Episode 118 - Matty Trent

Episode details · 289 speaker turns · sound cues from context

00:00:14Melissa Erbacher: Welcome to episode 118 of the parkrun Adventurers podcast. If you've been here since episode one, that's a long time. Thanks for sticking with us and thanks for coming back. If you've just joined us this week, welcome. It's lovely to have you here. My name is Mel. I am co-host along with the... This enigmatic Scotty Trickett. Scotty, are you here?

00:00:39Scott Trickett: I am. Never been described as enigmatic, and I don't think it's actually correct, so off to a bad start. Off to a bad start, Mel.

00:00:49Melissa Erbacher: Well, I would disagree, and I'm sure a lot of our regular listeners would disagree as well.

00:00:54Scott Trickett: Hey, we've just spent the weekend together. We were on the Goldie.

00:00:57Melissa Erbacher: We were. We had a bit of a parkrun gathering of minds last weekend, which was both fun and exhausting at the same time.

00:01:06Scott Trickett: It was. Talking parkrun all weekend. Talking vision, strategic vision of the organisation. It was exciting. You know, it does excite me, and I don't mind talking parkrun, as you may have already guessed. So to do it all weekend was pretty cool. And also hanging out with you was particularly cool. I'm not sure if you're so excited to see me on Sunday morning, though.

00:01:32Melissa Erbacher: Well, I was a little bit more surprised. Whenever it's early morning and it's cold and you're on your own and you get into your car, the last thing you expect is for somebody to open the passenger side door and just hop in, let alone a sweaty someone.

00:01:50Scott Trickett: Yeah. So let's paint the picture. Sunday morning. I'm a broken man. I'm not going to hide behind anymore. Which is frequently the case, isn't it? It is. So I made the announcement that I've given up my hopes of my marathon this year, which really shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me. I have failed again. But I've also, I've just lost it. I just am not running at all anymore. So on Sunday morning, we went out with the boys, all gung-ho. Yeah, let's smash out the Ks first thing in the morning.

00:02:22Melissa Erbacher: I would like to mention at this point that I made the intelligent decision not to go for a run or run slash walk to Junior parkrun from where we were staying. I think I was pretty much the only one. I will use the excuse that I was going to drive a bunch of people back to the accommodation afterwards.

00:02:42Scott Trickett: But isn't that cool though, Mel? So everyone involved in parkrun at board level and staff level, they've got this active drive to get out and go for a run on Saturday morning or whether they walk to junior parkrun or run 20k beforehand. It's a nice group to mix with. But I went out for a run. The intention was about 12K, finishing at Junior parkrun. Honestly, after about 2K, I was done. I wanted to turn around and come back. But I didn't. But I pulled the pin at 6K and let the rest of the boys go on. And then I'll say, I'll grab the car and meet you guys at Junior parkrun.

00:03:18Melissa Erbacher: Did you make it 6K? You told me it was only 3K. Oh, is that when you had a blowout with your car?

00:03:24Scott Trickett: Yep, yep. Got you. So the body's breaking down much earlier than 6K. But because I'm strong, because I've got that inner drive, I pushed on to 6K.

00:03:35Melissa Erbacher: Not at all to do with the fact that you were 3K in the opposite direction away from the accommodation and where your car was parked.

00:03:41Scott Trickett: Maybe, maybe.

00:03:43Melissa Erbacher: You had to run back that other three.

00:03:46Scott Trickett: So for new listeners to the podcast, I live in Melbourne. I'm not familiar with where everything is on the Gold Coast. So I'm running back to our accommodation and I realized that my phone is a Junior parkrun because I was volunteering as a scanner. And remember, the original idea was that I was going to run the Junior parkrun. And I don't know, we call them Melways down here, Mel. That's like the old paper book. map, like the big book with the maps. I don't think they exist anymore.

00:04:14Melissa Erbacher: I like the name of that, Melways. It's like where I would go.

00:04:17Scott Trickett: Exactly. What did you call them in Sydney? I'm sure they had a different name everywhere.

00:04:22Melissa Erbacher: Well, no, in Brisbane, Queensland, where I actually live, we call them Refidexes.

00:04:30Scott Trickett: Refidexes. I've never heard of that before. Because that's a long way from Melway. You've never heard of that?

00:04:39Melissa Erbacher: I don't know. Yeah, Refidex. I guess it's an amalgamation of reference and index or something. Yeah.

00:04:49Scott Trickett: Well, anyway, they don't make them anymore. So I was faced with the prospect of getting back to our accommodation and having no idea.

00:04:56Melissa Erbacher: Can I just ask, if they did make them, would you be carrying one of those heavy books around when you don't like carrying your phone?

00:05:03Scott Trickett: I thought they might be in the hire car or something like that. I'm sure that's what they used to do.

00:05:10Melissa Erbacher: The hire car that you had your keys for, I'm assuming.

00:05:13Scott Trickett: Yeah, yep, yep. I knew I had the keys because they would have been in the accommodation. But anyway, so I started walking back because I was a broken man and I thought, it's okay, I've got plenty of time. But then I realised that, sh**. I need to get back to the accommodation before somebody leaves because I have no idea where I'm going once I get there. And luckily, so I dropped it. I was doing four-minute Ks coming back because I knew that it was cutting it fine. And Mel, you're a sight, you're a vision. When I saw you in the distance, I thought, thank you. When you're broken, Mel. You are my saviour.

00:05:46Melissa Erbacher: No phone.

00:05:48Scott Trickett: Because otherwise I would have let all the juniors down at Junior parkrun when they couldn't get their barcode scanned because I was lost running around trying to find Southport juniors. And because – so then I carjacked you. I just jumped in the car.

00:06:02Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, I didn't even see you. Like the door literally just opened and there you were getting in my car and I had no idea that you were approaching the vehicle or anything. You might have wanted to yell out, hey, or something as you saw me get in the other side, but no. It was a surprise. You're lucky I live in a very safe state and I wasn't flighty about it.

00:06:23Scott Trickett: I'm surprised you were very calm. It was good. But to prove that I would have got completely lost and you were my saviour because when we started going, I thought it was in the completely opposite direction. So we were supposed to go right, I would have gone left and I would have been in the harder surface.

