Episode 403 - In the Poo

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HostsMelissa Ellis Tony O'Connell

Roving reportersLyndell Murray Ruth Perkins Tracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

Mel and Toc are back talking s#*t this week – so you know there is going to be laughs. We have two roving reports from Samford Parklands (opens in a new tab) parkrun and another from Ruth Perkins at 名城公園 parkrun - Meijo koen (opens in a new tab) in Nagoya, Japan. Dazza's has all the elegance of a Melbourne Cup field, there is a plethora of launches to announce, plus Mel has another big idea! You better tune in if you want to hear all about it!

Abdul-Raouf veered marginally from tradition at Mundy Regional (opens in a new tab) parkrun event #222.

From the podcast feed

Mel and Toc are back talking s#*t this week – so you know there is going to be laughs. We have two roving reports from Samford Parklands (opens in a new tab) and another from Ruth Perkins at Meijo Koen (opens in a new tab) parkrun in Nagoya, Japan. Dazza’s has all the elegance of a Melbourne Cup field, there is a plethora of launches to announce, plus Mel has another big idea! You better tune in if you want to hear all about it.

Roving reports

1·2Samford Parklands and Samford Parklands3Meijo koen

In this episode

• Tribute starts at 0:01

  Before the theme music, Pippa White the Streakmeister pays tribute to Christine Imbert, a world tourist who had died of cancer after 461 parkruns at 378 locations, 54 of them alongside Pippa. Mel notes on air that the audio was deliberately played before the music.

• Welcome starts at 1:57

  Tony O'Connell on Bunurong Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country open episode 403 straight after the Streakmeister's tribute, which Mel notes was played before the music. Both remember meeting Christine Imbert themselves: Mel in Malaysia in September 2019 doing freedom runs at Taman Pudu Ulu and Presint 18 Putrajaya with friend of the pod Harry, and TOC at Andy Airey's pizza night in Copenhagen and Sweden's special day at Växjö during last year's European trip.

• Emails starts at 4:36

  Listener feedback slot: Michael George on Abbott's ownership and the Shanghai major, Simon owning up to crossing wires between UTMB and the Abbott World Marathon Majors, Michael Lyttle on koalas at Cormorant Bay, Lyndell Murray recalling her pirate-tongue roving report from Cormorant Bay in episode 183, and Yvette Turner asking for another round of adventurer shirt orders. Read here from show-notes comments and messages rather than emails proper.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 11:28

  Announced on air as 'news and discussion': Budgie the travelling mascot's updated itinerary via Heather Hunter, Nick Griggs' 13:44 all-time male parkrun record at Belfast Victoria and the hosts' complaint that parkrun HQ had not acknowledged it (with a later inserted edit noting HQ did post about it on the Monday), a defibrillator passed on by Newborough parkrun to the local tennis club being used successfully, and the all-capitals 'collegiate wear' merchandise range.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 19:37

  Melissa Ellis throws to the roving reporters. Three reports: Tracey Wood and Lyndell Murray both at Samford Parklands parkrun on the same morning, and Ruth Perkins at Meijo Koen parkrun in Nagoya. TOC and Mel recap them.

• Dazza's starts at 38:46

  World Freedom Day post plus this week's listener challenge - work Melbourne Cup horse names into your post. Contributions from Jo McLean (NSW), Calum Burrell at Macclesfield, Yvette Turner at Casula Parklands, Abdul at Mundy Regional in a giant turd costume, Tracy Jensen at Portland, Ruth Perkins pacing Harrogate's 600th, Fiona Mullen at Ecco Ripley and Mark Walls at Central Lakes.

• the Obi Award — Abdul-Raouf Mohamed-Isa starts at 45:03

  The 'Obilope' is opened for the week's winner - 'Who was first past the post this week?' Abdul takes it for running Mundy Regional parkrun, described as the hardest parkrun in Australia, dressed as a giant turd, and for the photo that went with it. The win also seeds next week's poo-emoji listener challenge and the episode title.

• Club Corner starts at 45:51

  Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III on additional parkrun days (formerly special days/events): January 1st worldwide plus one region-specific day - Christmas Day in Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the UK, the second day of Christmas in Poland, Thanksgiving in the USA, German Unity Day, Malaysia Day, Singapore's National Day, Canada Day, Ascension Day for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, Whit Monday in the Netherlands, Greenery Day in Japan and Freedom Day in South Africa. No time-shifting is allowed any more, and he asks listeners not to pester event teams about Christmas Day plans before the declaration date.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 51:18

  For Saturday 9 November 2024: of 712 members, 528 took part in six countries across 268 locations - 55 UK events, nine South Africa, one Germany, one Norway; Queensland and New South Wales tied on 49, Victoria 47, Western Australia 21, South Australia 12, Tasmania 10, ACT five, four each on New Zealand's North and South Islands and one in the Northern Territory. No one at Bushy this week.

• the Frond starts at 52:22

  Largest international frond at Macclesfield in the UK (Lee Stott, Sadiq Damour, Gabby Lipshin, Calum Burrell, with Lindsay volunteering). In Australia, 11 at The Ponds and 10 at Shellharbour, with the two eights singled out: Albert Melbourne (Russell Johnson, Adrian Homburg, Jane Brien, Anthony Patterson, Julie Doolin, Sue Gittins, Amanda Lake, Jonathan Morgan) and Tuggeranong (Kristy Hill, Anthony and Faye Powell, Rebecca Gordon, Rosie Aloe, Peter Thomson, Kevin Pickup, Gary Labretton).

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 54:23"Where is the cake?"

  A plethora of launches: Workman's Beach (Agnes Water, QLD) 181 finishers and 19 volunteers; Emerald Lake (Victoria) 198 and 12; Rinko Park (Yokohama, Japan) 43 finishers and 20 volunteers; Sabine (Rome's third parkrun, Italy) 27 and eight; Ryan Bonaminio (Riverside, USA) 33 finishers, 18 of them first-timers, and four volunteers; Cockermouth Greenway (Cumbria, UK) 137 participants; plus an honourable mention for Heiwa koen Kurashino mori in Japan, delayed a week by the typhoon warning.

• parkrun adventure challenge starts at 59:50listener challenge

  Next week's listener challenge is set: in honour of Abdul's costume, find creative ways to work the poo/turd emoji politely into a Dazza's post. This week's challenge, judged in Dazza's, had been Melbourne Cup horse names.

• Sign-off starts at 1:04:28

  Where the hosts are heading next parkrun day: Melissa Ellis to Louis Hamon Park parkrun at Numurkah, Victoria - which turns out to be TOC's birthplace - while TOC's plans are still undecided around a house build.