Episode 413 - Transport & Tryouts

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HostMelissa Ellis

Guest co-hostPeter Pohlman

Roving reportersDaryl Smith Tracey Wood

Show notes

From the Facebook post

This week Mel has a familiar yet new voice on the pod. You'll need to be patient to see who's who, so listen up now.

We talk about juniors, transport, and Valentine's Day adventures - and we want to hear your transport trips next week.

Em Nicho elected to travel by broom for her 250th volunteer and Kirra (opens in a new tab) parkrun's 13th birthday!

From the podcast feed

This week Mel has a familiar yet new voice on the pod. You'll need to be patient to see who's who, so listen up now. We talk about juniors, transport, and Valentine's Day adventures - and we want to hear your transport trips next week.

Roving reports

1Des Connor Park juniors2Eynesbury Heritage Trail juniors

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country with a surprise fill-in co-host: after a gag opening from 'Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III' on 'Arrernte Country', Peter Pohlman joins from Awabakal Country in Newcastle, having last appeared with Sonja around the tens. Peter and Sonja walked Galston on Dharug Country, a three-lap Fagan Park course through the gardens of the world with paid parking, filming one of their roughly 90 tourism-group videos since a first at Kirra in 2015; Mel ran event 320 at Brimbank on Wurundjeri Country on her 11th parkrun anniversary, her first official run there since the launch, in a field of 105, with a Sunday parkrun still to come.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 6:38"Where is the cake?"

  Peter reports no local or international launches this parkrun day (one possible launch with results still pending), then runs through ten Australian events that broke attendance records: Armidale (three weeks running), Rouse Hill and Menai (fourth week running), Galston, Lawson and "Maury" in NSW; Gawler in South Australia and Kate Reed in Tasmania; Charleys Creek in Queensland, coinciding with Chinchilla's Melon Fest; and Cascades on Clyde in Victoria.

• Emails starts at 9:13

  Peter reads an email from Michael Blain, Event Director of Des Connor Park junior parkrun in Ashgrove, Brisbane, responding to the previous episode's discussion of Funnel Managers and Number Checkers: over 400 juniors on 9 February plus about 150 parents, five rostered Funnel Managers, at least ten marshals, around ten RDs, and a newly introduced double funnel.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 13:40

  Two junior parkrun roving reports played back to back: Tracey Wood from Des Connor Park junior parkrun in Ashgrove, where 438 juniors set what the show believes is a world junior-parkrun attendance record; and Daryl Smith from the Eynesbury Heritage Trail junior parkrun in Victoria, interviewing Melissa Ellis on her final stint as Run Director there.

• Dazza's starts at 32:55

  Valentine's Day theme, who or where your love was this parkrun day. Posts from Stephen Cox (Australian Standing Stones, second birthday and 98th event), M. Nico at Kirra (250 volunteers and cake, Kirra's 13th birthday), Ingrid at Dolls Point (new Token Sorting board), Margie Lewis at Port Macquarie (a parrot in a pram), Mark Hibbard at Grahamstown Aquatic Centre, Medowie (28th wedding anniversary), Sue Davies at George Town, Andrea Booth at Batemans Bay (meeting Brendan and Em from Shellharbour), Gareth Arnold at Zegerplas in the Netherlands, and Rodney Glossop at Edinburgh Oval dressed as Freddie Mercury.

• the Obi Award — Brendan Scholarly starts at 40:24

  The Obi goes to Brendan "for sharing the love back", he replied to Andrea Booth's Dazza's post about meeting him and Em at Batemans Bay parkrun, saying they had a lovely morning sharing zoomies out on course and that Em ran a new PB.

• Club Corner starts at 41:11

  Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III presents a conversation-starter on transport: how do you get to parkrun? He runs through public transport, on foot and by road, then asks for the most envious ways listeners have heard of, kayak, canoe, boat, skate, ski, snowmobile, plane, balloon or parachute, and suggests parkrun South Africa could tie in with Transport Month 2025.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 46:58

  For Saturday 15 February 2025: of 752 members, 547 took part in 10 countries across 287 locations. 54 events in the UK, seven in South Africa, three each in Japan and the USA, two in Italy, one each in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. Locally New South Wales led on 55 events, Queensland third on 47, then the greatest state on 43, 22 in Western Australia, 18 in South Australia, 13 in Tasmania, seven each in the ACT and the North Island, three in the South Island and none in the Northern Territory. No one at Bushy for the pilgrimage.

• the Frond — Grahamstown Aquatic Centre, Medowie (nine adventurers, largest Australian frond); Valentine's Park, UK and Treviso, Italy (four each, largest international) starts at 48:16

  Biggest international fronds were four adventurers each at Valentine's Park in the UK (Colleen, Rhiannon, Kat and Nigel) and Treviso in Italy (Debbie, Andy, Andy and Linda). The largest Australian frond was nine at Grahamstown Aquatic Centre, Medowie, Mark Hibbard, Greg Stark, Adam Stone, Heather and Kevin Hunter, Abigail, Hamish, Georgia and Rosalie Lukins, with seven at Galston and seven at Gainsborough Greens.

• Dad joke starts at 49:55

  Peter: "What do you call a deer with no eyes? Bamb, because it's got no eyes at the end of Bambi." Mel calls it a dad joke; Peter downgrades it to a dud joke.

• Watching the numbers starts at 51:19

  A new recurring bit the hosts coin on air, tracking the attendance of a very large new event: Birtinya Island had 246 at event six, tying its lowest to date, with a sequence of 461, 359, 364, 246, 277 and 246 again. Mel and Peter agree the numbers are levelling and say they will keep following along.

• parkrun adventure challenge starts at 52:01listener challenge

  Picking up Reginald's transport theme, the hosts set a listener challenge: in your Dazza's post next week, tell us how you got to parkrun, and try safely getting there a way you don't normally, public transport, a carpool, Shanks' pony.

• Sign-off starts at 53:08

  Mel asked guest host Peter what he was looking forward to: Peter was going up to southeast Queensland to visit family in the middle of his longest ever tourism streak (about 15), unsure where but possibly the renamed Gainsborough Parklands parkrun, formerly Gainsborough Greens, and debating with Mel whether it would reset to event one. Mel had not decided either, but was heading to Victoria's southeast, possibly Pakenham if she picked up her grand-dog, or somewhere in the Casey region near her daughter, depending on whether she gave Dave some hills. Peter noted Mel and TOC return next week, Mel thanked him for standing in as the mystery guest, and they closed with the Facebook and email contacts.