Episode 457 - Legs Eleven
2026-08-27
— open the full-size coverHostsSarah Jefferson Simon Mackley
Roving reportersAli Sheppard Alison Fraser (King) Eman Vergara
Show notes
From the Facebook post
Are you ready to call bingo from the roof tops? This episode Sarah and Simon aim to get you back on the straight and narrow and into a routine. They talk about pain, streaking and the number 168.
Pippa, the Streakmeister pops in and Dazza's is busier than ever. Reginald educates us about two European Countries, one without a current parkrun flag.
There are roving reports from Mandeville (opens in a new tab), Richmond Olympic (opens in a new tab), Irchester Country (opens in a new tab) and Spanish Banks Beach (opens in a new tab) parkruns.
While one listener sets out for a record, another record has been stopped in its tracks. Are you ready to get streaking?
From the podcast feed
Are you ready to call bingo from the roof tops? This episode Sarah and Simon aim to get you back on the straight and narrow and into a routine. They talk about pain, streaking and the number 168. Pippa, the Streakmeister pops in and Dazza's is busier than ever. Reginald educates us about two European Countries, one without a current parkrun flag. There are roving reports from Mandeville (opens in a new tab), Richmond Olympic (opens in a new tab), Irchester County and Spanish Banks Beach (opens in a new tab) parkruns. While one listener sets out for a record, another record has been stopped in its tracks. Are you ready to get streaking?
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Read the transcriptGuest
Carlos
Papaya Rewards, a platform that gives free coffees and local cafe/restaurant discounts to people who log any physical activity on Strava or a fitness app; Carlos's own path from being overweight, and his move from cancer treatment research to prevention.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:15
Sarah Jefferson on Whadjuk Noongar Country and Simon Mackley on Quandamooka Country. Sarah has torn the meniscus in her left knee (hopefully rehab rather than surgery), completed her position bingo and ran Big Red Lake, Rockingham, Cottesloe and the new Murdoch University parkrun with the Storeys and Bravoses; her partner Matt and Brenton Pullman are chasing each other's average times. Simon did Macquarie University with adventurers and Listener Helen, Rocks Riverside on pacer week, Noosa with Peter Pohlman, Dorota and Josh, and Old Esk Railway Station's 100th with the South East Queensland ambassadors, a koala and a Brisbane Valley Roasters breakfast, before introducing Carlos and his Papaya Health Rewards initiative.
Listener Feedback starts at 17:33
Simon: "Let's kick on to episode feedback from last pod." Follow-up to TOC's last-episode comment about names on paper barcodes, both hosts confirm the parkrun app barcode does show your name (but not the in-case-of-emergency details), plus app tips, long-press for the barcode, viewing the barcode of anyone you follow. Also reports listeners who logged aparkrun after TOC's appeal (Sarah Jantscher, Gareth Arnold, Sherry Brandtman, Debbie Jessop) and the Australian/global not-parkrun stats.
Streaky September starts at 25:11
Streaky September update ahead of 1 September: the Bingoe cards are made, the Office Lady has been "working overtime", week-one card (four squares) posted in the Streaky September group as this episode goes live, with four more squares revealed each Monday from 7 September. Teaser: one of the first squares is "a parkrun adventure". Includes the Streakmeister insert from Pippa White on having a plan and a two-kilometre "Streak Saver" route, followed by the hosts admitting neither has ever completed a full month's streak.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 33:56
Sarah hands over: "I think it's time we give our voices a rest, and we are going to throw to some rugby [roving] reports." Three reports run back-to-back, Alison at Mandeville (NZ), Eman Vergara at Richmond Olympic (Vancouver, two interviews), Ali Sheppard at Irchester Country (UK), with Simon recapping all three. A fourth report, Eman at Spanish Banks Beach, is held back as a post-outro bonus.
Dazza's starts at 53:27
Simon: "I think it's time that we head over to Dazza's." Five comments from each of the last two Dazza's posts. 15 August was International Geocaching Day (128 comments from 961 members, ~13% engagement): Chris Gore at Applecross, Mark Hubbard at Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan (parkrun 427 / geocache 18,452, on the day of the Office Lady's 60th birthday and her 60km run), Roberta Winters at Inis Meáin in Ireland, Ryan Stoddart at Greenheart Robina Parklands, Ali Sheppard at Oaklands College (protected great crested newts rerouting the course). 22 August was tutu day (118 comments): Joanne Holt at Samford Parklands, Eva/Iga Blanda at Panania, Cheryl Bickle at Nidda (Germany, country number eight), Mitzi Middleton at South Bank (second "S"), Joanne Blackbird at Warringal Parklands.
the Obi Award — Roberta Winters starts at 1:03:17
Sarah: "it's time for the Obi", with both hosts admitting they forgot to give one out last episode. This fortnight's Obi goes to Roberta Winters, for the sheer effort of getting to her parkrun of choice: a pre-5am minibus, a 35-minute ferry from Doolin with ~400 other parkrunners, a 2km walk uphill to the start at Inis Meáin, then the ferry and a three-and-a-half-hour coach back to Dublin, having already travelled from Australia.
