Dave 'Robbo' Robertson
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Roving reports (1)
| Episode | Event |
|---|---|
| 5 | The Terrace |
Interviews conducted (1)
Interviewed as a guest
Episode 179
Record-breaking over the marathon distance: Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna and Brigid Kosgei's women's world record in Chicago, whether the two performances should be compared, how pacing works in legal races versus the 1:59 attempt (and the four Australian pacers), Robbo's photo giving Kipchoge an inflatable kangaroo at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Lauren Parker's paratriathlon world title in Lausanne, Robbo's own Melbourne Marathon half-marathon PB, and the shoe-technology debate.
Episode 161
The frustrations of the parkrun tourist - near-misses at Tokyo (from Yokohama), Montreal and Devonport where triathlon scheduling clashed with Saturday morning, and the Freedom Run consolation; a mapped-out imaginary Yamashita parkrun in Yokohama. Then the changing face of Newy parkrun over seven years: a steadily faster and more experienced field, children born into the event now running fast, booming 60-plus categories, and Gordon Wilson of Carrington, who took up parkrun after a skydive and may be one of the country's quickest 90-year-olds. Finally Lauren Parker's road to the Tokyo Paralympics - ranked third in the world, Commonwealth Games bronze, and a 5K racing-wheelchair leg now down around 12-13 minutes.
Bonus episode PALM19
A post-run chat about surviving a high-tide Beaches parkrun, whether running 5km on soft sand with a torn hamstring is advisable, and the history of Newcastle's "region of runners" - Robbo insists he started a parkrun near his home for purely selfish reasons and declines credit for the region's success.
Episode 123
His new podcast the Marathon Mystery Tour with Steve 'Mona' Monaghetti (the Beatles nod, the Anchor platform, release plans), the founding story of Newy parkrun in July 2012 after first running on the Gold Coast and meeting Tim Oberg, how parkrun in Australia has changed in six years, and his own running/Alphabeteer progress.
Episode 107
Commonwealth Games insider update from the Gold Coast, his role as handler for para-triathlete Lauren Parker (bronze medal), life in the athletes' village, meeting Prince Charles and Camilla, switching to an accredited-media role with Athletics Australia, the women's 10,000m runners waiting for the last finisher (which the hosts turn into a parkrun Tail Walker callout), and his medal predictions for the marathons on the final day.
Episode 96
His 250th parkrun at Newy (60th person in Australia to reach it), founding Newy as roughly Australia's seventh event after meeting Tim Oberg at Main Beach in 2011, a congratulatory tweet from Paul Sinton-Hewitt, then the first round of Commonwealth Games athletics selections (Celia Sullohern, Jess Trengove, Lisa Weightman, Virginia Moloney, Liam Adams, Michael Shelley, Stewart McSweyn) and a wrap of the Hunter Track Classic including Linden Hall's 15:18 5000m, plus an appeal to help source a new inflatable "Jumpy" kangaroo before the Gold Coast Games.
Episode 88
Naked November's fifth year, running without GPS/technology, the International Day of Running Naked on 18 November, the predicted-time competition run with stats man Alan Burrell, and prizes; followed by a Region of Runners update (12 events, "regionnaire" status, a possible future event at Cessnock).
Episode 77
Final wrap of the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, Sally Pearson's comeback gold, the Australian 5000m contingent, Mo Farah's farewell, the steeplechase mishap, plus his own Sydney Marathon build-up.
Episode 76
Update from the 16th IAAF World Athletics Championships in London, Jess Trengove's 9th in the women's marathon, Sinead Diver and Milly Clark, the men's marathon, Kelsey-Lee Roberts and Kurtis Marschall's top-10 finishes, Mo Farah's 10,000m, questions around Almaz Ayana's run, weather and track conditions, and what is still to come (Sally Pearson, Dane Bird-Smith, the 5,000m "parkrun World Championships").
Episode 62
The combined Athletics Australia junior/senior national championships in Sydney (Ryan Gregson, Heidi See, Luke Mathews, Sally Pearson), the world cross country championships in Uganda, and his trip to Tahiti to run the Moorea Marathon in green-and-gold budgie smugglers, including planting a parkrun flag on the beach and lobbying the Tahitian tourism board for a French Polynesian parkrun.
Episode 55
Wrap-up of Nitro Athletics week in Melbourne and the Nitro parkrun at Lakeside Stadium: the 997-finisher Australian attendance record, Sebastian Coe doing his first ever parkrun (and being beaten by ~330 people), Athletics Australia president Mark Arbib and Tim Oberg on the pole vault mats; then the final night of Nitro - Ryan Gregson's elimination-mile win Riley Day winning the 150m, what worked and what fell flat (the javelin and the field events generally), his joke format ideas under the hashtag #newnitroevents, and his three-minute challenge for ordinary parkrunners.
Episode 50
A sombre opening on the death of Newy parkrunner Jennifer Bates and the purple-shirt tribute run, then his parkrun year: the launch of The Terrace parkrun at Raymond Terrace with Olympian Marty Dent, Scott Westcott running Newy before flying to Rio, two South African parkruns (Green Point and Durbanville), and his daughter Grace's first 5k. Also reflects on why the parkrun Show Australia stopped at 50 episodes.
Episode 44
Robbo's own South African adventures: Green Point parkrun in Cape Town in pouring rain (600-700 runners, its 161st event, and a course he half-jokingly claims to have proposed on Twitter in 2012), Durbanville Hills parkrun at a wine estate, his first winery parkrun, where he took an Aussie first finish on the B course, and the Otter African Trail Run on the Garden Route, a 40-42km run on a five-day hiking trail with about 2,600m of elevation, finished in roughly 7:54 inside an eight-hour cut-off. Also whether South Africa is safe for Australian travellers, then a switch to the launch of Nitro Athletics in Melbourne with Usain Bolt, including Robbo's mission to get Bolt parkrun and barcode compliant.
Episode 31
Returning guest on his Rio trip, won through the Olympic team's chocolate partner, no accreditation, travelling with inflatable kangaroo Jumpy, previewing the Australian 5,000m fields, plans for a pop-up parkrun on Copacabana Beach, and Newy parkrun's "parade of nations" send-off for Olympic marathoner Scott Westcott.
Episode 21
His Sydney Morning Herald half marathon run documented on Snapchat with two iPhones and a selfie stick; pacing elites Michael Shelley and Harry Summers for two minutes; the Mossy and Robbo Rio Olympics crowdfunding project and the "Samba Sofa"; Newy parkrun's fourth birthday on the June long weekend; the Daves Running Club; and a parkrun adventure to Minnippi parkrun in Brisbane.
Episode 4
How the Hunter got the nickname "the Region of Runners" (from the Ethiopian documentary Town of Runners); the launch of The Terrace parkrun at Raymond Terrace; The Beaches parkrun run entirely on soft sand and the tide's effect on it; the region's "more parkruns than a fast food athlete" challenge; and a running joke about wine-region parkruns and the show landing a red wine sponsor.