Episode 9 - Jakub Fedorowicz

Episode details · 199 speaker turns · sound cues from context

00:00:05Melissa Erbacher: Welcome to Episode 9 of the parkrun Adventurers. Tonight we have a very special guest in the studio. I am not joined by my regular co-host. I am being joined by the Studley event director. Say hello, Studley.

00:00:23Scott Trickett: Hi, Studley.

00:00:28Melissa Erbacher: So there was a bit of an exciting launch on Saturday. And it's exciting because obviously Scotty was involved. It was one of his babies and he got to have a whole bunch of runners come along. This week, we're going to do something a little bit different. And to get all the lowdown on how the launch went on the weekend, we are going to do one minute of questions, Sale of the Century style. Are you ready, Studley ED?

00:00:59Scott Trickett: I am ready.

00:01:01Melissa Erbacher: Okay, your time starts now. Who am I? I'm the only event to launch in Victoria on the 27th of February 2016.

00:01:09Scott Trickett: Studley parkrun.

00:01:11Melissa Erbacher: Is it true that you no longer answer to your given name and only reply to people when they refer to you as Studley ED?

00:01:17Scott Trickett: No, not yet.

00:01:20Melissa Erbacher: What time did female course record holder Amy Holmes finish in?

00:01:25Scott Trickett: Really fast.

00:01:27Melissa Erbacher: Is this the first time you've grown a beard for an event launch?

00:01:29Scott Trickett: Yes.

00:01:30Melissa Erbacher: Did you forget anything?

00:01:32Scott Trickett: Yes, a pen.

00:01:35Melissa Erbacher: Is it true that you had engineers check the suspension bridge before the trial to ensure it could support a sufficient amount of parkrunners?

00:01:41Scott Trickett: That is correct.

00:01:43Melissa Erbacher: How wobbly does the suspension bridge get when there are more than three runners on it at once?

00:01:48Scott Trickett: Feedback is it's more steady with running than walking. Not a problem.

00:01:54Melissa Erbacher: How many photographers did you have on the day? One. Did you only have one photographer? Because he took photos from three different places.

00:02:02Scott Trickett: She.

00:02:03Melissa Erbacher: She. Well, there you go. That's amazing. So many photos. If you could have a famous person attend Studley parkrun, who would it be?

00:02:13Scott Trickett: Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzmagic.

00:02:23Melissa Erbacher: Describe the Studley parkrun course in one word.

00:02:27Scott Trickett: Picturesque.

00:02:29Melissa Erbacher: What is Studley parkrun's Facebook page cover a photo of?

00:02:33Scott Trickett: The boathouse.

00:02:35Melissa Erbacher: True or false? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were at your launch.

00:02:42Scott Trickett: False. I'll go with false. Pretty confident there.

00:02:45Melissa Erbacher: Is it a breach of brand guidelines to minimize the font of the word parkrun in your email auto signature so as to make readers see Studley event director in larger font?

00:02:56Scott Trickett: I refuse to answer.

00:02:59Melissa Erbacher: And last question, did you have fun?

00:03:01Scott Trickett: I did. It was one of the most fun days I've had in my parkrun journey so far.

00:03:07Melissa Erbacher: Well, I think we may have taken a little bit longer than a minute there, Scotty, but I'll let you have that. It sounds like you had a good day.

00:03:16Scott Trickett: I did. We did. And a lot of people were asking me, am I nervous? And for some reason, I wasn't because I'm pretty confident that the course was spot on. The crew that I had with me on the day were going to do their job. And it's parkrun. We know how it works. It's a pretty simple concept. I like to keep things simple. And with that in mind, we had a really successful launch. And the feedback has been since Saturday has been positive, so that's good.

00:03:48Melissa Erbacher: You're going to go back and do another event next week?

00:03:53Scott Trickett: Launch another one?

00:03:54Melissa Erbacher: No, no. I mean, just, you know, have a second Studley one.

00:03:57Scott Trickett: I think so. Yeah? I think that's how it works. Yeah. Okay. I think it's every week. 8 a.m. for us. Yeah. So I had a launch to attend. You did some volunteering again in your favorite volunteer role as a tail runner. That's an assumption of mine. Am I correct?

00:04:17Melissa Erbacher: No, it's not actually my favorite volunteer role. It's a great one to do as a voluntourist. because obviously you get to appreciate the course if you've never been there before and it's not too difficult to follow the instructions because you're just following people that have been there before.

00:04:36Scott Trickett: Was it your first visit to Noosa?

