Episode 55

Episode details · 186 speaker turns · sound cues from context

00:00:07Scott Trickett: Welcome back to episode 55, 55 and a half maybe, of the parkrun Adventurers podcast. My name is Scott. As always, I'm joined by Mel on the Sunshine Coast. Hi Mel.

00:00:22Melissa Erbacher: Hey Scotty. Nice to see you again for the second half of a time.

00:00:27Scott Trickett: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what about that?

00:00:30Melissa Erbacher: Yeah. I got a text this afternoon from my brother who was wondering why there was still no podcast. I think he's more interested in hearing me talk to you every week than he is in actually speaking to me on the phone.

00:00:44Tara Carpenter: Yeah.

00:00:45Scott Trickett: Look, once again, it's good to know that people miss us. But man, the standards that we've got are set now.

00:00:54Melissa Erbacher: I know, the quality control.

00:00:56Scott Trickett: Yeah.

00:00:56Melissa Erbacher: It's out of our hands.

00:00:57Scott Trickett: I didn't know it went through that. So you've kept that from me. I'm surprised we got to 55 before he pulled us up.

00:01:07Melissa Erbacher: Well, look, I'll let you in on a secret. He's only just recently been recruited.

00:01:10Scott Trickett: Okay. Got to lift my standards. We both have to lift our standards. So things happen.

00:01:17Melissa Erbacher: busy lives real life jobs sometimes get in the way and that is what happened there's no mystery or excuses other than that but we're here this week and we're ready to go we are and we did have some great stuff to share with you last week as well and we're still going to keep the great stuff so we're just going to get rid of the stuff that's not so great and replace it with the good stuff you had a bit of a special race on this week scotty didn't you

00:01:45Scott Trickett: Well, I wouldn't say a bit of a special race, but I can tell you what I did.

00:01:50Melissa Erbacher: It was night time. Doesn't that make it special?

00:01:52Unidentified speaker: Yeah, yeah.

00:01:53Scott Trickett: Yeah. So for the first time since I was in Little Athletics, so we're talking 30 years, I raced on the athletics track this week.

00:02:03Melissa Erbacher: Ooh, how did that go? I came last. Okay, that's a legitimate position to finish in. I've done it many a time and will do so again. Yeah.

00:02:13Scott Trickett: Did you enjoy it? Look, I did. My first initial reaction was I was focusing on too much about coming last. For some reason, that sucks. You get the pity clap when you finish and... I don't know. I just, in the moment, I wasn't that thrilled. But after you've had time to process it, I was a little bit chuffed that I tried something out of my comfort zone. I tried something new. And at the end of the day, absolutely nobody cared that I came last. So why should I?

00:02:47Melissa Erbacher: So you were on a track and at night time, so you were under the lights.

00:02:51Scott Trickett: Yeah.

00:02:52Melissa Erbacher: How, like, what's that like? I don't think I've ever run under lights at night time that weren't street lights.

00:02:59Scott Trickett: Yeah, no, it's a good feeling. Like the track itself, running on the track, if you haven't done it, I highly recommend it.

00:03:06Melissa Erbacher: Do you have spikes or do you run in your golf shoes?

00:03:08Scott Trickett: Well, remember what I said, I came last. So I'm not at the spikes level just yet. Maybe a couple more months later.

00:03:17Melissa Erbacher: Okay.

00:03:17Scott Trickett: I'll think about doing the spikes.

00:03:19Melissa Erbacher: To give us a frame of reference, were you happy with your time? Let's pretend that there were nobody else running. Nobody else was running. And you did that time on the track. Would you be happy with it?

00:03:33Scott Trickett: No, I wouldn't there.

00:03:34Melissa Erbacher: Okay.

00:03:35Scott Trickett: But, again, first time, learnt something new. Because it was a 3K race. Oh, that's not a short race.

00:03:43Melissa Erbacher: No.

00:03:45Scott Trickett: Well, it is. Because of parkrun, I reference everything in 5k these days. So I ran this 3k race like I would be running a hard parkrun. But the problem with that is that it's actually 2km shorter, so you should actually run harder. So I'm told, and so I've learnt, and apparently a 3k should really hurt. And when I finished, I was fine.

00:04:13Melissa Erbacher: Okay. Also, it's a race. So 3Ks is a very long distance for a race, in my opinion, because parkrun's a run. It's not a race. I guess so. So it's not the same thing. I could have told you that, and I'm no athletics coach.

00:04:32Scott Trickett: Well, there's one of the things I've learned. I should have gone to Coach Erbacher for my pep talk beforehand.

00:04:40Melissa Erbacher: Next time, give me a call. Yeah. You'll come second last at least.

00:04:48Scott Trickett: But there you go. So it's all about participation. It's just all about having a go. And that's a bit more... Okay.

00:04:54Melissa Erbacher: But this... Sorry, I'm going to interrupt you. This leads me to another question. You used to do athletics when you were little. Yep. So I never did. I was not exposed to those sorts of things. So... You started running at a young age. Is that how you started? Talk me through it.

00:05:15Scott Trickett: Going right back, little athletics. My mum was great. I wanted to do everything as a little kid, and she let me. Cricket, tennis, basketball, little athletics. And I actually really enjoyed little athletics. There was lots of different things you could try. All my mates were there. I was okay at it. There were some events that I was really crap at, but it didn't matter because there were some events that I was really good at. And so everything balanced out. So I guess that was my introduction to running. And what it also did is it was an introduction to an active lifestyle my whole life. So what I got used to as a kid I effectively have just carried on throughout my whole life.

00:05:59Melissa Erbacher: So you were already a runner when parkrun came into the world for you?

00:06:05Scott Trickett: Well, if we go right back to when I started parkrunning, I knew about it because I was a runner, but at the time I wasn't.

00:06:13Melissa Erbacher: Oh, okay. Because that makes any kind of sense.

00:06:19Scott Trickett: Well, because I think I've talked about this.

