Episode 412 - Another One Bites the Dust

— open the full-size cover

HostsMelissa Ellis Tony O'Connell

Roving reportersAli Sheppard Lyndell Murray Ruth Perkins

Show notes

From the Facebook post

All the fun was on the Bellarine this week with Mel partying at Portarlington, and TOC travelling down via Emerald Lake (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Coincidentally, we have a roving report from Emerald Lake (opens in a new tab) as well as one from St Albans (opens in a new tab) in the UK and Neckarufer in Germany. Plus - all the usual banter. There's even an announcement at the end. The clue is in the title. I'm not saying it's a good clue…

- Chris and Karen Gore regained their WA statespersonship with views of the Perth skyline at Sir James Mitchell (opens in a new tab) parkrun.

From the podcast feed

All the fun was on the Bellarine this week with Mel partying at Portarlington, and TOC travelling down via Emerald Lake (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Coincidentally, we have a roving report from Emerald Lake (opens in a new tab) as well as one from St. Albans in the UK and Neckarufer in Germany. Plus - all the usual banter. There’s even an announcement at the end. The clue is in the title. I’m not saying it’s a good clue…

Roving reports

1St Albans2Emerald Lake3Neckarufer, Esslingen

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  TOC on Boon Wurrung Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, noting the podcast is in its tenth year, with milder weather at last, Victorian fires under control and Queensland floods hopefully receding. TOC re-indexed Emerald Lake's hillier B course, walking with the regular parkrun kids, for an event ambassador catch-up and a fellow parkrunner's Freyne Club (250 unique events); Mel walked event 323 at Portarlington on Wathaurong Country with Dave and Debbie Jessop, then both ran the Bellarine Sunset Run (TOC and Craig Ryan the half, Mel the 10K, with a calf massage afterwards) and lamented that a Victorian PALM experiment drew only three Queenslanders. Feedback on Mel's musical club idea from Warwick, Alison King, Tracy Leiper, Sunil Chamund and Ali Sheppard (Harmony Boulevard, Drumchapel, Drumpellier Country, Tooting Common, plus wine and animal farm club suggestions), which spun into a mythical creatures club with Yowie, Phoenix and Pegasus.

• Budgie update starts at 13:26

  Melissa Ellis gives a "Budgie update", the travelling mascot Budgie is confirmed to be in the UK via a Dazza's post from Gareth Arnold, photographed with the pop-up and Budgie's pencil case at Oakwell Hall parkrun.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 17:35

  Melissa Ellis hands over: "Something else we're keeping our eye on, though, is our roving reporters. And we've got three for you now." Three back-to-back reports follow, Ruth Perkins at St Albans (UK), Lyndell Murray at Emerald Lake (Vic) and Ali Sheppard at Neckarufer (Germany), with TOC recapping all three.

• Dazza's starts at 43:23

  Listener milestone shout-outs read by both hosts, opening "it's storytelling week". Posts from Monty Slade (100 Marathon Club), Bernadette Bennett (Broken Hill Racecourse), Andy Poole (Templemore, international alphabet), Catherine Pirotta (Rouse Hill), Sheridan Davis (Seaview), Chris Gore (Sir James Mitchell, regaining WA statesman status), Andy Airey (Cieszyn, Poland), Ali Sheppard (Neckarufer), Nana Vicky Smith (Torrens), Nick Graney (Warringal) and Johan Duvenhage (Inibos, South Africa, v300 and v-index 17). An off-script aside congratulates "Dave", the Equal Opportunity employee, on graduating from university.

• the Obi Award — Chris Gore starts at 51:34

  Melissa Ellis calls for "an Obilope" and TOC opens the envelope. The Obi goes to Chris Gore from Western Australia for regaining statesman status at Sir James Mitchell parkrun and for the photo with the Perth skyline across the Swan River ("that helped get you over the line").

• Emails starts at 52:12

  "We've got mail." Emails from Calum Burrell (an orchestra of instrument-named parkruns, casio, drums, horns, bells, harps, gongs), Billo (the letters needed to spell parkrun adventurers with no repeated locations), Lyndell the Legendary (volunteering at her home event Bunyaville and at each of her P-Index events) and Tony Reeves from Huntingdon, UK (getting his mate Dan into parkrun at Tuggeranong).

• Club Corner starts at 58:40

  Melissa Ellis throws to Reginald; Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III continues the exploration of volunteer roles with the Funnel Manager and the Number Checker, insisting parkrun intends only one Funnel Manager per event and that the Number Checker keeps Timekeeper and finish tokens in step. The hosts then discuss both roles, TOC explaining how it works as RD at Inverloch.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:05:30

  For Saturday 8 February 2025: of 746 members, 567 took part in 10 countries across 283 locations, 56 UK events, 7 South Africa, 5 USA, 1 each in Poland, Sweden, Germany, Ireland and Italy; locally 50 NSW, 49 in the greater state, 47 Queensland, 21 WA, 15 SA, 10 Tasmania, 7 ACT, 6 North Island, 2 South Island, 1 NT.

• the Frond starts at 1:07:01

  Two international fronds of four, Cieszyn (Poland) and Queenstown (NZ), the latter being Kerry Jackson, Rosie Lowe, Gary Labretton and Kevin Pickup. Largest frond was 10 at Emerald Lake; fronds of seven at Drage Reserve and six at Main Beach, Shellharbour and Sir James Mitchell. Nobody at Bushy for the pilgrimage this week.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:10:12"Where is the cake?"

  A single launch this week, Thoulstone parkrun in the UK near Bath, a two-lap course largely on a working farm with sheep on site and a Marshal on the gate; 170 finishers and 26 volunteers. TOC's theory for the lull: six weeks' paperwork lead time takes you back to Christmas.

• parkrun adventure challenge starts at 1:14:50listener challenge

  Tied to the newly announced palm25 dress-up theme of Queens, the challenge is to give your Dazza's post a royal twist.

• Sign-off starts at 1:15:52

  TOC asked Mel what was happening for next parkrun day: Mel was going to Brimbank, which she had only officially run once at its Medibank-sponsored launch with Michelle Bridges and a live TV cross, and which TOC noted had been listed in the Financial Times among the six best parkruns in the world, TOC had been Funnel Manager at that launch. TOC was undecided, thinking maybe Inverloch or a duck across to Newborough, an event he is ambassador for, to say g'day to the team. Mel teased a mystery guest host for next week while Simon was in Japan, refusing to name them even in the episode description, and closed with the Facebook and email contacts.