00:04:38Melissa Erbacher: No, it wasn't my first visit to Noosa. I've been there on a few occasions. The last time I was there I was dressed as Slimer from the Ghostbusters.

00:04:45Scott Trickett: Oh, that's right.

00:04:47Melissa Erbacher: Do not ever run five kilometers in an inflatable plastic suit, okay? It might sound like a good idea, but plastic does not breathe, even in the middle of winter. It doesn't work.

00:05:01Scott Trickett: Heat needs to escape, and when you're wrapped up in plastic, there's nowhere for it to escape.

00:05:06Melissa Erbacher: Agreed. It was actually my eighth event as a volunteer. So I'm slowly chipping away at volunteering here and there. I'm trying to do one a month for the year 2016 so that I can contribute to the volunteerism craze. Let's call it a craze and it'll become a craze. The volunteerism craze that is sweeping the nation.

00:05:33Scott Trickett: Hey, more people are mentioning it to me. The more people we get doing it, trying it, they'll figure it out. It's great fun.

00:05:41Melissa Erbacher: It is really good fun. And, I mean, you get just as many thanks even if people don't know who you are, if you're volunteering somewhere else. So, yeah, and I had the benefit of happily attending Noosa parkrun on the day that their event directors, Michael and Jacqueline, known as Jack, ran their 50th parkruns together, which was amazing. a wonderful thing to be there for. So I was very pleased that I managed to be there on that day as well.

00:06:11Scott Trickett: Was there lots of celebrating for the two of them?

00:06:13Melissa Erbacher: No, they did it very quietly. No particular fanfare or anything like that. They started the run with their two boys and then the two boys left them for dead, as they do. But yeah, no, it was just, it's nice. As an event director myself, I can really appreciate that it takes a long time for us to reach the running milestones.

00:06:37Emily Fisher: And it took me two years to get to my 50th parkrun.

00:06:41Melissa Erbacher: And it hasn't quite taken them two years. They're a little bit ahead of that schedule, possibly because there's two of them. So they can share the run directing duties as well as being event directors. But yeah, no, it's just nice to be present when those things happen, even without fanfare.

00:07:01Scott Trickett: Yeah, I'm a fan of that, without fanfare. So well done, Noosa team. So briefly tell us a little bit about the Noosa course.

00:07:12Melissa Erbacher: Oh, the Noosa course is gorgeous. It's very, very shady. It has a lovely wide path. It predominantly is downhills. On the way out, which of course means that it's predominantly uphill on the way back. But when I say uphill, you know, it's slightly undulating and it's not a massive climb by any means. It runs through bushland alongside a lake. And I always forget whether it's Lake Cooroibah or Lake Cootharaba or it's possibly another lake. So don't quote me on the geography of that. But what I do know is that if you go there at the full moon, the lake is in a lot closer to the shore and it makes for a much prettier running. But it's a great course in the summer because of the shade and really, really welcoming team. They actually have a guest book because they receive so many tourists and adventurers at Noosa parkrun. They have a guest book that you can leave your comments and your name and the date that you visited. And it's really lovely actually to read through the pages to see where people have come from and what they've had to say about the course. And it's there available before and after the run. So if you stop by at Noosa, check out the guest book and make sure you sign in and leave a comment.

00:08:30Scott Trickett: Do they call it their tourism guest book or their adventuring guest book?

00:08:35Melissa Erbacher: I think they just call it the Noosa parkrun guest book. Okay. I don't think they're quantifiable.

00:08:39Scott Trickett: Good compromise, Noosa. So my takeaway from that is if I'm visiting Noosa, consult my lunar charts and look out for the guest book.

00:08:50Melissa Erbacher: Precisely. And speaking of people adventuring to Noosa, our next guest on the show has actually been there herself.

00:08:59Scott Trickett: Well, welcome by Christine Timms, who is our ED and TD extraordinaire from the island to the south. Welcome to the podcast, Christine.

00:09:08Christine Timms: Thank you very much.

00:09:10Scott Trickett: Now, you are the ED down at Launceston, but also the TD looking after all of Tasmania.

00:09:16Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:09:16Christine Timms: I didn't have enough work to do, so I had to take on more.

00:09:20Scott Trickett: And how are you finding that? Tasmania currently has three events. Room for growth?

00:09:25Christine Timms: Absolutely room for growth. So when I took over the Territory Director role in November, there were three existing events. I now have another three prospects who shall not be named that I'm working on. So hopefully I might be able to double my workload in the next 12 months.

00:09:43Scott Trickett: Can you give us a little preview?

