Episode 421 - There's No Place Like Home
2025-05-01
— open the full-size coverHostsMelissa Ellis Tony O'Connell
Roving reportersCalum Burrell Ingrid Botha Paul Kitching
Show notes
From the Facebook post
Toc and Mel have returned from New Zealand to enjoy running back on home soil. But not before they caught up again at Pyramid Hill Golf Trail (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Amongst the news from around the globe were roving reports from Calum at Market Bosworth Country Park (opens in a new tab), Ingrid at Australian Standing Stones (opens in a new tab) and PK pops in from Port Broughton (opens in a new tab) parkrun. And that's not the half of it!
- Natalie Soper dragged her mum along to enjoy Hanmer Forest (opens in a new tab) parkrun!
From the podcast feed
Toc and Mel have returned from New Zealand to enjoy running back on home soil. But not before they caught up again at Pyramid Hill Golf Trail (opens in a new tab) parkrun. Amongst the news from around the globe were roving reports from Calum at Market Bosworth Country, Ingrid at Australian Standing Stones (opens in a new tab) and PK pops in from Port Broughton (opens in a new tab) parkrun. And that’s not the half of it!
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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 0:24
TOC on Boon Wurrung Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, both at their home events this week. They reflect on palm25 in Queenstown: the near-lost recording at the Queenstown Bowling Club with Tony Ross on sound, the relaxed format, and the Queen dress-up night won by Tracey Wood as the Queen Mary with Lyndell as Queen's vanilla essence, plus a firm no-announcement on next year's Palm; Mel looks up 'dingle' from Ruth Perkins' roving report. TOC celebrated Inverloch's 500th (271 finishers, a blue theme, him in a blue morph suit) but is walking for a few weeks with a calf niggle; Mel ran to her 23rd Toolern Creek with Dave and the week before both were at event 3 of Pyramid Hill Golf Trail on Barapa Barapa land, praising Timekeeper Colleen Hampson's acknowledgement and chatting to RD Tom Smith.
parkrun news bulletin starts at 21:17
Weekly numbers and global news. Across the ditch: 10,497 finishes in New Zealand supported by 967 volunteers, Hamilton Park the most intimate with 23, Cornwall Park up 161, no attendance records. Australia: 73,737 finishes, 6,069 volunteers, 9,846 PBs and 1,667,270 registrations, with new attendance records at Wallaby Track (+17) and Prince of Wales (+83), both in Ballarat. Then global news, parkrun Global names Elizabeth "Lil" Duggan interim CEO from 30 April 2025 following Russ Jeffries stepping down (the news post is read out in full), the UK relaunch of the parkwalker initiative (Hazlehead parkrun fielding 97 parkwalkers out of 114 volunteers), and the limited-edition goodr x parkrun sunglasses in parkrun apricot.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 30:21
Melissa Ellis hands over "Now let's throw to our roving reporters for intermission." Three reports run back to back: Calum Burrell with Hugh at Market Bosworth Country Park (UK), Ingrid with RD Andrew and Judy at Australian Standing Stones (Glen Innes, NSW), and PK at Port Broughton (SA) with volunteers Alex and Tracy. TOC and Melissa debrief all three.
Dazza's starts at 47:04
Alien Day theme ("Doing a new parkrun can feel a bit alien"), running alongside the previous week's listener challenge from Sarah and Simon to mark Anzac Day. Posts read out: Budgie from Waitangi via Yvette, Chris and Karen Gore; Johan from Cape Town and Caledon Golf Course; Natalie Sopa at Hanmer Forest (barcode scanned by Mark Inglis), which leads into an explanation of New Zealand's core-flute selfie frames funded by Queenstown co-ED Chris Seymour; Sherry Brandtman at Dhunggaarr Reserve; Chloe Bravos at Tamworth Wetlands; Helen Rudder with Stanley the Dachshund at Pymmes; Sarah Maas at Kingscliff; Andrew Turner at Mount Clarence, Albany; Val Warwick at Broken Hill Racecourse; Ali Sheppard park walking at Watermeadows (with a Towcester pronunciation challenge); and Maz Strong at Aintree, whose link prompts Melissa to read out parkrun's frame runner guidance.
the Obi Award — Sherry Brantman starts at 58:29
TOC calls for the envelope and Melissa opens it. The Obi goes to Sherry Brandtman for her superior photoshopping skills, the Anzac poppy wreath worked into the centre of her Dhunggaarr Reserve selfie frame, which TOC notes was "amazingly on point for our theme last week". Includes the running Level 2 office gag about the cleaner now filling the envelope.