00:06:43Melissa Erbacher: Not only this, see, you are making the assumption that you would have been able to get into the accommodation after everybody else had left to get your keys for your car.

00:06:54Scott Trickett: This is true. See, I didn't really think it through. I'll admit that now. I just really wanted to stop running on Sunday morning. And I thought about the consequences afterwards. And the consequences could have been I could have ended up running forever.

00:07:11Melissa Erbacher: Or would you have called a taxi or something? Not that you could have called a taxi or an Uber. Yeah. I think you just would have missed Southport Juniors and you would have had to sit down and cry waiting until everyone got back.

00:07:23Scott Trickett: But anyway, that's my tale from the weekend. And one thing I was very impressed with by you is you did the double volunteer. So we all volunteered at juniors on Sunday, but you backed it up or started it by volunteering at Main Beach. Now, I'm curious as to why you did that, Mel. I know you have a love of volunteering, but tell me why.

00:07:48Melissa Erbacher: Well, I... I'm a fan of volunteering as well. And I had already run Main Beach. So I know it was the chosen parkrun destination because there were a bunch of people who hadn't done it that were coming from interstate. And that's all good. But I figured, you know, I've already run the event. It might be nice to volunteer and help the team put it on for other people who hadn't run it before. So that was why when the date for the weekend had been set earlier this year, I actually emailed Paul Ralphs, the event director, back then. So it was like February. And I said, hey, you know, I would like to put myself down for Timekeeper on, you know, what was it, the 24th of June or whatever the date was. And I think he was a little bit surprised to have a volunteer four months in advance and he looked up and he's like no that's not the Gold Coast Marathon weekend which they can't saw anyway so I think he was a little bit surprised to receive such an early volunteer but Always happy to have people come and volunteer from other places. And, you know, I got to use, this was the first time officially that I got to use the app. No, that's not 100% true because I've used it at launches of events in my former territory. But this is the first time at a completely, what's the word, autonomous event that I haven't been involved in from a development standpoint. perspective and things like that. And I just got the normal volunteer reminder on earlier in the week saying, hey, you know, if you're a timekeeper or a barcode scanner, please download the app because, you know, we like to use the app at this event. I was so excited that I got to timekeep with the app. I've previously used the barcode scanner and when I've been volunteering, but I've never got to time keep with it. So that was very cool and super easy. And I got to airdrop it to Paul's phone afterwards. So even the other times I've volunteered, I've just emailed the files. But we airdropped it to his phone. which is so much easier even than emailing. You just stand next to somebody and then all of a sudden they've got the file and he processes all the results. He's got his own personal goal every week. They go to the pavilion for breakfast after parkrun and he orders a coffee and his goal is to get the results done before the coffee is ready for him every week. And it's so simple that it just happens.

00:10:26Scott Trickett: I was very impressed because I'm standing – I was being a bit fancy. We were standing in the ABC studios on the Gold Coast while the boss was doing an interview, and then bang. Like, it's not long after 9 o'clock or something. No, it was even before that that my results popped up in my inbox. So a very impressive, very impressive slick operation at Main Beach. And I've got to say, I have run there before. I've done a couple of freedom runs, but – I think this was my second official run. It's a good one. It's a really good one. I'm kind of happy that that's our sort of home of parkrun and the first event in Australia because it's a great one for tourists and visitors to go and visit and get a real experience of parkrun in Australia.

00:11:08Melissa Erbacher: Absolutely. If a little cold on the weekend. How did that help you with your running time? Did you get a PB?

00:11:16Scott Trickett: Now you're being silly.

00:11:18Melissa Erbacher: Oh, really? You didn't do very well, huh?

00:11:21Scott Trickett: Oh, no, I'm saying now you're being silly about it being cold. It was almost tops off weather.

00:11:26Melissa Erbacher: Gorgeous. Says the Victorian. Hey, actually, no. I was standing there before the run speaking to you and our former guest, Mr. Matt Fullerton, and both of you from Victoria, and you said you were cold.

00:11:41Scott Trickett: Did I?

00:11:42Melissa Erbacher: Yes, you said you'd just been having that conversation that you're actually feeling quite cold.

00:11:46Scott Trickett: Okay. Well, once we started running, it was tops off weather. You know, I was fighting my urges to keep my top on.

00:11:53Melissa Erbacher: That's right. I did notice that there were a couple of the male runners who were carrying their tops by the end of the run. So it's understandable. Yep.

00:12:00Scott Trickett: So that was our adventure, our main beach goldie adventure on the weekend.

00:12:06Melissa Erbacher: And we won't talk about the World Cup loss of my team in the sweepstakes. Because I'm now out of the game. Right. But that's another story for another time.

00:12:16Scott Trickett: Let's save that, Mel. This is a tease. You've done it, Mel, way back a tease. Find out what happened in the parkrun sweepstakes and which team Scott has got at the end of the podcast.

00:12:39Melissa Erbacher: The last time we attempted to get this guest on, he was a snotty, blubbering mess, and we had to organize for the parkrun Adventurers intern to read his contribution. He lives in Western Australia. He plays and adventures over there, and sometimes in other states and territories and countries. His name is Matty Trent. He's the event director of Geographe Bay. Matty, welcome to the parkrun Adventurers podcast.

00:13:07Matty Trent: Thanks for having me on. You know I love a chat.

00:13:10Melissa Erbacher: Yes, we do know you love a chat. Now, we haven't been to Geograph Bay on the podcast before, so I want to hear all about it. Can you share for the adventurers what the course is like?

00:13:21Matty Trent: It's a very simple out-and-back course along a beach path. It's really only just off the sand of Geograph Bay. As far as Western Australian beaches go, it's a little unusual as it's north-facing. It is... magnificent spot for summer as you do get a little bit warm, but you can go straight into the water afterwards as the beach is literally only metres from the start and finish line. What we commonly see is that you can get a PB for parkrun on our course as it is very, very flat. I think if you're lucky, you may get a metre of elevation gain on the out and back. So it's a pretty simple one and with only moderate sort of crowds throughout the year, it seems to hover around the 70 to 80 mark. We duck up to 150 or 160 over long weekends and school holidays and that sort of thing as Busselton is a bit of a holiday destination.

