Episode 459 - What is your Colour?

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HostsSarah Jefferson Simon Mackley

Roving reportersAli Sheppard Eman Vergara Phil Corker

GuestSam Schroder

Show notes

From the Facebook post

Sarah and Simon are joined by a special guest: an athlete and ultramarathon runner.

There's discussions of new milestone colours, the colour purple and why ugly Christmas shirts are in fact worn in July.

There are roving reports from Bushy, Kanata (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Ottawa and Inch Beach (opens in a new tab) parkruns.

Pippa rounds out Streaky September for the year, Reginald quizzes us with a Who Am I? and Dazza finds the inner pirate in some of us.

This episode is full of wisdom, experience and some incredible adventures. Join us.

From the podcast feed

Sarah and Simon are joined by a special guest: an athlete and ultramarathon runner. There's discussions of new milestone colours, the colour purple and why ugly Christmas shirts are in fact worn in July. There are roving reports from Bushy, Kanata (opens in a new tab), Ottawa and Inch Beach (opens in a new tab) parkruns. Pippa rounds out Streaky September for the year, Reginald quizzes us with a Who Am I? and Dazza finds the inner pirate in some of us. This episode is full of wisdom, experience and some incredible adventures. Join us

Guest

Roving reports

1Bushy Park2Kanata3Inch Beach

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:20

  Sarah Jefferson opens episode 459 from Whadjuk Noongar Country in Perth and Simon Mackley joins from Quandamooka, Yarrabindra, stepping into the hosting chair while getting over the flu. They run through their parkruns since the last pod, Simon at Lota (meeting Roberta, Brendan Peel and listener Michael Hansen), a fastest-of-the-year run, Underwood Park with Dorota and Co-Event Director Stephen Parker, and a weekend missed to illness that let Peter Pohlman claim Meadowbrook; Sarah revisiting WA events, Rockingham with Luke and Sam Schroder, Galup Reserve for event 95 and Quinns Rocks with Michael and Annika Little while still nursing a knee injury. They finish on AFL, Freo fever, Sarah's purple blazer and Brisbane's tilt at a three-peat, which sets up the episode's colour theme.

• Listener Feedback starts at 6:41

  Simon answers last episode's question about why the uglies are celebrated on 25 July rather than 25 June, quoting the elves and then tracing Christmas in July back to an 1892 French opera and a 1933 girls' camp in Brevard, North Carolina. Facebook comments follow from Yvette Turner (on the new verse of the closing song and on hearing participation as percentages), Ali Sheppard (signing up Norman Danny's mum as an adventurer, though volunteers don't show in the Consolidated Club Report), Helen Patricia and David Messenger, who offers encouragement and practical phone-editing advice to anyone thinking of filing a roving report.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 10:37

  Malaysia's special parkrun day on 16 September was cancelled over an air pollutant index reading well above 100, and Presint 18, Putrajaya and Taman Pudu Ulu also cancelled on 19 September while Taman Tasik Kota Puteri went ahead with 66 finishers. parkrun has released new milestone shirt colours at every hundred up to 1,000, which the hosts pick over at length. Jakes Point parkrun in Western Australia has announced that 10 October will be its last event for want of volunteers, taking Australia's Js from ten to nine, and Sarah makes a broader appeal for visitors to small events to volunteer.

• Streaky September starts at 16:34

  The last Streaky September update for 2026, with the Bingoe card fully released: Sarah has seven of thirteen squares and still wants the date streak, letterbox, full moon and treat; Simon had a 17-day streak until the flu and eight of sixteen bingo items. Pippa delivers her final Streakmeister piece, on the power of accumulation (over 100km of walking this month, "two and a bit marathons") and on mental health fitness, changing the routine, walking a familiar course in reverse, and giving the brain something to do while the legs streak.

• Attendance and milestone stats starts at 21:24

  Attendance and milestone stats for 12 and 19 September. New Zealand: all events open, 12,835 parkrunners and a national volunteer record of 1,285, then 13,422 and 1,246; biggest were Hagley, Waitangi and Palmerston North, then Hagley, Waitangi and Millwater on its 12th birthday. Australia: 80,090 participants with 7,010 volunteers at 543 events and 12,499 first-timers, then 84,346 with 6,903 volunteers at 542 events; largest were Albert Melbourne, The Ponds, Rhodes and Macquarie University, smallest Moora, Railway Park, Puckapunyal, Waterloo Plains and Sunrise Beach. Ahead of it the hosts send a milestone-birthday shout-out to TOC.