00:09:47Christine Timms: Well, I've got one lady working on a lovely trail run in Railton, which is a very small country town between Launceston and Devonport. And then I have interest from Burnie and Georgetown. So all of them are up in the north. And that's not because I live in the north. They've all come to us. But they all look like really good prospects. Two of the three of them have actually come from the local councils, so really hopeful that they'll get up and running.

00:10:16Scott Trickett: Something different about Tasmania is you have the 9am starts.

00:10:21Christine Timms: Yes, we do. Well, some find that quite unusual. And, in fact, only two of our three events start at 9. Devonport starts at 8 because they have issues around access to their course if they run any later. But I guess what you need to understand about Tasmania is that at... eight o'clock in the middle of winter it can be still quite dark and it's not unusual for us when we're setting up for a nine o'clock start to be in minus five degrees so if I ask my event team to be out at seven o'clock for an eight o'clock start they may actually be icicles by the time you got everyone else got there. And I think it's actually worked quite well for us from a parkrun tourism perspective because we do seem to attract quite a lot of tourists, particularly, well, obviously I've got the most experience in Launceston. You know, it's a bit more civilised if you're being a tourist to sort of have a nine o'clock start than having to race out at early hours on your holidays.

00:11:19Melissa Erbacher: You get to have a sleep in.

00:11:21Christine Timms: You get to have a sleep in and do a parkrun.

00:11:24Melissa Erbacher: Well, I'm glad this has been brought to my attention because I would have been showing up a little bit early. I'm headed your way in a couple of months and I plan to do Hobart and Launceston when I'm there. So 9 a.m. starts, locking that in the memory bank.

00:11:40Christine Timms: Definitely. And if you're here in our winter, you'll appreciate the later time.

00:11:46Melissa Erbacher: I'm sure I will.

00:11:48Scott Trickett: Are you heading over for the powwow, Mel? No.

00:11:52Melissa Erbacher: I'm not. I'll be there a little bit earlier than powwow. I'm going to be there in the last couple of weeks in April. I'm going down for my wedding anniversary, actually. So, yeah, it doesn't fall around the same time of year as powwow, unfortunately. Oh, that's a shame.

00:12:09Scott Trickett: And what is a powwow?

00:12:11Christine Timms: Well, a powwow, originally they were event team powwows and it's an opportunity for the event teams from around the country to gather together and share ideas and get to know each other, to get some face-to-face access to the big boss, Tim. And generally what happens is you get together on Friday night for a meal, you go to a local parkrun on Saturday morning. On the Saturday afternoon or late morning we'll have a question and answer time Jim from head office. And then on the Sunday, there's generally a fun run of some sort to be involved in.

00:12:50Melissa Erbacher: And which fun run will be at your powwow, Christine?

00:12:54Christine Timms: So our powwow is on the weekend of the 10th to the 12th of June, and it coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Launceston Ten, which is not only a fun run, but it's also the Oceania 10K Championships. And it's got a bit of a reputation as being the fastest 10K race in the country. And so, yeah, it's the 10th anniversary. We've got a number of our parkrunners, myself included. who are actually completing our 10th Launceston 10. So there's about 20 people out there who've done all 10 since it started. So it's a little bit special.

00:13:30Melissa Erbacher: Oh, if you'd cut that down to 10 of you who've done all 10 since it started and you're doing it on the 10th of June and the 10th anniversary, it would make it a lot easier to remember.

00:13:41Christine Timms: That would be really neat, wouldn't it?

00:13:42Melissa Erbacher: It would.

00:13:43Christine Timms: I haven't been able to knock that many out.

00:13:47Melissa Erbacher: Well done, though, being part of the 20 who've done every single one. That's brilliant. And it's in June, so I'm assuming that's pretty damn cold. What time does that start in the morning?

00:13:58Christine Timms: That starts at 10 o'clock in the morning.

00:14:00Melissa Erbacher: Of course it does.

00:14:01Christine Timms: Yes, Launceston 10 at 10. Yeah, it's pretty cold and I have seen it in driving horizontal rain, not being able to see your hand in front of your face. It's kind of an experience, but I quite like running in the cold, so it's quite good for me.

00:14:21Melissa Erbacher: I think you're selling it to the really hardcore parkrunners, Christine.

00:14:26Christine Timms: I was up in Queensland in summer doing parkrun and that was hard work for me.

00:14:31Scott Trickett: Which events did you get to on your tourism trip?