00:14:27Scott Trickett: Matty, I've been there. It's a pretty nice part of the world. I want to know how you've managed to arrange your life to be situated in this part of the world. How do you make that happen? Because it seems like a pretty sweet setup.

00:14:41Matty Trent: Well, it was really just a few things all coming together at once. And my wife and I took the plunge to move down whilst I wasn't working full time and my wife was just going on maternity leave. So we had a bit of a bit of time up our sleeves. And it has sort of worked out, and that was five years ago, around about. And one of the first things I got onto was trying to get a parkrun going.

00:15:11Scott Trickett: And so how long has it been going? How long is Geograph Bay?

00:15:14Matty Trent: Geographe Bay is four and a half years. So November this year is fourth anniversary.

00:15:20Scott Trickett: Okay. And you've been the event director the whole time?

00:15:23Matty Trent: Yes.

00:15:23Scott Trickett: You must love it.

00:15:25Matty Trent: No, I really enjoy my Saturday mornings. And I was involved a little bit in Bunbury before Geograph Bay kicked off.

00:15:34Melissa Erbacher: So in Western Australia, you guys have sharks and things over there. Do you also have the stingers or is that not really a thing and therefore it's safe-ish if you don't mind being shark bait to swim?

00:15:48Matty Trent: There's a few places where you'll see stingers at the right time of year. Geograph Bay is one of those because it's quite sheltered and can be very calm. They're not so thick that you can't swim, and they are only a mild sting. Most of the Western Australian coast is probably a little bit rough, and we don't see stingers around.

00:16:12Melissa Erbacher: We would love to have a bit of a wrap-up of what's going on in Western Australia with new events and things. You've grown a lot since the last time we had an update from our intern. Can you give us a bit of a recap on what's going on over there?

00:16:27Matty Trent: Well, we've had a little bit of a flurry just recently. We had Mount Helena launch up in the Perth Hills area. Last week, 23rd of June, they had a massive turnout. That was 254, I think. I can't remember exactly. It was fantastic. A rather cold winter's morning. The Perth Hills had a little bit of a parkrun hole, I would say. It was a bit of a trip from anyone up there to get to their nearest event. But there's now one there up and running. We've got a couple more launches coming up in August as well. So on the 11th of August, Tamworth Wetlands will kick off down in the Baldivis area, which is the southern suburbs. And the following week, and this one is a cracker of a name, called Shipwreck parkrun, and that is in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, sort of on the city fringe almost.

00:17:30Scott Trickett: Now, Matty, last time we aimed to get you on the pod, you were going to come in and do a very similar thing. You were going to give us a wrap-up of what's happening in WA, but you couldn't make it, and we had to call in the intern. Now, the intern hasn't been seen since, and I just wanted to see if the rumours are true. Has there been a feud between Matty Trent and our intern, and have you ever seen her since? Do you know about the whereabouts of our intern?

00:17:57Matty Trent: Well, to be honest, I was a little disappointed. in the intern, what I act significantly funnier, longer, and better than what she actually read out. So I wrote a few stern words, and I have a feeling the head of parkrun Adventurers may have moved her along.

00:18:18Scott Trickett: Let's go back though, Matty, because you mentioned a unique little event there called Shipwreck parkrun. Super cool name. Now, is this going to be linked to the Pirate Club, which there's a bit of history linked to yourself there, I do believe.

00:18:32Matty Trent: Yes. Well, I think it could almost become a spiritual home with that sort of name for pirates. However, I think throwing it into the mix to become a pirate would make it a little bit too exclusive for our many, many club members from the eastern states and even overseas that would endeavour to become a pirate. So I guess I'm pretty happy at the moment seeing seven Cs and an R.

00:19:02Scott Trickett: And with the Pirate Club taking off, and it's taking off around the world, do you take a little bit of a pride in that, to see one of your inventions get picked up?

00:19:12Matty Trent: Yes, well... It is a little bit of a surprise to see how widely spread it became fairly quickly. I should probably do more thinking hungover in the shower, I reckon.

00:19:30Melissa Erbacher: There's not a lot of people who know where the idea of the club came from in terms of how it got out of your brain and onto the podcast and then out into parkrun folklore. Do you want to share the story, Matty?

00:19:45Matty Trent: Well, I think I'm pretty sure I was heading for Darwin. I can not quite remember. And I had a stinking hangover and I was having a little think in the shower and my brain was going off in weird directions. And that sort of thought came to me. And I guess we had a discussion over Messenger while I was waiting to catch the aeroplane. And it sort of just evolved a little bit. I mean, we did change it around a little to make it a bit more accessible to people. But I think we sort of settled on a fairly good medium of the seven Cs and an R.

00:20:22Melissa Erbacher: I do like that you're very conscious that you want it to be accessible to people and that not adding shipwrecking as a qualifying event for that purpose, you know, is part of the thinking. Are you a member of your own club?

00:20:40Matty Trent: Embarrassingly, not yet.

00:20:43Melissa Erbacher: And what plans have you got to get there?

00:20:45Matty Trent: It shouldn't take me too long to knock in and do it. In WA, we only have the six Cs. So that for WA makes it a little bit more difficult. I have, however, done Chippenham in the UK. So I've got my Cs covered once I get around all of the Western Australian Cs. And then I just have to duck off to our one Western Australian R in which is near Port City, so hopefully from there, join my own club.

00:21:19Scott Trickett: Well, speaking of, well, I'm not sure how to link this, but speaking of clubs, we go from one extreme to the other, so one really cool club to the other one that you're associated with. What's the name of that mob? Derek something or other?

00:21:33Matty Trent: The Derek Zoolander Centre for Kids Who Can't Run Good. Right. Some people refer to them, however, as the greatest running club in the world. Right. Those some people being you and Mel? I think I could probably name three others as well.

00:21:49Melissa Erbacher: At least.

00:21:51Scott Trickett: I joke, it's a very successful running club. But you are, are you the head of it these days in Australia? Have you taken over the reins of?

00:21:59Matty Trent: Oh, no, no, no. I don't think there's really, there's no real controlling body. We sort of have a few people. You know, I get involved and I talk it up and write a few run reports on the Facebook page and actively recruit. But as... A bit like the Pirates, really. Yeah, as an unofficial club. It doesn't cost anything to join. We don't have to wear silly green singlets. That sort of thing doesn't go on.