• Interview an Athlete starts at 24:06

  A brand-new segment, announced on air as its first outing: the hosts interview Sam Schroder, the podcast's Office Lady, about her running rather than her admin. She covers a hesitant start at parkrun and joining the core team at Picton parkrun's launch, a daily minimum of 2km now in its sixth year, the Simpson Desert Ultra 50k she finished last in 2023, the Light Horse 24-hour race in Perth where she came 99th of 161, coach Skip Phoenix, real-food nutrition and her lucky pink-and-brown OC Clothing shirt, how a passing remark from Mel at Palm led to her taking on the podcast's social media, and going full-time on the road with husband Luke, a four-week walk of the Yorke Peninsula and a return to the Simpson Desert with him in June.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 52:18

  Three reports. Phil Corker and Calum Burrell from Bushy Park, where Phil drove from 4.20am and paced Calum to a Bushy PB of 28:50 in a dust-bowl field of 1,599 on event 1102. Eman Vergara from Kanata parkrun in Ottawa, tail walking with Juno and talking to Run Director Steve about the event's 2018 founding, the "two peaks" diversion and the other Ottawa-region events. Ali Sheppard from Inch Beach parkrun in County Kerry, on the hard-sand beach course, with co-founder Elizabeth on building the event with Barry and recruiting school volunteers, and with Rory on the Dingle Peninsula, running barefoot and why Kerry is called the kingdom, closing with a challenge to TOC to come to an event that never cancels.

• Dazza's starts at 1:07:42

  Five comments from each of the last two Dazza's posts. From International Encouragement Day on 12 September: Jackie Hancock at Waitangi, Jay Grimsley at Gainsborough Parklands, Yvette Turner at Coombs in the ACT, Sam Schroder at Mundy Regional a week after her ultra, and Andrew Blanda at Farfalle parkrun in Italy, where he met Sam and Clancy from Armidale who spotted his adventurers buff. From International Talk Like a Pirate Day on 19 September: Heather Hunter tail walking at Taree, Stephen Walsh at Rotherham, Chris Gore at the new Old Golf Course parkrun in Narrogin, Lyndell Murray at Elliott Heads Beach before a world-record strawberry pick at Bundaberg, and Elissa Shea and Ryan Stoddart in full pirate dress at Christies Beach.

• the Obi Award — Elissa Shea starts at 1:17:03

  The fortnight's Obi goes to Elissa Shea for completing her first Pirates Challenge at Christies Beach parkrun, and for the effort she went to dressing up to celebrate it. She appears on the episode artwork with Ryan.

• Emails starts at 1:17:32

  Natalie Soper writes about a weekend of recruiting, eleven colleagues brought to Parkville parkrun for an annual September challenge, and a Facebook friend in Canada, met on a tour in China eight years ago, who did her first parkrun and is now planning one in Ireland. Pete Johns answers episode 458's most-remote-parkrun challenge using parkrun's public event coordinates: Weipa is Australia's most isolated 5k event at 616.6km from Kewarra Beach, Thorndon juniors in Adelaide the most isolated overall at 622km from Aintree Reserve juniors, and Burswood Peninsula and Claisebrook Cove the closest pair at 600 metres.

• Club Corner starts at 1:21:15

  Reginald Yardley Pomphrey III presents another "Who Am I?", coming to us from Arrernte Country: seven clues, a state or territory not yet featured, one of six events in its region, third in that region, a single-lap butterfly course, high enough up to be recognised in a special club, started in 2018, and cliffs by day, answering Nightcliff parkrun in the Northern Territory. Simon got it at question five, Sarah suspected Nightcliff early; she has run four of the six NT events and calls it her favourite course. Reginald closes on parkrun's renamed non-milestone clubs now being official in the app.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 1:23:50

  For Saturday 19 September: 983 members, of whom 688 took part in 17 countries across 371 locations. Adventurer coverage runs from 60% of ACT events down to 31% in South Australia, 14% and 8% across the New Zealand islands, and 100% of Malaysia's events internationally. Largest fronds were four at Farfalle in Italy, four each at Victoria Park Newbury and Puarenga, twelve at Riddle Reserve, and six each at Chermside, Quinns Rocks and Werribee Park Mansion, where Sarah met Gail, completing her eighth alphabet. Pilgrimages by Margie Lewis, Helen Parr and Gabby Wade. The hosts note eight roving reports in the backlog and encourage listeners to record one on their phone.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:27:56"Where is the cake?"

  Two launches on 12 September and none on 19 September. Old Golf Course parkrun in Narrogin, south-east of Perth, drew 45 participants, four volunteers and 12 first-timers on a three-lap trail course around the old course, with a hill that repeats three times, as Chris Gore reported. Tione parkrun launched at Villafranca di Verona in Italy with 95 finishers, 22 volunteers and 41 first-timers on three counterclockwise 1.7km gravel loops.

• Sign-off starts at 1:29:48

  Looking ahead to next parkrun day, Simon is off to Hidden Vale with the family in the school holidays whether or not he makes parkrun, and Sarah will not be at a parkrun at all, she is heading to Bali, resting a knee that cracked getting up off the floor and is back in a brace. Thanks to the team behind the podcast, the Office Lady, the editor and Reginald, a trail for next fortnight (someone who isn't Lyndell will be in the office, and why Lyndell is on unpaid leave), and the contact details: parkrun adventurers on Facebook and Instagram, and parkrunadventurers@gmail.com.