00:06:20Melissa Erbacher: You were a non-practicing.

00:06:22Scott Trickett: I was a non-practicing runner, yeah.

00:06:24Melissa Erbacher: Okay, fair enough.

00:06:25Scott Trickett: I had stopped. I had stopped being active. And the byproduct of that is that you get really fat and you get really unfit. And so I used parkrun to reverse all that.

00:06:37Melissa Erbacher: Awesome. Isn't it funny how you can eat a certain amount and you can run a certain amount and then when you stop the running part, the eating part doesn't seem to correlate. You still keep eating as much as you were.

00:06:50Scott Trickett: Because it's usually delicious food. Have you got a similar story?

00:06:55Melissa Erbacher: I did not do athletics good as a child. I came last in all the races. I hated sports carnivals. I hated swimming carnivals. I avoided them like the plague because I was that kid who... I always got picked last for the actual teams as well. And I think... even to this day, that it is one of the cruelest forms of punishment to make a couple of kids in a school class of 30 pick one by one who they want to be on their team. And it's always going to be the non-athletic or the fat kids left until last. And it makes them feel like crap every single time. There's got to be a more effective way of Hey, how about everyone who's to the left side of my arm is on this team? Everyone on the right side is on that team. Like seriously, that's got a whole much less emotional trauma for children than making them do the whole popularity thing or the whole based on your athletic ability thing as judged by your peers. So, yeah, no, that was not me. I did do a little bit of Irish dancing when I was a lass, but that was when we lived in Mount Isa. And unfortunately, when we moved away, it didn't get carried on because I don't think there was a school here on the coast that was doing it at that time. So... Yeah, no, sport really wasn't much of a thing for me. Certainly running wasn't. I hated cross country. Hated all of it.

00:08:36Scott Trickett: So the competitive nature of sport, you hated. But what about the doing, the participation part of sport? Did you like that?

00:08:44Melissa Erbacher: No, I didn't enjoy that either because I, you know, I didn't have the lung capacity for it. I came last by so far. It was just, yeah, you know. Everyone else basically packed up to go home kind of situation. So it didn't bring me joy in any way, shape or form. It wasn't until I was a teenager where I started enjoying the social aspect of team sports like netball and volleyball and stuff like that. And, you know, you can hide a lot of, what's the word, non-skill in a team situation because everybody kind of pulls together and, And the strong ones help make up for the weaker ones. And then, you know, over time, if you're with the right people who are positive, they can help you improve your actual skill levels as well. But, you know, running itself didn't start for me until I was, I would have been in my 30s. Yeah, early 30s. So I'm still just a newbie to it, essentially. But it all sort of centers around my wedding and not in the way that you would expect because I didn't run to lose weight to fit into my dress or anything like that. My mom made my dress so she could just make it as big or as little as I needed. After I got married, I decided I don't have to try anymore. So I'll let myself go. And then I just went into this whole season of eating and drinking a lot of food and not doing a lot of moving things. And it wasn't until we were going to go away on a holiday that I realized I wasn't fitting into some pants that I owned. And that was a bit of a wake-up call for me because I really loved those clothes. They were winter clothes that I wasn't fitting into. And I thought, well, I could either buy some more and then they would be bigger than I would really like them to be. And I wouldn't want to keep them for too long because I don't necessarily want to be that uncomfortable size. And... Or I could start moving and making some better choices about what I was eating. So I did that one instead. And running was a big part of that. So the moving every day, I just thought, look, I just got to move every day. And so I did. I started walking every day with my dog. And eventually the walk got too slow. So I started running little sections, you know, between lampposts, between this lamppost and that tree sort of thing, down the hill. I can walk up the hill, but I run down it. And yeah, it all progressed from there. It wasn't until somebody told me after I ran for about a minute and a half altogether that, oh, I was a real runner now. And so I thought, oh, well, that was easy. I'll start calling myself a runner. That works for me. And yeah, the rest is history.

00:11:33Scott Trickett: It's such a common story. I think if you ask a lot of people, particularly around parkrun, their motivation for starting parkrunning or their motivation for starting running, weight loss and just getting big

00:11:46Melissa Erbacher: And fitness, yeah, I think a lot of people get wake-up calls, you know, when either illness or they go to do something that they think they should be capable of and that either really tires them out or they injure themselves or, you know, there's just something. There's usually a turning point, isn't there? People don't generally just decide one day, hmm, I might start running.

00:12:08Scott Trickett: You know the other good thing, though? There's a lot of success stories. It works. So if you're starting out on that journey now, stick to it. Because I can't guarantee it, but I can almost guarantee it, you are going to get fitter and slimmer and fit into those pants.

00:12:24Melissa Erbacher: They were good pants. Still have them. Fit into them now. We're very lucky to be joined now with a relatively new parkrunner. She started parkrunning in 2016, but she's made a bit of a big impact and there's a lot of people who know about her now. Her name is Shannon, but you may know her as the plus size parkrunner. Shannon, welcome to the parkrun Adventurers podcast.

00:13:01Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Hi, thank you. Thanks for having me.

00:13:03Melissa Erbacher: So let's jump straight in, Shannon. How did you first hear about parkrun and what motivated you to go?

00:13:10Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": When I was on maternity leave I went to a local boot camp that was run by our local council and some of the girls there mentioned that they were going to parkrun and I had no idea what it was so I went down one weekend and gave it a walk and kind of fell in love with it and kept kind of going on it from there.

00:13:32Scott Trickett: And the next evolution for you Shannon was to start writing about your parkrun experience. Where did you get the idea to do that?