Emails starts at 1:04:02
"You've got mail." One email, from Lyndell Murray, reporting a new Junior Milestone shirt spotted at Des Connor juniors on 9 August and asking whether anyone else has seen one. Neither host has, Simon hasn't been to a juniors event, and there is no junior event in Western Australia.
Club Corner starts at 1:04:32
Sarah throws to Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III for the penultimate instalment of the country series: Austria (started August 2021 with Hellbrunn, now six events; its special day is Staatsfeiertag / National Day on 1 May, which Austrian parkruns have declined to hold as an extra day in 2026 given the small number of locations) and Belgium, which turns out not to be a parkrun country, because SHAPE parkrun (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, near Mons) is a closed event on a British Overseas Territory footing. SHAPE started July 2023, grew out of "Brit run" then "SHAPE run", and was helped by its nearest event, Tapijn parkrun. Still to come in the series: Lithuania, Gibraltar and St Helena Island.
Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:08:08
For Saturday 22 August: of 963 members, 681 took part across 17 countries and 364 locations. Australian/NZ representation, ACT 80%, NT 50%, NSW 49%, Vic 47%, Qld 43%, SA 38%, WA 35%, Tas 33%, North Island 14%, South Island 8%. Internationally, Denmark and Lithuania 25%, Singapore 20%, Italy 15%, Finland 14%, Norway and UK 9%, Sweden 7%, South Africa/Germany/Canada 5%, USA/Ireland/Japan/Netherlands 3%.
the Frond starts at 1:09:40
Largest international frond of 12 at Inis Meáin, Ireland (15 August) and a frond of 12 at Queenswood Country Park, UK (22 August); Bushy Pilgrimage, Paul Lanson on 15 August, nobody on 22 August; largest Australian frond of 13 at Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan (15 August, the Office Lady's 60th), and fronds of six at four events on 22 August including Shepparton and Wynnum's octogenarian event.
Watching Your Numbers starts at 1:12:29
Sarah: "It is now time for our Watching Your Numbers segment", the hosts pick a parkrun of interest and follow its participation. Currently Plantation Forest parkrun: week six had 36 participants (one fifth unknowns), week seven 28 participants with four unknowns. Simon then follows up on Brooklyn Bridge parkrun in the US, watched about a year ago: 44 events in, 247 participants, back to roughly its week-six level after a 538 opening, with eight cancellations across the year.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:14:20"Where is the cake?"
No launches at all on 15 August, the first blank weekend since 8 November, ending an equal-second-longest streak of 39 straight weeks of launches (per Peter via Charlie Pearce). Then six launches across six countries on 22 August: Compton Abbas Airfield (UK, 336/37/11, three laps of a grass airstrip, no freedom runs), Fredericia Vold (Denmark, 123/10/57, two laps on a 17th-century fortification), Saddle River County (Saddle Brook, New Jersey, USA, 73/14/41), Stadtpark Rotehorn (Germany, east of Magdeburg, 80/11/31), Taman Tasik Kota Puteri (Malaysia, 67/24/40, doubling Malaysia's footprint) and York Timbers (South Africa, 147/9/63).
Sign-off starts at 1:17:45
Sarah turned to looking ahead with Streaky September about to begin on the Tuesday after the pod's release, urging listeners to join the Streaky September group for the challenges and to share photos. Asked where he was headed next parkrun day, Simon was undecided, he might volunteer, he might run, but would stay local, noting his NENDY is still Golden Beach on the Sunshine Coast. Sarah was thinking about heading home to Cottesloe and walking it, weighing resting a sore knee against needing to get a wriggle on to reach 100 events there this year and being on track to complete 50 parkruns in a year for the first time. They thanked the team behind the podcast, Sam the Office Lady, Dave the editor, Reginald and the Belinda Fairy, and said Lyndell and TOC would be back next fortnight with Streaky September news.