Sherry Brandtman, Amy Miller) and six at Parkville (Tracy Jensen, Adrian Homburg, Scott Trickett, Julie Wells, Julie and Gordon Turner). One adventurer PB: Caroline Richardson, 25:38 at Elliott Heads Beach. Milestones: Jack Corkill 250th, Malcolm Peaty 100th, Natalie Burke 50th.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 29:51"Where is the cake?"

  Four launches this week. Australia: Two Rivers Wines parkrun at Denman, NSW (~250km north of Sydney), a single-lap trail course at a winery with views of the Hunter River, 114 participants and 25 first-timers. UK: Aston Hall, Birmingham (two-times-two laps of adjacent fields, 67 participants, one first-timer); Tamworth Castle Grounds, Tamworth Staffordshire (two laps of concrete and tarmac, views of the rivers Anker and Tame, the castle, the snow dome and a scale solar system, 200 participants, five first-timers); and Worden parkrun in Worden Park, Leyland (two laps from the Folly Coffee House past football pitches, woodland singletrack, a mini railway and a maze, may not suit buggies, 217 runners and eight first-timers).

• Sign-off starts at 33:50

  Simon said he could not join the Panorama Punish because he lived in Queensland now and had a cousin's wedding, and would run to and from Kirra parkrun for the fourth or fifth time; Mel said that rather than repeat Bathurst she was going to Orange, a new event for her, about which she knew nothing but the name. They then spent several minutes on the koala statues near Kirra, with Simon looking up that they were the Animals with Attitude Gold Coast Sculpture Trail, 40 of them placed between 2013 and 2015 as a fundraiser for Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, before Mel invited listeners to play spotto and Simon gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.