00:13:40Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": So I am on the Running Mums Australia Facebook page and I was trying to find someone to help me be accountable. So I put a post up just asking for a running buddy. And a lot of people thought when I wrote the message that they needed to live near where I lived and go to parkrun where I went. And I was just looking for someone really a virtual friend who would send me a message on a Friday to say, you know, get your bum into gear, go to a parkrun tomorrow and then maybe touch base with me on a Saturday, you know, how did you go? And I had about 300 people commenting, wishing me the best of luck, but they didn't live near me. So I thought, well, I'll start up a Facebook page and if these people that were commenting, you know, really wishing me the best of luck, if they were really interested in wishing me the best of luck, they would get on this page. And at first I thought, you know, if I have five people that would help motivate me, That would do. And, you know, fast forward six weeks later and there's a ridiculous amount of like 5,000 people or close to 5,000 people on there. It is crazy.

00:14:54Scott Trickett: Now, I think I know the answer to this. But why do you think it blew up so big and so quickly?

00:15:00Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": From what everyone is saying to me, it's because I'm a real person. Everyone else... All these people that we hold on a pedestal, these Michelle Bridges and Ashy Bines, they've never been on the other side of being overweight and struggling. And I'm just writing about my experiences. And I think that's quite relatable for most of the people on my page, both men and women.

00:15:27Melissa Erbacher: Well, you're definitely very real. Can you give us a bit more of a background? For those of our listeners who've never been to your blog or to your Facebook page, which is called the Plus Size parkrunner, can you tell them a bit about what you're sharing with people?

00:15:43Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Okay, so my page I started in December was to follow my parkrun journey in 2017 and I'm just basically documenting what I'm doing. I'm going to parkrun i'm enjoying parkrun i am touristing parkrun so i have committed to attend 40 different parkruns this year um and i'm documenting my travels i'm taking warts and all photos of me and my progress and my ultimate goal is i have this dress that i bought on ebay and it's a double extra large and it's toddlers double extra large size And my goal is to fit into that by the end of 2017. And my goal is to actually wear that in the actual last parkrun and actually run my race in it.

00:16:38Melissa Erbacher: Well, you're a brave woman wanting to wear a dress to a parkrun in December for starters.

00:16:42Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": There will be bike pants involved because there will be. I know that now.

00:16:47Melissa Erbacher: Dresses always seem like a good idea and then you remember that sequins under arms don't work when you want to run and all these other things happen.

00:16:56Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Exactly, exactly.

00:16:58Melissa Erbacher: Let's go to your adventures. Committing to 40 different parkruns in one calendar year is massive. That's just like my goals for this year were to get to 15 new events sort of in and around other commitments. So 40, you've only given yourself three months off of not actually traveling to a different event. How are you going to maintain that? We're lucky in Queensland. We've got lots of events, but where are you planning to travel?

00:17:27Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Okay, the furthest I can travel is to Hervey Bay and that's 317 kilometres from where I live. I've got family that live up that way and I've already done Harvey Bay. I did that one on Christmas Eve last year and it was beautiful. The reason I'm going to so many is I put a post out on my page asking people where they wanted me to go and I'm willing to go where people want me to go. And the first real parkrun that I went to after I came out as the plus-size parkrunner, where the committee or the run director was aware that I was coming, they were so excited and very welcoming of me. And I can't wait to get to the next one now. So 40 is definitely attainable.

00:18:15Scott Trickett: And you're doing it quietly. You've published your tour dates.

00:18:22Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Well... I'm actually a really shy person, person in person. So the first parkrun I went to was Capalaba and one person came up to me and said hello because I don't let the parkrun itself know that I'm coming there because I'm just, I'm really quite a shy person. So that one there was fine. I had one little lady recognise me and she came over and said hello and we had a bit of a chat and um that was lovely and I did my my post afterwards about it and there were a couple of people saying oh I thought that was you so I'm actually now getting some park plus size parkrunner shirts made um so people know who I am because these parkruns now that I'm going to are ones where I've had requests for me to go to and that way people can actually recognize me but I do feel like a bit of a wanker about it you know running around with a shirt because um When I went to Stone's Corner, people were saying, is that her? And I just need to have a shirt that says, yes, that's me. Because some people aren't going to come up to me in a hurry and ask me who I am. But, yeah, no, I'm enjoying it.

00:19:34Scott Trickett: Well, and those people that do come up to you, what sort of conversations are you having?

00:19:38Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Well, first of all, they're telling me that I've inspired them to actually start doing parkrun, that they'd never heard of it before. I really don't understand how my page took off. I honestly don't. it was just a little thing that I thought, you know, I'd get 20 people on and people are tagging their friends and people are saying that their friends are liking things and I don't understand how it all works. But I've had, I kid you not, at least 100 people send me private messages to say that I've inspired them to join parkrun. And on top of that, I'm getting the messages every week just from posts that I'm doing, letting me know that, you know, that they've gone to parkrun and for the first time or they haven't been in months and I've somehow inspired them to get back there. So whatever I'm doing, it's working, I suppose. I'm not sure what it is that I'm doing that works, but I'll take the credit for it.

00:20:31Melissa Erbacher: Now, Shannon, how are you going in terms of – so obviously you've got goals with parkrun to go to 40 different parkrun events. This is all part of the bigger machine to improve your own fitness and health, is that correct?

00:20:45Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": That's correct, yes.

00:20:47Melissa Erbacher: And how are you progressing with those goals?

00:20:51Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Well, my goal at the beginning of the year was to do a sub-35-minute parkrun. And at Stones Corner, I did 36.58. And that was quite early into the parkrun season. So I might have to reassess that. I might try to get maybe a sub-33 time by the end of 2017. Yeah, I'm not too sure, but I'd like to obviously keep reducing my time, but we'll see what happens.

00:21:24Melissa Erbacher: That's also a very noble goal. My PB still sits at 34.14 since May 2013, and I've been going to parkrun every week. Not always, obviously, running, but I'll get back to those kind of times eventually. That's my intention anyway. And so one of your most, shall we say, popular posts was one about she who shall not be named. Why do you think that post in particular was popular?

