Episode 447 - You raise me up

2026-04-09

HostsReginald Yardley-Pomfrey III Sarah Jefferson Simon Mackley

Roving reportersAlison Fraser Jo McLean Ruth Perkins

Show notes

Wait… it can’t be… barkrun? Selfscanning? A new mascot? New volunteer roles? Don’t be fooled! Simon shares his recent adventures, while Sarah prepares to take flight. Reginald drops in to share all things Wilson, while we hear reports from Lost Lagoon, Edithburgh and Vingis parkruns. Would you believe that Easter egg wrappers have been left all through the office and the email box is full? There’s no complaints here!

Roving reports

In this episode

• parkrun news bulletin

  Sarah opens the news block at [00:19:39] with a round-up of April Fool's Day posts from events worldwide - Sandgate's dogs-only "bark run", Reddall Reserve's invented volunteer roles, Queen's Glasgow's "parkrun self-scan", Bushy the Tree as a new global mascot, Haigh Woodland's "park buff", Hagley's enrolment catchment zones, Castlewellan's participation charges and the With Me Now parkrun credit card. Rolls on into global/national numbers: a record 438,419 finishes worldwide, one million parkrunners now qualified for a 25 milestone shirt or above, 49 new Australian attendance records over Easter, plus the fortnightly New Zealand and Australian stats rundowns.

• Roving Adventurers (roving reporter crossovers)

  Simon throws to the roving reports at [00:32:44]. Three reports back to back: Alison Fraser from Lost Lagoon parkrun in Westport, New Zealand (interviewing ED/RD Mary Rose); Ruth Perkins from Vingis parkrun in Vilnius, Lithuania on Independence Restoration Day (interviewing RD and sole Lithuanian ambassador Andreas Falconer); and first-timer Jo McLean from Edithburgh parkrun on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia (interviewing ED Danielle). The hosts recap all three from [00:49:38].

• Dazza's

  "Okay, we might move on to Daz's." Five Facebook comments read out from each of the last two Dazza posts - Weed Appreciation Day (28 March) and International Carrot Day (4 April). Contributors: Tanya Bailey (Pegasus, NZ), Rodney Glossop (Inverloch, finishing the Alphabeteer Challenge and meeting Tony O'Connell), Rex Green (Armidale, 50th volunteer), Dan Baldwin (Alice Springs Telegraph Station, Territorian tick), Calum Burrell (Clitheroe Castle, UK), Audrey Boswell (Point Vernon Foreshore), Karen Hurrell (Middleton Woods, 175th different event), Mia (Berwick Waters, birthday), Rebecca Bailey (Whitemark Wharf, Flinders Island, 250th) and Jo McLean (Port Lincoln).

• the Obi Award — Rebecca Bailey

  Awarded to Rebecca "Bec" Bailey for her 250th parkrun, celebrated at Whitemark Wharf parkrun on Flinders Island, Tasmania over the Easter long weekend - "Congrats again on your 250th and making it an incredible adventure to celebrate that." Delivered via the running gag of the "Obi-lope" arriving electronically.

• Emails

  Simon's "You've got mail" cue introduces four listener emails: Sherry Brantman on her first PALM (including the best-costume winners Ingrid, Sam, Luke and Bec, and a listener who dressed as Paul Rainbow); Ingrid on her parkrun goals for the year; a listener travelling in South Africa recommending Cannibal's Cave; and Leanne (A382990) on running the Tarawera Ultra Trail Miler in 28 hours of rain and mud.

• Club Corner

  Presented by Reginald Yardley-Pomfrey III: the Wilson index family as tracked in the Park Race app - double and triple Wilsons, and the "Golden Wilson" where each event number counts only once. Also covers the PC index (events per country, currently maxing at 13), the P-index and alphabet graphics, and signs off with the standing reminder that all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun. Explicitly back-references Club Corner numbers 11, 12 and 95 (Rachel's earlier instalments).

• Consolidated Club Report

  For 4 April 2026: of 894 Adventurers Club members, 642 took part in 10 countries across 346 locations - 66 events in Queensland, 58 Victoria, 51 NSW, 20 WA, 17 SA, 10 Tasmania, 8 North Island, 7 each ACT and South Island, 1 NT; internationally 78 in the UK, 12 South Africa, 4 Ireland, 2 each Italy and Poland, 1 each Germany, Japan and Sweden. Prompts a running gag about lining up the club's 900th member with episode 450.

• the Frond

  Largest international frond on 4 April was four adventurers at East Holmes Field - Shane Corcoran, Calum Burrell, Ali Sheppard and Andy Wilkinson. Pilgrimages: two adventurers at Bushy on 28 March (Matt Miller and Nicholas Stott), none on 4 April. Largest Aussie frond was 10 at Coonawarra - Daryl, John and Thomas Smith, Jutta Howe, Donna Anderson, Archer Oliver, Caitlin, Joe Richards and Joss Fingo. Closes with the reminder that the Adventurers Club can be one of your five parkrun affiliations.

• Launches and anniversaries ("Where is the cake?")

  Seven launches on 28 March - Azid Lal Adventure (Sandton, South Africa, 706 athletes), Bongil Bongil (west of Sawtell, NSW), Breen Avenue Walking Track (Kyabram, Victoria), Orient Beach (East London, South Africa, 901 athletes and 226 first-timers), a Polish launch southeast of Wroclaw, Tele-U (Waiblingen, Germany) and Fountain Beach (north-northwest of Cape Town) - then two on 4 April: Ahrens Park (Grinnell, Iowa, where the results uploaded as all-unknown) and Rothamsted Park (Harpenden, UK). Hosts discuss why South African launches draw such huge fields.

• Where will you be on the next parkrun day?

  Closing round: "All right, Simon, it's that time of the pod. Where are you headed next Park Run Day?" Simon is off to Redland Bay to meet Sarah Yancher; Sarah is away for a month, starting at Pirrama parkrun in the Sydney CBD, then the Northern Beaches, then four parkruns in Japan - so she will not be recording again until June. Simon signs off by trailing the next episode: Lyndell Murray back in the comfy chair for three in a row, joined by Tony O'Connell.