00:14:35Christine Timms: Well, my first week I was actually in Melbourne, so I went out to Altona Beach parkrun with a friend of mine who lives over there who I'm trying to convert to the park runway of life. And then the following two weeks I got one in at Noosa and they were gracious enough to have some driving rain for us on the day, which cooled things down quite nicely for us southerners and made up for the little hills that they've got on their course.

00:15:00Melissa Erbacher: Those are also undulations? Yes.

00:15:02Christine Timms: Yes, yes, apart from that last one, which is easy to get down at the beginning of your run, but not so easy to get back up again. And then my last run during my parkrun tourism was Paradise Beach, sorry, Paradise Point parkrun, which was just lovely, lovely group of people there and a nice flat run.

00:15:21Melissa Erbacher: Wow, so you have been on some adventures. How many different parkruns have you done, Christine?

00:15:26Christine Timms: Including Launceston, I've done 11 different courses. so I've been lucky to get around quite a few. And I've done one volunteerism. I was very proud of my volunteerism. I was at Albert Park a couple of weeks ago.

00:15:41Scott Trickett: Good reports were coming from the event team that Christine came to save the day. Organising the funnel?

00:15:47Christine Timms: It was actually the funnel to the barcode scanners. So they had the funnel getting their tickets and then they needed a funnel to get to the barcode scanners because there were so many people. It was great. And a really good vibe, lovely bunch of people.

00:16:01Scott Trickett: Okay, I'd like to get your top parkrun. So out of your 11, give me your favorite. Excluding Launceston, of course.

00:16:08Christine Timms: Oh, okay. I really enjoyed Noosa. Loved Noosa. Enjoy Altona Beach. The view from the midpoint of Altona Beach is just stunning. Really enjoyed that and a lovely, lovely group of people there as well. I thought Paradise Point was really cruel because they made me cross the finish line or go past the finish line three times before they let me use it. And that's just heartbreaking. Yeah, I think my favourite would have to be Altona Beach.

00:16:44Scott Trickett: I agree with you. It's a really pretty course at Altona and the view. So if you haven't been there, it's an out and back course, but you run up a sort of a hill at the halfway point to a tower and then you get to overlook Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. Really pretty. One of the challenges of running parkrun in Australia is that it's hot. Everyone here complains that it's hot and we need singlets. What is a hot day in Tasmania like?

00:17:13Christine Timms: A hot parkrun in Tasmania would be 23 to 25 degrees. Oh, that's a scorcher, isn't it? Isn't it dreadful? How do you cope? Oh, we make sure everyone's got plenty of water and we warn them days in advance that it's going to be so hot. But quite seriously, though... The heat down here, it sounds silly, but the heat down here for the same temperature does feel more draining than say the heat in Queensland when you're not accustomed to it. I don't know exactly what it is. Someone might be able to tell me, but people come down and they do complain that it feels a lot hotter than what it actually is. But that's another reason why we don't push our start times any earlier is because there's really not that much need in the summer.

00:18:07Scott Trickett: And on the other end of it, what's a cold day look like?

00:18:10Christine Timms: As I say, we could be setting up in minus five.

00:18:15Melissa Erbacher: But is there really any difference between zero and minus five? Once you're frozen, aren't you just frozen?

00:18:23Christine Timms: Finger function can be very useful when you try to give out tokens and press stopwatch buttons.

00:18:31Melissa Erbacher: Yes, buttons require digital use, yes.

00:18:34Scott Trickett: On that note, Christine, thanks for joining us on the parkrun Adventurers. We have enjoyed our visit to Tasmania.

00:18:40Melissa Erbacher: Thanks very much, Christine. I might see you in April.

00:18:43Christine Timms: You may very well do. Look forward to it.

00:18:44[music]

International crossover interview (unnamed slot)

00:18:52Scott Trickett: And we thought it was time to go international again on the pod. And I have a really close connection in my life to Poland and Polish culture. So I wanted to speak to the Polish country manager, Jakub Fedorowicz. You're going to have to help me with your surname, Jakub.

00:19:11Jakub Fedorowicz: It's an easy one. It's Fedorowicz.

00:19:14Scott Trickett: Jakub Fedorowicz. Welcome to the parkrun Adventurers podcast.

00:19:18Jakub Fedorowicz: Oh, hello.

00:19:19Scott Trickett: parkrun in Poland. How many years has it been going?

00:19:22Jakub Fedorowicz: It's been going for five years now, so this year it's going to be our fifth year. It's been pretty nice and developing, and over those five years, I think we achieved quite a lot.

00:19:37Melissa Erbacher: So, Jakub, when you launched in October 2011, I understand you only had five runners at your first event. Is that correct?