00:22:04Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": I think that everyone has been in that circumstance before where they've really wanted to buy something and it just hasn't fit. It doesn't matter what shop it is. But someone that's always been in that situation, I felt so sad. I actually think I might have even cried on the way home. But the amount of comments that I've had about that shop in particular that I went to and other people having the exact same experience, it really hit home with me that I'm not the only one that feels like that. And the owner of that shop has been in the media in the past for – you know, not being inclusive of all women and, yeah, just the comments about that, yeah, it was crazy because I think that the biggest size that they really cater for is a size 14 and, you know, people come in all different shapes and sizes and, yeah, I just think it's because everyone else has been in that situation before.

00:23:02Melissa Erbacher: And how important do you think it is to feel comfortable in active wear and feel like you don't look ridiculous or that you don't have to worry about bits and pieces sticking out just in terms of actually wanting to participate in exercise? Because I know for me personally, you know, if I am feeling self-conscious about any of those sorts of things, it really doesn't make me want to get out and move. Exactly.

00:23:30Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": So heaps of people on my page have been asking me where I get my clothes from. But I've been telling them, you know, I've been going to Cotton On and Kmart. But I've also been telling them that it doesn't matter what you actually look like. No one cares what you look like. It's all in your head that someone is worried about what you're wearing or what you look like. As long as you're getting out there and doing your thing, you shouldn't have to worry about anyone else at all. And quite a few people have actually, you know, sent me pictures of themselves in their parkrun outfits to show me that they just got out there and did it in whatever clothes they had they didn't have to go and buy something specific just to do parkrun whereas a lot of other things that you have to actually go on by specific items of clothing to do and do you think part of that it doesn't matter what you look like is because everybody else is so worried about what they look like that they're not noticing anybody else that's it you've hit the nail on the head

00:24:25Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, I think it's an interesting concept. Somebody once said to me that girls wearing bikinis lose brain capacity by X amount of percent, which seemed really ridiculous. But it actually makes perfect sense because you're so worried that something is going to fall out or that how are you looking or, you know, is that going up the bum crack or whatever, that, yeah, your brain function must reduce. Yeah.

00:24:53Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Definitely. I know when I first started parkrun, I was afraid that my boob would fall out of my sports bra and stuff like that. But it hasn't happened to date, so fingers crossed it won't happen in the future either.

00:25:07Scott Trickett: I hear this from time to time. the silly notion that people feel they have to be in shape before coming to parkrun. They have to be fit enough before they come to parkrun. Have you had anyone contact you and sort of thank you for allowing them to rock up to parkrun when they're not in pristine condition?

00:25:27Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": I cannot tell you the amount of people that have sent me personal messages about this. Everyone's concerned that they're going to be the last person and that parkrun's going to be all packed up by the time that they finish. It's really sad to think that people feel that way, and they don't feel as though they can actually get out there and do something. I've told them how great parkrun is. They don't pack up until you're done. There's always that tail runner behind you to make sure that, and the tail runner also inspires you on and helps you get through it. And, yeah, the information and feedback that I've received about parkrun in particular is, has been overwhelming.

00:26:06Scott Trickett: Why did you choose parkrun specifically? Did you look at some other ways to get involved in running and getting fit? And what appealed about parkrun in particular?

00:26:19Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": A, because I'm a tight ass and B, it's not actually linked in with anything. I have done things before that have been advertised in our local newspaper which have been some fit club and you go along for $3 and But then I mysteriously get talked into buying $600 worth of Herbalife products. So the great thing about Parklife parkrun for me is that it's not actually associated with any companies that are trying to sign you up to something. It's run by volunteers. It's run by the community for the community.

00:26:54Melissa Erbacher: Shannon, you've tripped around quite a bit now. Can you give us your top three parkruns that don't include your home run and explain why you like them?

00:27:04Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Number one would have to be Stones Corner. They are the most friendly bunch of people I've ever come across. That was the first parkrun that I've been to where someone actually really wanted me to go there. The run director on the day, Catherine, she made me get up in front of 346 people and say hello to everyone because she was very excited that I was there. It's a beautiful flat course that runs through Stones Corner up to the back of Greenslopes and back, which is, it's beautiful. Number two, as much as I hated doing the run, I'm relieved it's finished now with Sirromet, Sirromet Wines. I went to their first birthday run. The hill was equivalent to a cliff, I'd have to say, but once I'd actually finished it and was able to stand on top of the hill and look back down on where I'd run, it was absolutely beautiful. And my third would have to be Harvey Bay. Harvey Bay is a beautiful, beautiful parkrun. You get to run along the Esplanade. It's just an out-and-back track. It's absolutely beautiful, but there's only one Not so great part about it when you're running against the rock wall on the way back. Just before Christmas, the heat was ridiculous coming off that wall. But they're a very, very friendly bunch there. And I will be actually going to Harvey Bay a number of times this year. So I look forward to getting back out there and hopefully improving my time.

00:28:38Scott Trickett: Shannon, keep doing what you're doing. I wish you all the success and more with your Facebook page and your journey. your parkrun journey. So thanks for coming on the parkrun Adventurers and sharing your story with us this week.

00:28:52Shanon - "The Plus Size parkrunner": Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

00:29:06Scott Trickett: It's fair to say an exciting weekend was had by all in Melbourne. At Nitro over the weekend, we experienced Nitro parkrun, but we also experienced saw the culmination of three nights of athletics, an athletics experiment here in Australia. We're going to get our athletics guru on, Robbo, who was there for both the parkrun on Saturday morning and Nitro on Saturday night. Welcome to the pod. Welcome back to the pod, Robbo.

00:29:35Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Yeah, thank you very much, Scotty. G'day to you and Mel and to all the parkrunners out there. Great to be back on.

00:29:41Scott Trickett: Robbo, let's start with the parkrun in the morning because we broke the Australian attendance record. We got 997 people to come down to Lakeside Stadium. It was a fun parkrun to be at.