00:22:28Melissa Erbacher: Well, I hear that only goes on in proper clubs that you have to pay to enter these days.

00:22:34Matty Trent: Yes. The only thing that you have to do to join the Zoolanders is to log into your profile on the parkrun website and select the club from the drop-down box. And that goes for any running club really on there. It's very easy to change. I'm always amazed at how many people aren't affiliated with anything when I look at look at some of the results. And many of the running clubs are not for elite athletes such as myself. They can just be around a little bit of fun, like the Zoolanders. What's that one that you're part of, Scott, the Easter something?

00:23:10Scott Trickett: The Westerfoldians is the name you're looking for, Matty.

00:23:13Matty Trent: Oh, West. Gee, it's a long way east for a club with West in its name.

00:23:19Scott Trickett: This is where there's going to be delay because I've got to think of a witty comeback.

00:23:22Kay: But let's just move on.

00:23:25Scott Trickett: I'll give you a free hit here before Mel jumps in. But in all seriousness, there must be a sense of community, even though you are spread all around Australia. There is still that checking in after parkrun on Saturday and during the week and sharing your accomplishments, if any of you guys do accomplish anything.

00:23:46Matty Trent: Yes, well... Actually, not just around Australia. The Zoolanders are, in fact, a worldwide running club. For listeners in the UK, New Zealand and the US, they can also choose the Derek Zoolander Centre for Kids Who Can't Run Good attached to their profile. So they'll show up in results there. So we do have active members in all of those countries. But yes, there's always pictures of people holding up their hands for our little Z sign, strutting their stuff out on the parkrun catwalks around the world every week.

00:24:25Melissa Erbacher: We've talked about this briefly on the pod before, especially in the olden days when we used to have Club Corner a little bit more regularly. Do you think being a member of a club, unofficial, official, organised, disorganised or not, is something that people should do, Matty? Is it something that you would encourage people to look into?

00:24:49Matty Trent: Absolutely, yes. It just adds that little bit extra. I know myself when I'm out touristing, if we see someone else in a Zoolander shirt or a hat or whatever they've got... It's always that little bit extra to say hello to someone you don't know and have a little bit of a chat, find out where they're from, why they're there, whether they're local, whether they're a tourist as well. Or at my home event, I see them coming through and I always ask where they're from.

00:25:18Melissa Erbacher: And do you find that there's any sort of rivalry with, I mean, obviously you and Scotty are both very passionate about your respective running clubs. I'm a member of both at the moment.

00:25:29Matty Trent: In fact, they're Scots. Yeah.

00:25:33Melissa Erbacher: I'm about to get kicked out of one of those two clubs for not being a paid member. You gentlemen have actually run at the same event at least on one occasion before. I know, Matty, you're heading to Melbourne for the running festival later in the year. Are there any plans for there to be a walk-off between the Zoolanders and the Westerfoldians?

00:25:53Matty Trent: Oh, I hadn't really thought about that. It could get messy. Yeah. I am planning on running a marathon that weekend, and I don't want to have too many battle scars.

00:26:04Scott Trickett: Sounds like he's backing down, Mel.

00:26:07Matty Trent: That's all I'm hearing.

00:26:09Scott Trickett: I'm hearing someone running away scared.

00:26:13Matty Trent: Got himself into it. Okay, here we go. This is a call out to all Zoolander members. The weekend of the Melbourne Marathon, which is the middle of October, we'll be lining up out the front of Scott's house to give him a little bit of a welcome to the club.

00:26:29Scott Trickett: one thing you're overlooking there is that i live miles away no one would take bother taking time to show up outside my house but we could have a showdown at our spiritual home which is oh as at your club spiritual home you mean yeah but if you want something neutral we can go to studley i'm open to i'm open to ideas but hey it's a couple of months away you think about that you try and think up excuses how to avoid that

00:26:52Melissa Erbacher: There is so much testosterone on this podcast right at the moment.

00:26:56Scott Trickett: Just for the record, he started it.

00:26:59Matty Trent: So you're coming to Melbourne. Suddenly we've gone from testosterone to toddler.

00:27:06Scott Trickett: So you're coming to Melbourne. Are you going to run the marathon? Are you going to be more of a man than me and actually front up and run a marathon this year?

00:27:12Matty Trent: Yes, that is the plan. I'm still trying to talk my knees into cooperating, but I have paid up. So that's the first bit done.

00:27:22Melissa Erbacher: That's one of the most important bits. Maybe your knees could have a chat to Scotty's calves.

00:27:26Matty Trent: Yes, do a swap.

00:27:29Scott Trickett: No, it's very admirable for you to go down that path. And, you know, not silly at all to pay in advance before you can know for sure whether you're going to run. But would this be the first marathon you're going to attempt?

00:27:40Matty Trent: No, I've done two road marathons before, both being the Perth marathon. And so I was kind of looking for something that was... A little bit bigger crowd and I think for an Australian event, that one finishing in the MCG as a cricket and AFL tragic, to me that seems like an absolutely magnificent spot for a finish line. I was looking for something to do and that one popped up.

00:28:09Melissa Erbacher: I reckon it would probably be a pretty cool spot for a parkrun too. Maybe we should get that happening in the future. But, of course, that's got nothing to do with you, Matty, because you're in the West. Scotty's obviously not going to jump in about that.

00:28:23Scott Trickett: It's a pretty cool-sounding name, though, isn't it? parkrun at the MCC. It is. I wonder if we can make that happen.

00:28:30Melissa Erbacher: You've done parkruns in a lot of the other states and territories now, Maddy. Are you a member of the Peel Club yet?

00:28:37Matty Trent: No, I have got two to go. So the ACT and Tasmania are both on my hit list. You and I have had a couple of chats over time about Tasmania. I've got two of my compass points knocked off as well and I seem to just want to wait. Tasmania is a long way away and those little rat bags down there keep moving the compass point. They do. So I don't want to go there and then have to go back again a fortnight later.

00:29:10Melissa Erbacher: Well, I'm pretty sure we're locked in for the most southerly point that's going to stay for a while now. That one's launching in July next month. A little bit cold to head down that way in my personal opinion. However, I understand that there are whisperings about the western point moving again soon. So it might not have to be too long before I skip down to Tassie myself because otherwise I'm going to lose the whole compass.