00:19:46Jakub Fedorowicz: We had five people, of which two were runners, and we had three volunteers. And I think that was the only case where we had more volunteers than runners, luckily.

00:19:57Melissa Erbacher: And so now that you've got about 30 events, what sort of average do you have every week in terms of runners and volunteers?

00:20:06Jakub Fedorowicz: It very much depends on the size of the city. We have events where we have for more than 200 people, but also we have those small ones where we have around 10, 15 people every week. So it depends.

00:20:25Scott Trickett: The good news is it's growing.

00:20:27Jakub Fedorowicz: Oh, yes. It's growing. In total, I think we have more than 35,000 people registered with parkrun in Poland. And we're growing by more than 1,000 people per month. So it's quite good.

00:20:43Scott Trickett: That's great. Because do the Poles embrace parkrun? Because I can't imagine there is a big running culture in Poland. Am I right?

00:20:55Jakub Fedorowicz: Yeah, I think it is now. I mean, you know, it has developed over the years. If you, you know, if you run in eight days, people would just stare at you and laugh, you know, and then, you know, they would just say, you know, you are crazy. But now I think you really have to explain and justify why you're not running. So it has changed, you know, completely.

00:21:20Melissa Erbacher: Give us a little bit of an insight into the weather you have over there, Jakub, and what time of the day do your parkruns start?

00:21:29Jakub Fedorowicz: I would just say we are pretty much the same as the other countries, the other parkrun countries. Our events... They are held on Saturday, of course, and 9 o'clock in the morning. So pretty much the same as in the most of the parkrun world. If you ask me about differences or if you ask me about anything that is very much specific or very much Poland-related in terms of parkrun, I must say that we are not different. We have many people coming from the UK and other countries And when they participate at parkrun in Poland, they say, you know, it's amazing, it's all the same, apart from the language, of course. Other than that, we do our events as anywhere else. I think what would be quite unique, I mean, you know, If you look at our event or other events in Poland, running events, I think we are the only one that offers people to participate with buggies and with dogs, which is not very much the case with any other events. So this is something where parkrun is really, really different to other events. But other than that, I would say it's pretty much the same. So if you come along to see parkrun in Poland and to take part, you would not be surprised with anything.

00:23:10Scott Trickett: Well, that's comforting to know because the language barrier could potentially be a barrier for tourists, but I imagine it's not. The British Australian parkrunners are just rocking up and they know exactly what's going to happen without understanding anything.

00:23:25Jakub Fedorowicz: Yeah, that's true. We had, last Saturday, we had three people that came from the UK. They could not understand the word, but they knew exactly what was going on and how they should behave with the barcodes and safety arrangements and everything, so pretty much the same. parkrun is just universal even if the language isn't yes it is because you know parkrun is about removing barriers and you know because we have the same idea because we actually running the same concept across the world you know it's you are very familiar with what's going to happen even if you are you know in another country so yes I agree that's brilliant

00:24:20Scott Trickett: Yeah, we should point out to our listeners that your Australian barcode will work exactly the same way in Poland and in Denmark and in Ireland as it does here in Australia. Any plans for you to visit Australia, Jakub?

00:24:35Jakub Fedorowicz: Probably not this year, but that would be great if I could visit Australia. That would be one of the things on my to-do list.

00:24:46Melissa Erbacher: Have you done many tourist parkruns yourself?

00:24:50Jakub Fedorowicz: I've been to several places, mostly in the UK, where I actually started parkrunning and when I came across parkrun for the first time. But then I went also to Ireland and Denmark. I've never been to Russia, which is our neighbour, and this is another thing that I'm going to do.

00:25:14Scott Trickett: Tell us about which is your largest event. If I was to visit, which would be your largest event?

00:25:22Jakub Fedorowicz: The largest event, I think it's Poznan. It's the west part of the country where usually you have around 200 people. Last Christmas, we had... More than 1,000 people came to run, which was a pretty, you know, which was a challenge to our team and it was a bit unexpected. You know, suddenly from 200 you have 1,000 people. But I would say this is the biggest one on average.

00:25:57Melissa Erbacher: And which event would you say is the most picturesque?

00:26:04Jakub Fedorowicz: I would say that Catania and Gdansk are nice ones because the course, in both cases, the course goes alongside the sea, which is nice. We have one in the mountains, and this is the only one, I think, in the world that goes through two countries because you start in Poland, and then you cross the border, and you run into the Czech Republic. After three kilometers you just run back to Poland and you finish in Poland. But this is a very nice one because it goes through three parks and of course you are in the mountains.