00:29:54Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: It sure was. Yeah, I was blown away and there was just a bit of magic in the air. I think because we were there on the track in the stadium where the two previous Nitro Athletics events had taken part and the third and final was going to take part that night, Usain Bolt himself treading on that very track that we humble parkrunners with our barcodes clenched in our hands were you know nervously trotting around and it was almost like I heard I saw people coming into the stadium uh and they had that look on their faces like as if to say am I allowed to do this am I allowed to be here I'm allowed to walk on this track and so I think it was a it was a real thrill um for myself but for a lot of people as well and I'd love to know the number of of all those 997 finishes, how many have actually been on an athletics track before? I reckon there's probably a large chunk that maybe hadn't ever. But an exciting morning, Scotty, as you said. And what about the stage was set early on with some pre-run announcements from the event team. And Dr. Scott and Joanne did a wonderful job to rally their troops of volunteers, a small army of volunteers, it must be said, I think over 50-odd. But We had a who's who of running and athletics and parkrunning from all around the world. And to see Athletics Australia president Mark Arbib standing up on the pole vault mats addressing the crowd was fantastic. Tim and Renee got up there as well. But then Sebastian Coe, Lord Coe himself, came out and he set the scene and did his first ever parkrun. So double Olympic gold medalist, double Olympic silver medalist and now a parkrunner. And I took a photo of his barcode to prove it, to prove he was officially signed up. So he made a couple of little quips to say, look out for the old age pensioner on course today. That's how he referred to himself. But he also said he'd never, until that day, in his whole career as an athlete, never been beaten by an Aussie before in any race. So that record fell. I think he got beaten by about 330 people. But it was a fantastic occasion and yeah, great to see some athletics and running royalty there to celebrate what was, I think, a landmark day in parkrun history in Australia, but also for athletics as much as anything too. And to see the athletics world really reach out to parkrun and the two coming together and really a big celebration. So yeah, well done to all involved.

00:32:31Melissa Erbacher: Two questions for you, Robbo. One, did they pole vault onto those pole vault mats?

00:32:39Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: No, not at the parkrun briefing. Later that night, they definitely did. I had the bird being up close to see that. But Tim Oberg almost fell off it, fashioned some sort of pole vault technique as he came down. But, yeah, they're fairly unstable.

00:32:56Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, they looked a little bit squishy. Okay, and then the second question, had you previously run Albert Melbourne parkrun? Was this your first time on the course? I mean, obviously, it's the first time on this version of the course, but yeah, had you run there before?

00:33:13Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Yes, I had. Mel, I've done – I would have to have a look. Probably done four or five, I think, and one of my earliest parkruns – I'd say March 2012 to put a date to it. I ran it barefoot, which is a strange thing to do, on a pretty cold morning. And that was my first time dodging all the swan poo on the course around there. But I've been down a few times with some other athletics duties and it's always the easy one to go and do when you're working at the track there. So I have enjoyed it a number of times. But to see it with that little bit of a twist, starting... on that track and running 200 metres of the track before you exited the stadium and then being able to come back into a stadium to finish a parkrun. I mean, it had that sense that you were coming in to finish an Olympic marathon or, you know, Commonwealth Games or something. And, yeah, it was really special.

00:34:08Scott Trickett: So, good, it wasn't just me that imagined myself running through the stadium thinking that I was in the Olympics. Not at all.

00:34:16Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: No, not at all, no.

00:34:19Scott Trickett: And you managed to beat Seb Coe as well.

00:34:22Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: That's right. Yep, we got the Lord Scout, so that's good. I'll treasure that.

00:34:28Scott Trickett: And then we moved on to the final night of Nitro. It was a sellout at the stadium. The atmosphere was great. You were in amongst it all. What were some of your highlights of the final night and maybe the whole series in general?

00:34:44Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Yeah, Scotty, it was very exciting. And having watched the first two nights on TV from home up here in Newcastle, it was great to get a taste of the format, the new events. Still, I think I was trying to get my head around some of the way the points were scored and the rulings and various things. But from the beginning, from that first night, I think to me as a passionate runner and those two distance events really shone out for me. I couldn't get enough of them. I'm referring to the three-minute challenge and the distance challenge and then the elimination mile. Seriously, I think I could just watch a whole night of those. They were fantastic. Great drama. They build over that three- to four-minute period. There's enough that grows and the plot thickens and that elimination mile, I've been likening it to... It's like running away from a lion, I think. And you don't have to outrun the lion. You only have to outrun the slowest person in the group for those first few laps. And then you take off like crazy and try and win the thing. But yeah, I thought they were really exciting. So I think it was great to see the sport trying some new things. Great to see it being presented in an exciting new way. I know that there's plenty that can still be skewed and tweaked and adjusted and polished up. But to be brave enough to say, right, traditional athletics, the way it's been presented, we're going to completely turn that on its head, try something new, see how we go, stick our neck out. Look, I don't think it was ever going to fail. The moment they got Usain Bolt to come on board, to endorse it, to be out here and take part, it was always going to create a huge amount of attention. But a great line that was read out on a TV show called The Offsiders on ABC on Sunday morning, the quote was, people came to watch Usain Bolt, but they saved their biggest cheers for when the Aussies were doing great things. And, you know, I would say Ryan Gregson, for me, you asked for my highlights, hearing the crowd, absolutely raw, over 8,000 people in that stadium, raw for Ryan Gregson, Olympic 1500 metre finalist in the home straight as he, spurred on to victory in that elimination mile. That was probably the biggest cheer I've heard in a stadium outside of the Olympic Games itself. And that was pretty exciting. But yeah, just I guess Usain Bolt, whenever he steps on that track, especially for that 150 metre run, an individual race, he's only one of the campaign. Just before that gun goes, that deathly silence and you can almost hear the person next to you, you can hear their heartbeat going. It's just people are hanging on that anticipation. The gun goes off, and then it's a frenzy, and then inevitably Bolt wins, and he wins in a canter looking over his shoulder, and then it's just party time. He makes people happy when he performs, when he wins, and there's just a sense of joy that, yeah, was seen, and I'm sure you felt as well, but kids all around, oldies, and all those in between, and diehard athletics fans, and then newcomers to the sport too, I think all had the chance to feel that same joy. So, look, I'm not sure if I've answered your question for highlights, but certainly Ryan Gregson, he's a personal favourite anyway, but his performance was fantastic. I mean, there's a lot of hype for the 16-year-old school kid, Riley Day, getting the win in that 150 metres, and she's back at school this week, which is a bit of a come down to earth for her. hanging out with Usain Bolt for a week and then she's back at school. So, yeah, just great stories. And I think for me, Scott, having worked in the sport, delivering the live streams that we've worked on in the last few years, it's been great to be able to support the athletes through those times, but great to now see them really get that pedestal that they can launch themselves from on commercial TV. You know, you've got to remember the sport hasn't been on commercial free-to-air TV like that in many, many years. And so for it to be so accessible to everyone and for these athletes to now become recognised in household names is fantastic. So, yeah, long may it continue. And I'm really excited to see what happens. Again, we've got two more years of the Nitro happening in Melbourne in that format. So I'm really excited to see what progresses and what other little spin-offs can happen around the place as well.