00:29:35Matty Trent: Yeah. So Margaret River obviously is currently that location. western point i think we're a little way off going any further west at this stage but uh we we have had some inquiries petty you get around a bit have you got a top three for us you can't include your own and yeah oh man i knew that was coming it's a tough one well i've uh well i have done 126 parkruns i've only been to 26 different events um there's some fantastic ones there uh Gee, Mount Clarence really has a view that is amazing as you're running up and around the side of the hill from Ellen Cove and with a finish line on the beach as well is pretty special. Margaret River, it's a really, really nice little course on trail along the Margaret River and a finish line that is right at a cafe where the barcode scanner actually gets to sit at a table, which is a pretty awesome spot And, geez, number three, making it hard for me. I know there's so many. We had a nightcliff recently. That was in a pretty good spot, although they'd probably lose a point because I didn't see any crocodiles. I was really expecting to see crocodiles there. Maylands Peninsula probably, for an inner-city parkrun in Perth, is in a very nice, quiet little spot right along the Swan River. So, yeah, I think I might lob them into number three.

00:31:03Melissa Erbacher: Maddy, you are embarking on a personal adventure soon with a new job starting. How is that going to impact your parkrunning and your parkrun adventures?

00:31:16Matty Trent: Well, I guess, unfortunately, once we get that underway, I have to hand over as being event director because it'll be a couple of hours away. I'm moving to a smaller town in the Great Southern and it'll also mean changing my home run which will at this stage most likely be Manjimup, which is a great little event that does a couple of laps around a massive tree called the, we call him the king, he's King Jarrah. And it pretty much will make every parkrun an adventure as it's going to be 50 minutes or an hour to get to either Mangemup or Mount Clarence.

00:31:58Melissa Erbacher: Any plans to start one a little bit closer to home?

00:32:02Matty Trent: Unfortunately, it's a very small town and the population probably wouldn't survive it. And having started a couple of parkruns, I've been involved in the starting of a number of parkruns now over time. It can be a little bit onerous when you first get going to be there and volunteering for the first little bit. And I think just the way that my life works out at the moment, I am away travelling a reasonably often and that would complicate that as well.

00:32:33Scott Trickett: So Matty, I'm curious now. So as a parkrun tragic that you are, you're going to be moving away from all these parkruns. Is that going to affect your parkrun experience and your involvement with parkrun?

00:32:46Matty Trent: It'll mean I don't get to go as often as I have been just because of that travel factor. But I am not sure that it will stop me from being an addict.

00:32:56Scott Trickett: Well, that's comforting to know. Despite what I've said about you on the podcast, I think you've been a fantastic asset to the Western parkrun in general. So it'd be great if you could stick around. And how small is small? How small is too small? That's my question.

00:33:11Matty Trent: Well, a population of around 200 probably means that it's just a little bit on the small side. and a sort of country town where people are travelling for sport on Saturday mornings with kids and that sort of stuff as well. So you pretty quickly limit yourself to a number that's just a little bit below what would be sustainable.

00:33:33Melissa Erbacher: Well, you know, what's sustainable when you can hang tokens in trees and get people to scan themselves in? How many volunteers do you really need at an event?

00:33:45Matty Trent: Well, a long time ago, we actually got away with one. at Geograph Bay in the middle of a rather heavy, heavy rainstorm. We had the run director sitting in the front seat of the car. We only had eight participants so that she managed to write down names as they crossed the line to keep them in order rather than hand out a token.

00:34:08Melissa Erbacher: I love those sorts of stories. I think it happens more than we know as well, those little events. Before we let you go, Matty, I do want to know if money were no object, time was no object, where would you parkrun?

00:34:24Matty Trent: Oh, boy. Is that just a one parkrun thing or is it a thousand-week-long Saturday, expedition Saturday on the road?

00:34:34Unidentified speaker: Okay.

00:34:35Melissa Erbacher: If we let you have a 1,000-week-long thing, then we might be here for a very long time. And this podcast, I don't know if we've got enough space on our computers to record that long. So let's restrict it just a little bit and you get to choose one.

00:34:53Matty Trent: Well, that would have to be an event I haven't done before and a new country. I follow a couple of the Russian events online. on Facebook and I am constantly amazed by the depth of the snow and that sort of thing that they run through over there in winter. So probably have a go at one of those Russian events or Poland where some of it looks pretty similar. They're scraping foot-deep snow off the path before an event in winter.

00:35:25Scott Trickett: It looks like fun. I'm sure it is fun. So I hope you get there one day. Thanks for coming on the podcast this week, Matty. I'm just filling out, I'm just updating the merchandise for the Westerfoldians. So I just wanted to check, was it a medium or a large year after?

00:35:42Matty Trent: A large. I do have a big car to wash. Good.

00:35:44Scott Trickett: I'll make sure I get that in there, the premium model. So thanks very much for joining us on the podcast this week, and I'll see you in Melbourne in a couple of months' time. All right. Thanks very much for having me, guys.

Channel 5 News Crew

00:36:06Melissa Ellis: Hello parkrun Adventurers, it's Melissa here coming to you from Hastings Foreshore parkrun. We've had their fourth birthday here this morning and we're at the brunch and I've got the RD Tim Baldwin here. Hi Tim.

00:36:20Tim Baldwin: Hi Melissa, how are you going? Hello parkrun Adventurers.

00:36:23Melissa Ellis: I'm good, thank you. So tell us a bit about Hastings Foreshore, Tim. It's been going four years?

00:36:28Tim Baldwin: Yeah, four years today. Had a lovely birthday today, fluoro theme. Everyone got all dressed up. It was beautiful. It's a lovely two and a bit lap course, very flat, quite fast.

00:36:41Melissa Ellis: It's a lovely course. I've been down here a few times over the years. And what's your attendance today?

00:36:49Tim Baldwin: Attendance was 119. And for quite a chilly, cold day, it's a good...

00:36:55Melissa Ellis: It was, and the skies stayed clear for us. It was a bit cold, but no rain.

00:37:00Tim Baldwin: The rain held off, which, yeah, thank God for that.

