Episode 379 - R2-RD
2024-05-09
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Simon Mackley
Roving reportersAlison Fraser (King) Johan Duvenhage Tracey Wood
Show notes
From the Facebook post
Tatooine in and hear Mel and Simon recap Bells Parade (opens in a new tab) and Kedron, as well as the galaxy of launches and roving reports from across the universe (Victoria junior parkrun in Glasgow, Walvis Bay (opens in a new tab) in Namibia and Warwick (opens in a new tab) in Qld).
Then Rachel brings us some clubs from around the cantina. It's a longer one this time, for an adventure far, far away.
From the podcast feed
Tatooine in and hear Mel and Simon recap Bells Parade (opens in a new tab) and Kedron, as well as the galaxy of launches and roving reports from across the universe (Victoria juniors in Glasgow, Walvis Bay (opens in a new tab) in Namibia and Warwick (opens in a new tab) in Qld). Then Rachel brings us some clubs from around the cantina. It’s a longer one this time, for an adventure far, far away.
Listen
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptRoving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:23
Simon Mackley on Quandamooka Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, their first chat since Palm. Simon recounts his first international parkrun at Futakotamagawa on parkrun Japan's sixth birthday during a late white cherry blossom, meeting up with Vicky, the whole kit in one backpack, then Kedron last Saturday with its fast course records. Mel went to Bells Parade in Latrobe, Tasmania, with Andrew and Martine to see Steve and Val Warwick volunteering, brunched at Bally's with Amanda Bales and watched the end of the Collingwood-Carlton game, shares Andrew Johnston's Jetstar Bingo and Calum Burrell's note that Burnage also sits on a Mersey; Bonza's voluntary administration may upset adventurers' plans. Coming up: held-over roving reports, the Consolidated Club Report back in operation, Dazza's, launches and Rachel's return.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 24:21
Melissa hands over to three held-over roving reports: Alison Fraser (King) volunteering at Victoria Junior parkrun in Glasgow on the 10th anniversary of junior parkrun in Scotland; Johan Duvenhage hosting the parkrun World Tourist Group's Africa meetup at Walvis Bay, Namibia; and Tracey Wood at Warwick, Queensland. Simon and Melissa recap all three, including a fact-check that the Murray, not the Condamine, is Australia's longest river.
Dazza's starts at 46:47
A May the 4th Star Wars-themed run through 177 Facebook comments: Gemma Kajewski's 400th at Nightcliff (completing the Peel, Oberg and Compass clubs), Chris Gore in Jedi costume at Bibra Lake, Anne Frye's Tatooine Suns jersey at Mount Barker's 500th, Heather Morgan at Queen Elizabeth in Hampshire, Ryan Stoddart at Jeune Park and on Channel 7 News, Johan at Swakopmund, Tim Robbins at Byxbee, Dawn Branton's second alphabet at Zuiderpark Den Haag, Renata Koch's stopwatch bingo at Werrington Lakes Reserve, Marg Prowse at Trebeck Reserve, Vicky Smith at Wyndham Vale, Jackie Hancock as 'R2-RD' in New Zealand, and Linda Coombes at Launceston.
the Obi Award — Jackie Hancock starts at 56:08
The Obi Award (opened from what the hosts call an 'Obilope') goes to Jackie Hancock of New Zealand, who ran Director duty dressed as 'R2-RD' for May the 4th and got twenty Star Wars quotes into her run briefing - the outfit that gives episode 379 its title.
Club Corner starts at 57:23
Rachel's history of the Compass Club - named in Australia by 'the other Mel' around 2017 for the geographically most northern, southern, eastern and western events, and the arguments about course extremities that were settled by using parkrun HQ's official start coordinates. Currently north is Nightcliff, south Geeveston, east Kingscliff and west Marina. She contrasts it with the less contentious Explorer Club (collecting events with North, South, East and West in the name) and the 'Cardinal' title that never caught on, closing with her standard reminder that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial.
Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:04:56
For Saturday 4 May 2024: of 630 members, 454 took part in 10 countries across 254 locations. The UK topped the leaderboard with 52 events, pipping New South Wales by one; then Victoria 42, Queensland 38, South Australia 15, WA 12, Tasmania 6, ACT and North Island 5, Northern Territory 2, South Island 1. Simon and Melissa flag a 154/15 typo on air.
the Frond — James Avery (spoken variously as James Very / James Ferry), Andy and Debbie Airey and Rhiannon Taylor at Henley-on-Thames starts at 1:06:38
Largest frond internationally was at Henley-on-Thames parkrun - a name the hosts read variously as James Very, James Avery and James Ferry, plus Andy and Debbie Airey and Rhiannon Taylor. Largest frond locally, after Melissa deliberately skipped the usual suspects, was six adventurers at Cooks River: Bill and Yvette Turner, Bill Troy, Andrew Blanda, and Peter and Michael Thomson.
Pilgrimage — Andrea Booth starts at 1:07:01
A brand-new statistic Melissa introduces on air - adventurers who make it to Bushy parkrun, the original event. This week's two pilgrims were Andrea Booth, who described three buses, luggage storage and seeing deer, and Anne Croydon, a local of Simon's from the Redland Bay area.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:08:30"Where is the cake?"
Five launches worldwide: Purcell in Harrisonburg, Virginia (34 finishers, 18 first-timers, 5 volunteers); Morrissey Park in Illinois (44 finishers, 68% first-timers, 9 volunteers, a four-and-a-half-lap course); Loftsgardsbrua in central Norway (29 finishers, 6 volunteers, riverbank cycleway); Ottawa-Carleton Trailway in Canada, the fifth event in the Ottawa area (109 finishers, 11 volunteers); and the week's largest, Glenfarne Wood in Ireland (194 finishers, 24 volunteers).
Sign-off starts at 1:11:23
Simon asked where Mel was going next parkrun day; she said her show notes read 'NFI', that it was her at-home week so she would not travel far, and that she would probably look at her P index locations to lift one of her eights to a nine, joking she could be swayed by a party or keto cupcakes. Simon said he thought he would go to Greenbank, a new one for him that had been closed and reopened a few times with flooding, or stay local and decide on Friday. After some banter about colour clubs and whether there is a 'white' parkrun, Mel thanked him for joining her and closed with the Facebook and email contacts and 'that's it for another week'.