00:39:23Scott Trickett: I'm with you that I was excited by the longer distance stuff. I think in the stadium, it gave an opportunity to build some momentum as each lap went by, particularly the Eliminator. That was just a brutal event, but exciting as a spectacle to watch. And like the events that we don't see, maybe it was because, you know, Riley Day won the 150. That was exciting too, because we had Bolt, we had Day winning it, but it was also, we've never seen a 150 metre race before. So those experiments, I think, worked. A couple of the others didn't. I wasn't a massive fan of the javelin. That fell a bit flat. I don't know what they can do around some of the field events to make them different, like the pole vault and the long jump. They are what they are. And when they sit next to events that are completely different and a bit exciting, I'm not sure how that works. But they'll work that out. They've got two more years to figure that out.

00:40:21Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Yeah. Yeah, no, I think you're right. Those field events, they are a challenge. There's an amount of dead space, the time it takes to measure the throw and measure the jump. I actually think the high jump and pole vault, there was no high jump at Nitro, but pole vault is there. It's an exciting event in that you either succeed or you fail. And it's very clear when that happens. There's no having to to measure how high you jumped or how far you threw something. You either get over the, I joke about it, pole vault, it's the old throw a stick in the ground, try and get up into the, go across the moat, break into the castle, save whoever you've got to save and get out of there. So you either clear the castle wall or you don't. So it's an exciting event and they're all exciting. The field events are on their own, given the attention that they probably need, but There would be a way to jazz them up a little bit too, which I would be excited to explore. I think we do, and we fill it with crocodiles. I seriously think there needs to be consequence, Scotty. If you aren't up to scratch, there needs to be consequence. I have some other theories as well.

00:41:32Melissa Erbacher: Moving targets for the javelins.

00:41:35Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Love it, love it. Hurdle of fortune. So the hurdles are designed to be knocked over, but only one way, so... Of the 10 hurdles you have in your lane, one of them at random is turned the other way, so it won't fall over. And you don't know which one it is. So I think there's something going there. I mean, these are pretty brutal ideas, but... Bring more...

00:41:58Melissa Erbacher: It's a knockout to it.

00:42:00Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: It's a knockout in Gladiator. Yeah. Exactly. That's what the fans want. I mean, there's a... Yeah. That eliminator, like you said, Scotty, it was brutal. It would be horrible to run, I imagine, but that's part of the fun of watching it. So, yeah, look, there's lots that can be done. I actually reckon some of the best ideas for the field events I've seen around the world is doing stuff out of the stadiums, setting up pole vault runways on the main street of a town, at an airport, at a harbour, at a beach, doing shot put. You can do that anywhere as well. You can set these things up in a mobile sense too. get them done in a fun way, maybe not even there. And so you're not competing. And I think that's, to me, that's the biggest thing. Having been up close to the sport for a few years now, seeing the way that it almost cannibalises itself when you've got multiple events on all happening at the same time. So if you're a spectator in a stadium and there's 100 metre hurdles happening, there's long jump in the back straight, there's pole vault going on, there's javelin happening, and you're expected to sort of try and be across all of those things all at once, it's really, really difficult. Liking it to swimming, you only ever have one race at a time. You're only ever focused on one thing, that's finished, then the next thing. So this idea of one event at a time I think is really crucial. Nitro got that a lot better. There were still at times a few things happening and I think some of the field events, they do get a little bit lost having been there as well. But yeah, they're on the right track, I definitely think. And so... There'll be lots of different discussions, I'm sure, and lots of different ways to do it. But, yeah, I'm all for the fun things. Left and right arm javelin throw, that's the last one I'll leave you with too. Why just limit it to one arm? Why not do it on your other side as well?

00:43:48Scott Trickett: Robo, I think we need to get you on the committee, the Nitro Events Committee.

00:43:52Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: Did you have a chat to John Steffensen while you were there? I had a quick chat to him just to congratulate him on the fine job that he's done. it wasn't an in-depth chat, but I've been throwing a few tweets around. And if anyone wants to play along, there's a hashtag I've started called new nitro events. So if you've got any ideas for sure, throw them in. I'm keen to hear them and take them to the, to the nitro chief of chief experts and, and see what they can come up with. I think that's the, that's the, that's the great thing. You know, they've taken that leap of faith. They've stuck their neck out, like I said, and you know, anything's, anything's possible. It's a, It's a really interesting time. There's a crossroad between competition and entertainment. And we're seeing that happen with so many sports now, changing their formats up, and people need to be entertained. They want to be entertained. They want it now. They want it quick. They want it fast and exciting. They want it dramatic. They want it to mean something as well. So we've never been harder to please as sports viewers, but it's good to see athletics coming to the party finally and mixing it up a bit.

