Episode 409 - Give us a hug

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HostsMelissa Ellis Simon Mackley

Roving reportersAlison Fraser (King) Lyndell Murray Paul Kitching

Show notes

From the Facebook post

Simon's back from leave to join Mel on Level Two. While he recaps his holiday break, the roving reporters join in from Ashburton Domain (opens in a new tab) parkrun, North Harbour (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Queens Domain (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Plus, there was a swather of launches across the world. Listen in and remember to look out for the listener challenge.

- Chris Ruys made the pilgrimage (and brought the Adventurers shirt!) to Bushy (opens in a new tab) parkrun.

From the podcast feed

Simon’s back from leave to join Mel on Level Two. While he recaps his holiday break, the roving reporters join in from Ashburton Domain (opens in a new tab), North Harbour (opens in a new tab) and Queens Domain (opens in a new tab) parkruns. Plus, there was a swather of launches across the world. Listen in and remember to look out for the listener challenge.

Roving reports

1Ashburton Domain2North Harbour3Queens Domain

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Simon Mackley on Quandamooka Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, Mel standing in for Sarah Jefferson while everyone waits on baby news. Simon recaps his Christmas run of Brisbane events (Scribbly Gums, Paradise Point, Pallara, Cleveland, Meadowbrook and a muddy Nathan Road Sports Ground), names S.S. Koopa Trail as his nearest not-yet-done event, aims for ten new events a year and marks 13 years since his first parkrun at St Peters; Mel did Dixon Field event 91 with Dave, Belinda and Andrea Booth, missed stopwatch bingo by a second again, and RD'd Eynesbury juniors' fourth birthday with 38 kids. Feedback from Calum Burrell that Claire Winozik is also in the parkrun calendar, then 22 Australian attendance records including a national record of 1,316 at Melbourne and a 258-week record falling at Altona Beach.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 15:42

  Melissa Ellis throws to the week's roving reports "we have some more roving reports to bring you this week. So let's throw to those now." Three back-to-back reports follow: Alison at Ashburton Domain parkrun (New Zealand) with ED Brendan Adams; Lyndell Murray at North Harbour parkrun (Queensland) with RD Charmaine; and PK at Queens Domain parkrun (Hobart, Tasmania) with ED Nick. The hosts recap all three.

• Dazza's starts at 31:21

  Dazza's post marks National Gourmet Coffee Day and invites coffee-themed weekend reports. Contributions read out: Vicky Smith (volunteering at Launceston, new record of 507 participants); Laura Amos (Amos family touristing to Launceston); Yvette Turner (she and husband Bill volunteered at Gungahlin, Bill's 50th volunteer as Run Director, and they hugged a volunteer); Rex Gream (meeting Amelia Griffo again at Birdsland Reserve after first meeting her at Rock Creek Trail parkrun, Portland Oregon); Ali Sheppard (timekeeping with her friend at Ingrebourne Hill, hugging each other); Adrian Luscombe (London's newest and 65th event, Ingrebourne Hill). Several posts respond to last week's listener challenge to hug a volunteer, which is where the episode title comes from.

• the Obi Award — Chris Roos starts at 35:59

  Melissa asks "But what about a winner? Simon and Obi, do you have an envelope?" and Simon announces the winner without saying why - "I'm going to have to keep listening to find out why." The reason is revealed later: he completed the Bushy parkrun pilgrimage, volunteered as pacer there and posted about it in Dazza's - "And that, my friends, is why he won the Obi." His surname is rendered two different ways in the episode, said one way at the announcement and another in the Frond segment.

• Emails starts at 36:24

  The slot is reached and passed over: "And we have no emails this week. Boo." Earlier in the show the hosts appeal for international news by email from UK, South African and New Zealand listeners.

• Club Corner starts at 36:27

  Melissa hands over "it's time for us to throw to Reginald for Club Corner". Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III returns after the summer break and resumes the volunteer-roles series begun by his predecessor in September 2024, covering Pacer (5k-only role, no pacers at junior parkrun, two schools of thought on pacing style) and Marshal (wayfinder, guidepost, safety watcher and cheerleader; at junior events marshals stand no more than 100m apart with line of sight). He closes with the standing reminder that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun. Simon and Melissa discuss their own pacing and marshalling records afterwards.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 40:03

  Melissa reads the adventurers Consolidated Club Report for Saturday 18 January 2025: of 735 members, 549 took part in 10 countries across 284 locations. UK 59 events; South Africa 6; Germany and Poland 2 each; Canada, Japan, Singapore and Sweden 1 each. Locally the greater state and Queensland tied on 50, New South Wales 45, Western Australia and South Australia tied on 19, Tasmania 12, North Island and ACT tied on 7, South Island and Northern Territory tied on 1. A "bowling strike" - every region represented.

• the Frond — Birtinya Island parkrun - largest frond (16); Simmons Park parkrun, UK - largest international frond starts at 41:11

  Largest international frond was at Simmons Park in the UK (Andy Airey, Colin Hare, Nadesh Rada, Kim Leonard and Sammy Gerrish), with Andy's Dazza's post about the 400km coach round trip to Devon. The pilgrimage went to Chris Ruse, who ran 28:46 at Bushy parkrun in position 840. Largest frond overall was 16 at Birtinya Island parkrun (posted by Sherry Martin), followed by 10 at Sir James Mitchell and 7 at Launceston.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 44:03"Where is the cake?"

  Ten launches worldwide. Australia: Waikerie Wetlands (SA), Sir James Mitchell (WA, south of Perth on the Swan River - Andrew Yeatman photographing, handing the mascot to Alex Turner), Mareeba Rail Trail (QLD, west of Cairns - linked back to episode 357 and bagpipe-playing GP Nathan), and Pembroke (Tasmania, north of Hobart Airport, long awaited). South Africa: a lodge event north of Cape Town whose name Simon fumbles, and Biki Byte southwest of Johannesburg. Germany: Krupunder See, west of Hamburg. UK: Oaklands College east of St Albans, Black Rocks northwest of Derby, and Vicar Water Country. Anniversaries noted elsewhere in the show: St Peters parkrun's 13th birthday and the fourth birthday of the junior event Melissa run-directed on the Sunday.

• Social Adventurers starts at 46:59

  Reminder that the adventurers are entering a team for the Bellarine Sunset Run at Portarlington on 8 February - 21k, 10k and 4k distances, walkers welcome, early-bird start for the 21k - with the group also doing Portarlington parkrun that morning. Team name is The adventurers. Followed by a reminder that the adventurers shirt portal stays open until 7 February.

• parkrun adventure challenge starts at 48:26listener challenge

  Melissa sets next week's challenge: listeners should jump onto their podcast apps, leave a review and a five-star rating, and help spread the word about the podcast. Last week's challenge - hug a volunteer - ran through Dazza's this week and gives the episode its title.

• Sign-off starts at 48:56

  After setting the listener challenge, asking listeners to review the podcast in their podcast apps to spread the word, Simon asked where Mel was heading: Mel and Dave were off to Sale in Gippsland, a fourth visit after once in 2016 and twice in 2018, an event she rates highly for Victorian tourists. Simon was hoping for Harmony Boulevard on the Sunshine Coast, close to the new Birtinya Island, which he wanted to leave to settle down and give the volunteers a rest. Mel said she would be back with TOC next week with baby news hoped for, thanked Simon for stepping in for Sarah, and gave the Facebook and email contacts.