00:37:03Melissa Ellis: Yeah, no, that's good. And you put on a barbecue?

00:37:06Tim Baldwin: Yeah, we had bacon and eggs. It's just a common thing that we've done throughout all our birthdays. The event team always put together a barbecue, bacon and eggs, and, yeah, so everyone has bacon and eggs when we finish. It's beautiful.

00:37:18Melissa Ellis: Very good. And you're a bit of an adventurer yourself?

00:37:21Tim Baldwin: Ah, yes, slightly.

00:37:23Melissa Ellis: How many different events have you done? Do you know?

00:37:25Tim Baldwin: I think it's about 63. Yeah.

00:37:27Melissa Ellis: Okay.

00:37:28Tim Baldwin: Yeah.

00:37:29Melissa Ellis: But Hastings is obviously your home?

00:37:30Tim Baldwin: Hastings is my home, yes. I try to RD here at least once every two months.

00:37:36Melissa Ellis: You're a good volunteer. Yeah.

00:37:37Tim Baldwin: I work every second Saturday. It makes it a bit hard.

00:37:40Melissa Ellis: Yes. Okay, thanks, Tim. And how did you get started into parkrun?

00:37:44Tim Baldwin: Okay, I started parkrun in, I think it was 2008. 2013 at Diamond Creek. My brother came over from West Australia and said, all I want to do in this week is go to Diamond Creek parkrun for their launch. I didn't even know anything about it. And since then, I've only missed one Saturday for a parkrun. I've slept in. And I've met many people. Heaps of friends. Made heaps of friends.

00:38:15Melissa Ellis: Fabulous. And you've got a trip planned.

00:38:18Tim Baldwin: Yes, I've got a trip planned. I'm going to New Zealand in August with my wife. And I'll pencil in a parkrun at Rotorua.

00:38:26Melissa Ellis: Well, that's fabulous. I hope it goes well for you.

00:38:28Tim Baldwin: Thank you.

00:38:28Melissa Ellis: Thanks for talking to me.

00:38:29Tim Baldwin: Thanks, Mel.

00:38:30Tony O'Connell: Howdy parkrunners, it's TOC reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew. I'm down at the wonderful coastal city of Portland in Victoria. It's been a smidge damp before parkrun, then it cleared up during parkrun. We got a bit of blue sky and now it's a bit of liquid sunshine again. I'm here with Kay and Tracy, part of the really bubbly event team down here. We've had a great day down here. Kay, you had an L plate on today. What was that all about?

00:38:59Kay: Well, today was my first day being run director.

00:39:03Tony O'Connell: Okay, well, we wouldn't have guessed that from the briefing. That was really good. You've done a great job.

00:39:07Kay: Oh, thank you.

00:39:08Tony O'Connell: How many parkruns have you done, Kate?

00:39:10Kay: I've completed 75 parkruns now. Most of them have been in Portland, which is a handful away.

00:39:18Tony O'Connell: What's the furthest one away you've done?

00:39:19Kay: Wagga.

00:39:20Tony O'Connell: Wagga. Okay, there's a heap of adventurers have gone up to Wagga from Melbourne today, driven up overnight for it.

00:39:26Kay: Oh, okay. I went up there for their launch.

00:39:28Tony O'Connell: Ah, cool. Okay. I've also got Tracy with me. Tracy's apparently heard of the podcast before. How are you, Tracy?

00:39:35Tracy: I'm very good, thank you.

00:39:36Tony O'Connell: That's good. And you were volunteering today? You were scanning today?

00:39:40Tracy: I was scanning, so I had the best position. I was undercover and I was nice and warm.

00:39:44Tony O'Connell: Yeah, in the liquid sunshine. It's always sunny at parkrun, but today might have been a bit of liquid sunshine. You had a good spot for it.

00:39:51Tracy: I did. I kept nice and dry where I was.

00:39:54Tony O'Connell: So Tracy, what's your parkrun background? You've been out and done a couple of different ones?

00:39:58Tracy: I've probably done maybe six or seven different ones. I've done a couple in Tasmania and then I do try and plan little weekends away around where the parkrun venues are.

00:40:09Tony O'Connell: And funny enough, we've just discovered that we both did the Railton launch on the same day, obviously, because it was a launch.

00:40:15Tracy: Yeah, that's right. So that was a good one.

00:40:17Tony O'Connell: Yep. You're down there for the Masters Games.

00:40:18Tracy: I was. I was playing soccer for a team from all around Australia, actually. Yeah.

00:40:24Tony O'Connell: Well done.

00:40:25Kay: We both play soccer and we're going to kick off this afternoon at three o'clock.

00:40:30Tony O'Connell: So you don't get out and do a parkrun first? You try to volunteer on the soccer days?

00:40:34Kay: No, actually, I nearly always run before soccer.

00:40:38Tony O'Connell: You're a bit of a loosener?

00:40:39Kay: Yeah, I just love to run.

00:40:43Tracy: I'm very addicted to parkruns. I tend to volunteer instead of running because I run on the pitch and K's in goal.

00:40:51Tony O'Connell: So how did Alan, the ED from Downey, the mighty Alan, how did he talk you into becoming a run director?

00:40:56Kay: He's been asking me for quite a while and I think it was just a matter of time before I gave in and stepped up to the role.

00:41:03Tony O'Connell: And it wasn't as bad as you thought, was it?

00:41:05Kay: No, it wasn't as bad, no.

00:41:06Tony O'Connell: No, you stood up the front there like you'd done it a heap of times.

00:41:09Kay: Look, the only reason I said I haven't stepped up before is because I just like to run. I love to run and when you're RD you can't run, so yeah.

00:41:18Tony O'Connell: So you didn't get out and do a pre-course run? No.

00:41:20Kay: No, no, not in today's conditions.

00:41:23Tony O'Connell: I noticed there was a few out and about this morning. Mr Murphy ran the Highlands parkrun very early this morning. He must have been RD at Highlands today. Okay. And what's the weather going to bring for the rest of the day down at sunny Portland?

00:41:35Kay: I think it's going to be much the same, just drizzle.

00:41:37Tony O'Connell: So soccer out in the rain?

00:41:39Kay: Yeah, that's right. We play rain, hail or shine.

00:41:41Tracy: It doesn't matter.