00:44:58Melissa Erbacher: It's been an exciting week and I know from being a viewer at home and seeing on social media all the other people who are also viewers at home that it's not just something that you need to go see live. It's definitely something we can all take in. And it's pretty exciting that Australia is leading the way in terms of trying to get people back there and interested in athletics.

00:45:21Dave 'Robbo' Robertson: It is, yeah. It is. It's very exciting to have Sebastian Coe the IAAF president out here wanting to see it firsthand and congratulating the organisers on what they've done and thanking them, in fact, for, you know, having the first crack at doing this sort of thing. I shouldn't say first crack, you know, different ideas have been done for a while, but it's the first time in recent times it's really been shaken up to this extent. So, yeah, we should pat ourselves on the back. We're a nation of innovators and it's great to see. And look, Mel, I guess the I would love to see our legacy of Nitro carrying on, not just at the elite level, but for us as parkrunners, as punters, as people that love to run and therefore, you know, are involved in this thing called athletics. But just even that little challenge that, you know, I stuck a thing out there just last week. How far can you run in three minutes, you know, just to create, A similar little challenge to what we're seeing these stars of track and field do on the track. And we've had an enormous and overwhelming response to that. The three-minute challenge people have gone out just with their watches and their phones and logging them up on Strava and sharing it and taking photos and whatever and just seeing how far they can actually get. Some people have made 500 metres and others have managed to make 1,000 metres. And none of us have come too close to what the big guys and girls have been able to do. But it's been exciting, and that's a nice tangible link. And it just shows that, yeah, we're all doing this same sort of thing. It's the most simple and pure version of sport that we know. And, yeah, I'd love to see that we can all be inspired and then go out there and be motivated to get off our backside and move a bit more and maybe test ourselves a little bit too. So, yep, I'm training for the Gregson All-Stars for next year. I'll see if I can get in the three minutes.

00:47:20Melissa Erbacher: challenge team for the Aussies for next year excellent Robbo thank you very much for sharing all your passion and your first hand experiences with Nitro with us and our listeners it's always lovely to have somebody on the inside who knows what's actually going on explain it to the rest of us absolute pleasure guys I look forward to our next chat keep the dream alive and happy parkrunning all you parkrunners out there Bundaberg parkrun in Queensland, good old Bundy, launched on the weekend and we've got a whole bunch of roving reports from Tara, Mitchell and Riley who got a wrap-up from a lot of the participants on the day. Let's listen to those.

Roving Adventurers (roving reporter crossovers)

00:48:19Tara Carpenter: Hi, I'm Tara Carpenter from Tannum Sands parkrun, and I'm here as a trainee roving reporter for the Bundaberg parkrun launch. Hi, what's your name? Abby. Is this your first parkrun? Yeah, it is. Where are you from? I'm from here. How did you think of the course today?

00:48:38Abby - Bundaberg parkrun first-timer: Yeah, it was really good, but it was a bit hot.

00:48:40Tara Carpenter: Did you find it challenging with the young puppy?

00:48:43Abby - Bundaberg parkrun first-timer: Yeah, it was. I think it was more challenging for him than us, but no, he was good.

00:48:48Tara Carpenter: So what's your name?

00:48:50Chris Whiting: Chris Whiting.

00:48:51Tara Carpenter: Did you enjoy the run today?

00:48:52Chris Whiting: Loved it.

00:48:53Tara Carpenter: Was it your first run?

00:48:54Chris Whiting: It was, yes.

00:48:56Tara Carpenter: And what made you come to parkrun today?

00:48:59Chris Whiting: So I'm trying to lose 100 kilos, so currently at 220. I've got an Instagram page, if anyone wants to follow, it's from Big to Boss. So I'm just sort of, you know, doing this to help me along in my journey and thought it would be a good way to, you know, get outside.

00:49:17Tara Carpenter: Yeah, well, great job.

00:49:18Chris Whiting: Do some walking and, yeah, it's my first 5K walk, so walk slash run, whatever.

00:49:23Tara Carpenter: Very impressive. Yeah. So what's your name? Dana Perrin-Smith. Is this your first parkrun? Yes. Yes. How did you think of the volunteering today? I thought it was wonderful because I got to do the high fives and do the encouraging.

00:49:39Riley Murrell: Do you think you'll volunteer again? For sure. Hi, I'm Raleigh Murrell from Tenham Sands parkrun. I am here today as a trainee roving reporter. What's your name?

00:49:50Neil Schultz: My name is Neil Schultz.

00:49:52Riley Murrell: Where are you from?

00:49:54Neil Schultz: I actually live in Lowood but my home parkrun is Gatton in South East Queensland in the Lockyer Valley.

00:49:59Riley Murrell: And what did you think of the parkrun today?

00:50:01Neil Schultz: Really nice course. It's got some shade, a bit of water to look at, lots of friendly faces and you get to go past the start line a few times so you see all the volunteers.

00:50:11Riley Murrell: Thank you.

00:50:12Neil Schultz: You're welcome.

00:50:13Riley Murrell: Dwayne, how did you think of, what did you think of the parkrun today?

00:50:17Dwayne - Bundaberg local: Absolutely loved it. Best thing that's ever come to Bundaberg for people who like a bit of fitness. It's great.

00:50:23Riley Murrell: And where's your home parkrun?

00:50:25Dwayne - Bundaberg local: Here. I'm a Bundaberg local.

00:50:28Riley Murrell: First parkrun today.

00:50:31Debbie Phillips: Okay. Thank you. My name's Debbie Phillips. I'm from Maryborough parkrun, so a couple hours down the road, well, an hour and a half down the road.

00:50:39Mitchell - trainee roving reporter: And what did you think of the run today?

00:50:41Debbie Phillips: Oh it was really fantastic, nice in the shade and it's good to do a couple of laps because you get high fives all the way through so that was really good, we enjoyed it.