00:26:53Melissa Erbacher: That sounds amazing. Yeah, that sounds awesome. I'm heading there.

00:26:56Jakub Fedorowicz: It's a small one and it's not easy to get there, but still many people, you know, they put the name on the list and they really want to go there. You don't need any passport, right? But this is amazing that you cross the bridge and you see the border and you just, you know, run into another country.

00:27:18Scott Trickett: Do they have border patrol?

00:27:20Jakub Fedorowicz: Nope, no border patrol.

00:27:23Melissa Erbacher: So you don't add any time to your parkrun time limit by stopping and getting your passport stamped on the way in or out?

00:27:31Jakub Fedorowicz: No.

00:27:33Melissa Erbacher: This is excellent. Small in the mountains, picturesque, running through two countries. I think that ticks all the boxes for me.

00:27:40Scott Trickett: Are we going to add that one to the list, Mel?

00:27:42Melissa Erbacher: Absolutely. It's going to the top, I think.

00:27:45Jakub Fedorowicz: What's it called, Jakub? It's called Cieszyn, and you can find it on our website. But it's really nice. I mean, I would very much recommend that one.

00:27:55Scott Trickett: And where are you based? What's your local one?

00:27:58Jakub Fedorowicz: I'm based in the north. I'm based in Gdynia. And this is my home event where parkrun really started in Poland. So I've never moved from that one. And also you can see it on the website. We have two, we have three next to each other, which is good because you have a variety of courses. So you can go, you know, to Gdynia one week and then another week you can go to Gdansk, which is like 20 minutes away.

00:28:28Scott Trickett: My wife's family is from Czechoslovakia. Any backgrounds there?

00:28:36Jakub Fedorowicz: We have one in Wroclaw, which is a nice one. We don't have any parkrun events in Czechoslovakia yet, but we will get there.

00:28:48Scott Trickett: I like that answer, yet. So you're optimistic about the future of parkrun in Poland?

00:28:55Jakub Fedorowicz: I am. I mean, you know, the last five years, although you may say, you know, it could have actually grown quicker, The last five years have proven that parkrun concept is getting interest. We have many people that are very much involved in parkrun. It's getting popular more and more. We have been nominated for the running awards in Poland. So I'm very much optimistic about what's going to happen in the future.

00:29:33Scott Trickett: That's awesome. Your runners will still receive the Tribe Sports gear?

00:29:40Jakub Fedorowicz: Yes, we are part of the system now, and so our runners, they also claim the same shirt as you do in Australia, which is pretty awesome because then you can meet people from other countries and they would wear the same shirt as you do. Which is quite nice. So I'm going to Africa in a month time and I'm taking my 50 shirt with me. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to meet a lot of people wearing the same shirt.

00:30:19Scott Trickett: You've been around for five years, so you must have some runners who have been 50, 100, getting close to 250.

00:30:26Jakub Fedorowicz: Yeah, we have now many hundreds. We still don't have any 250, but we'll be getting close to that stage. So I think this year we're going to actually have the first runners wearing 250 shirts.

00:30:44Scott Trickett: And not forgetting the 25 volunteer shirt. I'm assuming you've got one of them too?

00:30:49Jakub Fedorowicz: Yes, I do, of course. I think I've got more than 100 volunteer cases, so yes, I deserve one.

00:30:56Melissa Erbacher: They should send you four.

00:31:01Jakub Fedorowicz: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny because it has taken me about four years to get my 50 shirt. which I think was pretty much the case with Tom in the UK. But yes, I've got my volunteer shirt because I think it was more to volunteer at the beginning than running for myself. It's brilliant because last year I went to Ireland and I was just wearing my volunteer shirt. And some people just came to me saying, oh, thank you for volunteering. They obviously, they've never met me before, but they sold the shirt. So, you know, it was really nice. I was really pleased with that.

00:31:49Scott Trickett: Yeah, I think it's a great thing. Whenever I wear my purple shirt, I must admit, people thank me too because there's just not many of them around in parkrun because it's really hard to volunteer 25 times. Well, thank you for joining us, Jakub. Dzięki. [Polish: "Thanks."]

00:32:05Jakub Fedorowicz: Oh, thank you very much. Dziękuję bardzo. So I wish all the best to Park from Australia. And whenever you want, visit Poland. I think we have pretty events, really nice, beautiful parks where you can run. And of course, Cieszyn. This is the one that you should put on your list. [Polish: "Thank you very much."]

00:32:23Melissa Erbacher: Yes, we'll be having a lot of people heading your way very shortly, I have no doubt, Jakub.