00:41:42Tony O'Connell: Cool. And for those that haven't been to Portland, just give us a quick course description of the Portland course.

00:41:49Tracy: So we run around a lagoon, which is really quite pretty, and it's an out and back, so yeah. Yep.

00:41:56Tony O'Connell: And you've got a couple of bridges in there, so you keep Scotty Trickett pretty happy.

00:41:59Tracy: There's a little bit of a hill at the start and at the finish again, so that's always a little bit tricky, but yeah, otherwise it's generally pretty flat.

00:42:07Tony O'Connell: And apparently there's some fairly regular visitors out on course that I missed today because I was tail walking and just chatting as I walk. But you have a lot of koalas out on the course.

00:42:15Tracy: I think we had a koala out there today and we always have some ducks in the lagoon. Well, lots of bird life in the lagoon.

00:42:22Kay: And we have a swooping magpie in season too. Looking forward to that time of the year again. I've been swooped before and he's got me.

00:42:30Tony O'Connell: And on the plus side, you've got a really great cafe to go to after parkrun to warm up again and good coffee.

00:42:37Tracy: That's right. The highlight of it, the social side at the end.

00:42:40Tony O'Connell: Yeah, no, there's a big group inside. That's really good. Well, thanks for your time and we'll call it a day. Cheers, guys.

00:42:46Kay: Thank you. Bye.

00:42:48Scott Trickett: It was ladies first with our own official Melissa Ellis from the Channel 5 News crew visiting Hastings Foreshore. And Toc was back again. Toc's getting around the state, Mel. He was over at Portland, which is a long way from Inverloch.

00:43:03Melissa Erbacher: Portland, yes, it is a little bit of a ways from sunny Inverloch. However, it sounds like they had a great time. Big shout out to Kay, who was a first-time run director and was awesome by all accounts. And also to Tracy, who we understand listens to the podcast in the bath. That's a first, Scotty. Well, it's a first for me. Do you know of other people who listen to our podcast in the bath?

00:43:26Scott Trickett: Nobody's shared that information with me up until this point. Yeah, I don't have a lot of bath conversations with people in general. So I wouldn't be surprised if others do, but great.

00:43:39Melissa Erbacher: Hi, Tracey. Shall we head to the poem zone? We've had a couple of submissions for the poem zone. Or would you like to find out where our launches and anniversaries are?

00:43:47Scott Trickett: Well, we've got a structure, Mel. We've got a format.

00:43:50Melissa Erbacher: Oh, do we?

00:43:51Unidentified speaker: We do.

00:43:53Melissa Erbacher: Well, then let's head back. We've got a launch. Only one this week in New South Wales at Merriwa. Meriwa.

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

00:44:01Scott Trickett: There we go. This is a strange old week, is it? Because we've only got one anniversary too, which is at Logan River. And I reckon it's because it's the 30th of June. And it's cold. Well, no, I don't think that stops launches. We go crazy with launches at this time of year. But I think this is because this is the fifth Saturday or something in June. So this wouldn't happen very often. That's what it is, Mel.

00:44:26Melissa Erbacher: Oh, you think?

00:44:26Scott Trickett: Yeah.

00:44:27Melissa Erbacher: So only every five years are we able to launch. No, that doesn't make any sense.

00:44:33Scott Trickett: Maybe Sarah Logan, because when she launched Logan River, she was in the know. She was running the show. Maybe she's put a clause in that no other events will share this weekend, so all the limelight is on Logan River.

00:44:47Melissa Erbacher: Who knows? It's a mystery.

00:44:49Scott Trickett: But there we go. That's it for this week. So now you can press on to the Poem Zone. The Poem Zone. We need a theme. I've still got to work on that.

Poem Zone

00:44:58Melissa Erbacher: Like a theme music or a theme... Okay.

00:45:01Scott Trickett: It needs intro music. It needs something. It needs a sting. I hope I do it before we run out of poems.

00:45:09Melissa Erbacher: Well, that will only happen if people don't keep sending them in. So keep sending them in, people. You can either email them to parkrunadventurers at gmail.com or send us a Facebook message on the parkrun Adventurers Facebook page. Not as likely to see it if you hashtag us on Instagram or Twitter unless you hashtag Poem Zone. I'll start doing a search for people hashtagging Poem Zone as well.

00:45:33Scott Trickett: Okay, but last week I asked, let's move away from the haikus and let's get back to some other forms of poetry. And our number one fan has delivered. Do you want to go first, Mel? She's given us two.

00:45:45Melissa Erbacher: She has given us two. So the first one is a take on the classic roses are red type poem. However, it goes, a 50 shirt is red, 500 is blue, the fun in between is all up to you. That's a good one. I like it. Yeah, they're good poems.

00:46:05Scott Trickett: These are the ones I can understand. That haiku is a bit too high level for me.

00:46:08Melissa Erbacher: You like rhymes, don't you, Scotty?

00:46:10Scott Trickett: I do. I do. I want everything to rhyme.

00:46:11Melissa Erbacher: Rhymes makes sense.

00:46:12Scott Trickett: Yeah. I'll start singing soon. Believe me, have a go at this one. There once was a girl from Kawana who sometimes slept through her alarma. She'd wake with a fright and no time to take flight, so poor Wes must now sleep in the cara.

00:46:27Melissa Erbacher: Dodgy but funny. Dodgy but funny. That was a hashtag Melissa sent in.

00:46:32Scott Trickett: Love it, love it.

00:46:33Melissa Erbacher: I did laugh out loud when I read that the first time, I will admit.

00:46:37Scott Trickett: And so once again, she's showing her preference. You're obviously her favourite because she did not want to win.

00:46:41Melissa Erbacher: I just love that she's created words to rhyme with Kiwana because I don't know that any exist, but she's made some. She's made it work. Now she just needs to figure out how to rhyme something with Westerfolds or Westerfoldian.

00:46:56Scott Trickett: Yeah.

00:46:57Melissa Erbacher: That could be a bit more of a challenge.

00:46:58Scott Trickett: Or president. We can go there. I'm now the president. But, so that's it. The Poem Zone, that's it. We're going to wrap it up for this week. We need more entries if you want the Poem Zone to keep going.

00:47:09Melissa Erbacher: We love them.