00:50:50Mitchell - trainee roving reporter: Thank you. So what's your name? Michael Schultz. Where are you from? Brisbane, Kedron. And what do you think of the course today?

00:50:59Unidentified speaker: It's an interesting course. If I was a good runner I would enjoy running it but now that I'm not a good runner I didn't enjoy it.

00:51:10Scott Trickett: Okay. Thank you. Our first roving reports for this year, for 2017, and they got a lot. Thanks, guys. We had some anniversaries last weekend. Golden Beach had their third, as well as Ipswich, and Lake Mac had their fourth. But let's go back to Golden Beach, because you were there, Mel.

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

00:51:31Melissa Erbacher: I was, and it was a great morning, and I had two pieces of cake for breakfast.

00:51:35Scott Trickett: Any doughnuts?

00:51:37Melissa Erbacher: Um, there was muesli and there were bananas and apples. I don't recall seeing any donuts.

00:51:43Scott Trickett: Muesli's an interesting one. I haven't seen that before.

00:51:48Melissa Erbacher: Muesli with yogurt.

00:51:49Scott Trickett: Wow.

00:51:50Melissa Erbacher: Yeah. That's a bit special. They, um, I think they have a regular... person who comes along and does that about once a month, just brings breakfast for the parkrunners and they supply all that stuff, which is pretty cool. I went relatively incognito for me. Actually, Fiona Edmonds was on a bit of an adventure with the Logan River Runners. Is that what they're called? The Logan City Runners? Oh, I'm going to get in trouble. A whole bunch of parkrun adventurers from Logan, including Mrs. Sarah Logan herself, came up to Golden Beach for some gorgeous weather and a beautiful run. And yeah, so Fiona didn't recognize me because I was at an anniversary and I wasn't in fancy dress apart from my volunteer shirt because their theme was celebrating volunteers. And I figured, well, you know, you can't do much better than wear your purple shirt because... really it's the epitome of everything that's parkrun. You can't outdo that purple shirt.

00:52:52Scott Trickett: Were there lots of purple shirts considering the theme?

00:52:55Melissa Erbacher: Oh, there were. They actually had, I mean, there were normal purple shirts, but there were a lot of 25 volunteer shirts, which is amazing. Golden Beach have got not only a fantastic community of runners, but a fantastic community of multiple volunteers. So their event team in terms of run directors is, relatively small i think they've got you know five or six all together however they had a volunteer wall of fame which was just brilliant because there was about a dozen parkrunners on that wall of fame who had all done at least 25 volunteers since which is just brilliant i don't know a lot of events that could boast that after just three years so they're doing a good job well done golden beach where have we got anniversaries this week This week there will be anniversaries, so look for some cake at Kirra in Queensland, who are celebrating their fifth, and Wyndham Vale in Victoria, a little bit closer to you, are turning the big one.

00:53:59Scott Trickett: We also have launches, one of them I'm involved in. We're launching Darebin down here in Victoria, and we've got Dalby in Queensland.

00:54:10Melissa Erbacher: The Twin Dees for the weekend.

00:54:12Scott Trickett: And our two states head-to-head.

00:54:14Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, well, we can't let you get too close, can we? We have to keep our lead, and it is still a lead in Queensland for now.

00:54:23Scott Trickett: Well, it is a lead in the number of events, but I think the events of the weekend just gone by, where we had Nitro parkrun in Melbourne, where we had a new attendance record for parkrun in Australia. I think it also stamped that Melbourne is the new capital for parkrun in this country.

00:54:43Unidentified speaker: And...

00:54:45Scott Trickett: Yeah, not much more needs to be said.

00:54:49Melissa Erbacher: Well, you could claim that if you want to, but I'm not paying it because most of those would have been adventurers and there would have been a lot from out of state as well who all wanted to go and see Usain Bolt. I'm not denying that I bet it was an amazing event, but I wouldn't base your claim that it's the new capital of parkruns in Australia just yet. So I think that's pretty much all we have time for this week, Scotty. I think you need to take yourself down to the pro shop and get yourself some spikes. Where do you buy spikes from? Just like the normal running shoe shops?

00:55:28Scott Trickett: It's funny. Between the intro and the outro, I've managed to pick up myself a pair of new runners.

00:55:35Melissa Erbacher: Have you been shopping online?

00:55:36Scott Trickett: Yeah, just in between.

00:55:39Melissa Erbacher: Well, I'm glad to hear you can multitask. What did you buy?

00:55:44Scott Trickett: I got some new shoes and they're made out of, I don't know if you remember Velcro. Do you remember Velcro was big in the 80s and 90s?

00:55:52Melissa Erbacher: Yes, I had some pink sneakers that were Velcro. I loved them.

00:55:58Scott Trickett: Yeah, so I've got myself a pair of Velcro spikes, but very expensive. So I'm just hopeful that they're not a complete rip-off.

00:56:11[laughter]

00:56:11Melissa Erbacher: Oh, my God. Did you? Yes. Okay. I'm not even going to need to ask you for your dad joke this week, obviously.

Dad joke of the week

00:56:23Scott Trickett: We got it. You had to be sharp to pick up on that one, ladies and gentlemen, but that was it.

00:56:30Melissa Erbacher: Oh, my God. I'll be ready for you next week.

00:56:37Scott Trickett: I look forward to it. I look forward to hearing Mel's joke of the week to go out with next week in episode 56.

00:56:45Melissa Erbacher: Oh, because I don't have enough work to do. I have to come up with the jokes now. They don't call them mum jokes, you know.

00:56:51Scott Trickett: Look, I'll tell you what. I didn't spend a lot of time on that one. So I think you can squeeze it into your schedule. Really?

00:56:57Melissa Erbacher: You can't tell. Yeah, complete rip off.

00:57:02Scott Trickett: Get it? Velcro.

00:57:05Melissa Erbacher: All right. Yeah, I got it. Thank you. I'll see you next week.

00:57:10Scott Trickett: Thanks, Mel.