00:32:30Jakub Fedorowicz: Yeah, I better let the team know.

00:32:33Melissa Erbacher: Yes, let them know we're coming.

00:32:36Jakub Fedorowicz: Hopefully, you know, I'll see you at some point, I'll see you in Poland.

00:32:40Melissa Erbacher: Thank you so much for joining us.

00:32:42[music]

00:32:42Jakub Fedorowicz: Yes, ask Tim to organise a trip.

Social adventuring roundup

00:32:56Scott Trickett: Time for some social adventuring, Mel. Are you ready?

00:32:59Melissa Erbacher: I'm ready, Scotty.

00:33:00Scott Trickett: Let's do the roundup. Dave D'Alessio was at Sandon Point parkrun and he thought he was smiling like his friend, partner, Jenny. Turns out he wasn't. It's not a bad photo, Dave, but keep trying. Finding My Balance was at Sierra May parkrun where, in addition to the pic of herself enjoying the run, she also posted a pic of the fattest wallaby. you're ever likely to see. And if you're listening, do a search for it because it's the angles. I'm sure the wallaby's not actually that large. And we had two posts from my Studley parkrun launch. We had Ruinedish commenting that it was fun to be at a launch and also impressed with my facial growth. And also HeyTJ shared a pic of her park dog, Pip. who was a bit unsure about the wobbly bridge. But she would have discovered as soon as she started running on it, there was nothing to worry about.

00:33:59Melissa Erbacher: So that's all happening on Instagram this week. We also had our roving adventurer, Gary Clark, out at Tuggeranong's Anniversary, the superhero themed run. And we'll hear from Gary now, who caught up with quite a few people.

Roving adventurer's report

00:34:15Gary Clarke: This is Gary Clark. I'm the event director for Tuggeranong parkrun, reporting in for parkrun Adventurers. And I'm here with David Clark. David is our male points winner for 2015-16. So how did you go this morning, David?

00:34:30David Clark: Oh, pretty good actually this morning. I got another PB and it's taken me nearly two years to get that, so I'm really happy with that. What do you love about Tuggeranong parkrun? Oh, pretty well everything. I mean, I run quite a bit and this is the best club I've ever seen, if I can call it a club. And just the way it's organised, the people, the social interaction, just everything.

00:34:51Gary Clarke: Alright, I'm here with Lauren Stone. She's our female points winner for 2015-16. She's obviously a very consistent parkrunner, being here just about every week. What is it that you love about parkrun? Why do you keep coming back every week?

00:35:07Lauren Stone: Well, Gary, I love everything about Tuggeranong parkrun. It's about the community for me. It's about the people and the atmosphere. and the support that everyone gives each other and just the fantastic environment we have to run and do our best and enjoy each other's company every weekend.

00:35:22Gary Clarke: So I'm here with Rod Turner. Rod's been out there running today. I think it's really just because he wanted cake. So why do you come along to Tuggeranong? What makes it so special for you?

00:35:33Rod Turner: I've been coming to parkrun now for about three years, so it's something that I've really enjoyed during that time. But since my heart surgery back in 2014, It's even more important. I went through a six-week rehabilitation program. And so the cardiologist said to me that it was important to get back out there, get fit. So I think I was back at parkrun about three months later. Took it easy at first, but, yeah, so it's all about fitness and getting back with my mates at parkrun. Yep.

00:36:10Gary Clarke: So I'm here with Emily Fisher. Emily is one of our prolific parkrun pram pushers. I've had to practice that a few times. How did you go today?

00:36:19Emily Fisher: Not too bad, thanks Gary. Yeah, I really enjoy pushing my nearly four-year-old and 18-month-old. in a double pram, it's quite hard work. But I'm hoping that I'm setting a good example for my children. I'm trying to encourage my four-year-old to run a bit towards the end. So that's always a bit exciting.

00:36:35Gary Clarke: And if you can get them out of the pram at some point, that'll make you a bit quicker, I assume.

00:36:39Emily Fisher: Yes, absolutely. Yes, I'm working on my pram PB, getting faster each week. But yeah, I do enjoy bringing the kids along and it's a great family environment for the children.

00:36:50Gary Clarke: So I'm here with Tim. Tim's one of our parkrun paparazzis today. When we download the photos onto Facebook, what can we expect to find?

00:36:59Tim: I think you can expect to find a smattering of superheroes, Gary. I think you'll find lots of supermen, lots of spider-men, a lot of people with capes, a lot of speed, a lot of people moving at the speed of light.