Emails starts at 59:30
One email this week, from Alana Tariq, asking whether anyone else hears a high-pitched feedback noise when TOC is presenting but not when Mel talks. TOC has changed nothing but is now hyper-conscious of his squeaking chair and mouse; Melissa admits she had assumed it was Jackie's microwave in the next room.
Club Corner starts at 1:01:08
Delivered by Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III from Arrernte Country. This week is a "Who Am I?" game, nine progressively easier clues (used for a parkrun during a PALM, more than 20 adventurers, the 2020s, April, one-word name, event number 311, a regal connection, in New Zealand) with the answer Queenstown parkrun. Closes with his standing line that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun. Melissa notes he is treading on the Informant-style quiz turf: "Shots fired, Toc, shots fired."
Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:03:24
For Saturday 26 April 2025: of 777 members, 561 took part in 12 countries across 299 locations. UK 59 events; 11 in South Africa, three USA, two each Germany, Poland, Singapore and Japan, one each Ireland, Italy and Sweden. Locally: NSW 55, Queensland 48, Victoria 46, (Western) Australia 20, South Australia 19, Tasmania 11, North Island 9, ACT 5, South Island 2, none in the Northern Territory. Pilgrimages by Paul Dempsey (Wishart) and Colette Goldthorpe (Preston). A supplementary Sunday count for South Africa's Freedom Day is read out later.
the Frond — Waitangi parkrun, New Zealand (12 adventurers, largest international); Wallaby Track (11, largest in Australia) starts at 1:04:30
No bowling strike this week. Largest international Frond was 12 at Waitangi, New Zealand, Chris and Karen Gore, Bill and Yvette Turner, Sarah Jantscher, Andy and Wendella Poole, Gail Roderick, Alana and Stephen Trigg, Renata Koch and David Ryan, gathered for the parkrun World Tourist meetup. Largest Australian Frond was 11 at Wallaby Track. TOC notes it may be the first time the international Frond has beaten the Australian one.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:09:04"Where is the cake?"
Two launches worldwide. Alice Springs Telegraph Station parkrun in the Northern Territory, eight or nine years in the making, driven by the local running club, an out-and-back with a loop at the top end, five kilometres out of town; 186 finishers, 11 volunteers, 104 first-timers and 17 unknowns, so roughly 65% new to parkrun. And Denmark's 11th event, Fuglsang Sø ("Fuglsang Lake"), 95 finishers, 12 volunteers, 41 first-timers, two laps mainly on gravel. Earlier in the show TOC also marks Inverloch's 500th, 271 finishes, three 250s, a 100, a 50 and a v50, on a blue theme.
parkrun adventure challenge starts at 1:15:17listener challenge
TOC's challenge this week is to post a photo in your buff, "loud and proud", off the back of another promotion for the adventurers buffs at $12 plus postage while stock lasts. The previous week's challenge, set by Sarah and Simon, was to incorporate something representing the Anzac spirit, and ran through this week's Dazza's posts.
Sign-off starts at 1:15:48
TOC said it was that time of the week and asked where Mel would be: after getting nostalgic at Toolern Creek she was venturing back to her original home event, Berwick Springs parkrun, heading southeast the night before to see one of her children for a birthday. TOC had not decided, wanting to avoid two weeks running at Inverloch and thinking about working on his P-index, with Sustainable House Day on at the Cape that weekend, five houses in his estate open, which Mel said she would like to attend next year. Mel noted she is in the chairs next week with a co-host she did not name on the recording, and closed with the Facebook and email contacts.