00:47:10Scott Trickett: We love them.

00:47:10Melissa Erbacher: We love reading them. And we love it when parkrun adventurers get a little bit creative. off the parkrun course. It's very cool. But we are wrapping up for today. And Scotty, you're off on a bit of an adventure in coming weeks. So podcast might be a little bit, how are we going to do this?

00:47:30Scott Trickett: Well, let's find out.

00:47:31Melissa Erbacher: We're still going to record while you're away?

00:47:33Scott Trickett: So remember this fateful time last year? So yeah, I'm heading back to the UK. And this is the time of the year last year where we had a hiatus.

00:47:42Melissa Erbacher: We did. It actually fell at a relatively good time because I just had a little person as well. So we only took one week off.

00:47:52Scott Trickett: No, there's a few more than that, Mel.

00:47:55Tim Baldwin: It was.

00:47:55Melissa Erbacher: I'm sure it was only one week.

00:47:56Scott Trickett: No, we took a couple. We took a couple. But here's my commitment. Here's my commitment to you and the podcast. One podcast a week throughout the next few weeks when I'm overseas. I think it's due. I think we need to pay back our listeners for last year.

00:48:12Melissa Erbacher: Well, not to mention the fact that it would look a little bit soft on your behalf if I can record while I'm in America and you can't record while you're in the UK. Just quietly.

00:48:21Scott Trickett: Well, I never thought of it like that. But you're right.

00:48:23Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:48:24Scott Trickett: You're right.

00:48:25Melissa Erbacher: The only difference, realistically, is that I was on a holiday and you will be working. So you actually have commitments.

00:48:31Scott Trickett: Yeah, but look, it's a long flight. And I think last year I edited the podcast on the plane flying over there last year. So I can do it again this year. Excellent. Yep. So that's all fun and games. Looking forward to it. It's going to be good fun.

00:48:48Melissa Erbacher: I can't wait to hear about which events you choose to do this time you're away. I'm assuming you'll be doing different ones. Try to get up on me on the most events list worldwide.

00:48:58Scott Trickett: Plans are afoot. And let me tell you, Mel, you know, work's hard. I've got to go overseas to work. Poor me. But I must admit I'm looking forward to the parkruns that I'm going to get to go to. Poor you. Yep. Now, let's get back to the tees. So we've finished the podcast. The tees, the World Cup. You've actually got World Cup fever, which I'm very impressed with. Have you got a grasp on how the tournament works yet?

00:49:28Melissa Erbacher: Um... When you say grasp, I'm assuming it's got something to do with that little diagram that has all the coloured dots about how many goals people need to score according to who they play with and things like that to get through to next round. I think there are three rounds. I'm pretty sure you've made it through to the final and I'm not sure how that works because you don't have to play the second round. Is that how that works?

00:49:58Unidentified speaker: No.

00:49:59Scott Trickett: No, maybe you haven't been paying as much attention as I thought.

00:50:02Melissa Erbacher: Okay, so obviously I don't have a grass.

00:50:05Scott Trickett: So we're talking about, so we had a work sweep and I was lucky enough to jag Croatia, which at the time I was thinking, Croatia?

00:50:15Melissa Erbacher: And who did I get? I got Costa Rica.

00:50:17Scott Trickett: Costa Rica. Now, I must admit I'm not an expert in the world of soccer, as we call it, but I had a feeling that Costa Rica weren't the world power that maybe you had hoped they were. And my predictions proved true because they're out.

00:50:36Melissa Erbacher: They only just got out, though, in their third game. They got to play three games before they got out. And don't say that thing where everyone gets to play three games. It doesn't matter. They participated okay. It doesn't matter if they're a final finisher.

00:50:50Scott Trickett: They got through. But I've got Croatia, so Hrvatska, Hrvatska.

00:50:55Melissa Erbacher: And see, here's the thing. Now I have, the beauty of this is I get the opportunity to swear my allegiance to somebody else who could potentially win. I'm a free agent and I get to pick and choose from whoever's still in there.

00:51:08Kay: Or jump on Croatia with me.

00:51:10Melissa Erbacher: Well, why would I want to do that? Wouldn't I want to back a winner?

00:51:14Scott Trickett: Hey, they haven't lost. That's my point. They are the winners. They haven't lost yet. So far. I don't know if any other teams haven't lost yet, but they haven't lost yet. But on another side, so I did get a little bit of World Cup fever. And remember, my beautiful wife is Polish. and we live in australia and so we kind of have an allegiance to australia so we watched all the games and the polish games weren't on at friendly times like i wake up at four o'clock in the morning anyone has got the tv on and she's shouting at the tv so she was very passionate but unfortunately poland were useless they lost their games australia were pretty much useless but So it hasn't been a successful tournament in that respect up to this point.

00:52:01Melissa Erbacher: But it's fun being in the game, isn't it?

00:52:03Scott Trickett: Yeah. Thank God for Croatia, if I had a dollar.

00:52:10Melissa Erbacher: Well, good luck, Scotty, with your future games, and we should check in on those as the World Cup progresses.

00:52:17Scott Trickett: Good World Cup chat, Mel.

00:52:20Melissa Erbacher: Thanks, Scotty. I feel like I contributed a little bit more to this chat than I have been able to for the NFL in the past. So that's nice for a change.

00:52:30Scott Trickett: Yep, yep. And just wrap it up. I'm having a quiet one this week, I think. I'm just going to maybe just toddle off somewhere local. Have you got any exciting plans for this parkrun weekend? Or should we set it up as another tease?

00:52:44Melissa Erbacher: Why am I... Why am I picking up like a tone in your voice like you are luring me into a false sense of security about where you're going? I feel like you've got a sneaky adventure planned.

00:52:56Scott Trickett: No, I definitely haven't. Definitely haven't. But it might change depending on your answer to my question.

00:53:02Melissa Erbacher: If I manage to get out of bed, if the teething ceases before the weekend and I don't have a rough night on Friday night, the plan is to go home because I haven't been home for a very long time and it's always nice to be home.

00:53:15Scott Trickett: Good. I'm relieved you enjoy your time at Kawana. Make sure you set that alarmer and I'll speak to you next week for a real highlight of our podcast journey so far. Talk to you then, Scotty.