00:37:12Gary Clarke: What is it that you love about parkrun here at Tuggeranong?

00:37:14Tim: Look, I think parkrun at Tuggeranong brings together an amazing community of people of all levels of fitness. There's no competition. It's a very supportive and inclusive environment. It's a lot of fun.

00:37:26Gary Clarke: I'm here with Gareth and Kelly Candy. Now, these guys are parkrun royalty here in Tuggeranong. Having brought parkrun to Tuggeranong three years ago, been out there celebrating our third birthday today.

00:37:39Kelly Candy: uh in your superhero costumes and capes and everything going on how was it out there this morning in the run we just loved it out there um lots of high fives we had jessica walking with us and lewis in the pram lots of high fives great atmosphere lots of runners um and just yeah really proud to be here on the third birthday

00:37:59Gary Clarke: Fantastic.

00:38:00Gareth Candy: You had some fun out there, Gareth? Plenty of high-fives? Yeah, lots of high-fives. It was a lot of fun. It's great that we can actually come out here all as a family. Our little girl, Jessica, now is five, going towards six, and she actually comes and has a walk around and has a great time. And our little Lewis, who's 10 months old, he comes out and goes around in the prams. So we all went around together today, which was fantastic.

00:38:23Gary Clarke: So Tuggeranong parkrun really is your baby. You brought parkrun here to Tuggeranong in the south of Canberra,

00:38:30Gareth Candy: um what prompted you to do that oh well look we we first came across parkrun when we're living um over in england uh we're in sheffield and we were there when parkrun first launched in sheffield um quite a long time ago now probably uh six or seven years ago um and we just love the concept it was just really simple it was really um accessible to anyone who wanted to take part and uh Then after a couple of years, we moved back home to Canberra, moved down here into Tuggeranong, and there wasn't a parkrun here. In fact, there wasn't a lot here for people who wanted to go out for a run or meet people, so we just felt that Tuggeranong needed a parkrun and did what we needed to do to get it started.

00:39:14Gary Clarke: And there's certainly thousands of runners down here in Tuggeranong who appreciate all that effort that you went to three years ago. So three years on from you guys setting this up, How are things now compared to the vision that you had three years ago? Has it turned out the way you thought it would?

00:39:32Kelly Candy: It is bigger, better, more amazing than we thought. We were hoping to just have 40 to 50 people down here regularly participating in an event. We've now got This amazing team of volunteers that are here, our run directors team, obviously you Gary and Denise and the whole bunch of us that are just so passionate about parkrun and what we're trying to achieve which is just getting out, having fun as a community and I feel that it really has become a community event and Look, we've seen it from talking to people that it has changed people's lives. And no, we did not realise we were sort of setting out to do that. And what it's become with the community atmosphere down here is just something, yeah, we'll always be proud of it. But it's not just us that have made that. It's been the whole event.

00:40:28Gary Clarke: It is a team effort, but we certainly appreciate the effort that you guys went to three years ago to start this event. As I said, you guys are a parkrun royalty. So on behalf of all the Tuggeranong parkrunners, we thank you very much. The parkrun Adventurers, thank you for your time today. And this is Gary Clark, Event Director, Tuggeranong parkrun, signing off for parkrun Adventurers. Happy birthday.

00:40:53Kelly Candy: Woo-hoo! Thanks, Gary.

00:40:55Scott Trickett: Thanks Gary and Gareth and Kelly and lots of others from the Tuggeranong anniversary on the weekend. Now that is how you contribute a roving adventurer's report. Amazingly, we have no anniversaries or launches this weekend in parkrun Australia. But we do need questions to put to Tim Oberg in next week's podcast, so make sure you send them in to us.

00:41:22Melissa Erbacher: Pretty easy to do, guys. I think you know how to use Facebook by now. And make them good ones, okay? Like seriously, how often do you have the opportunity to ask the general manager of parkrun Australia the big questions? I don't know anywhere else where he just answers everybody's questions. So I think we've got a bit of an exclusive there and you guys need to cash in on that. Thank you for joining me on another parkrun adventure, Scotty. It was great chatting to you again tonight. As always, congratulations on launching Studley. And I'm off to go and book some tickets or at least look at prices for how to get to Poland. And after that, I think I'm going to have to figure out how to navigate the parkrun Poland website because it's all written in Polish.

00:42:12Scott Trickett: That's good. I've got someone who can help me with that. But I'm going to stick around in Studley for a few more weeks and then start booking my flights to Poland. Thanks for joining me. We will see you, hear you next week.

00:42:22[music]

00:42:40Unidentified speaker: Bye.