Episode 121 - Mark Musk

Episode details · 339 speaker turns · sound cues from context

00:00:15Scott Trickett: Cor blimey, mimetes. No, that's not a good start. I went to the UK, not to the pirate islands of Ireland. But welcome to episode 121 of the parkrun Adventures. I should have rehearsed that, Mel.

00:00:36Melissa Erbacher: I see you've picked up the accent while you were there, Scotty. Well, you've picked up something.

00:00:41Scott Trickett: It was close, wasn't it? But look, I'm back now. I'm back. So anything I did pick up, I think it's worn off. I don't know. Can you tell? Okay.

00:00:54Melissa Erbacher: Well, I don't know. Are you feeling a bit jet lag still? Because I know it's worse coming in this direction than going that way.

00:01:00Scott Trickett: I'll tell you what. I wear my ability to fight jet lag as a badge of honor.

00:01:05Melissa Erbacher: A badge of honor.

00:01:06Scott Trickett: A badge of honor. And I've never really suffered it. And I'm a seasoned traveler, Mel. I've been everywhere.

00:01:15Melissa Erbacher: You've been everywhere, okay.

00:01:16Scott Trickett: Pretty much.

00:01:18Melissa Erbacher: I feel like there's a butt coming.

00:01:20Scott Trickett: Well, there's a butt coming because, my God, did it hit me this time. And for the first time pretty much ever, I managed to get some sleep on a plane. So I slept for three hours. And oh my God, it was great. So we were flying over the Indian Ocean and we were just below Sri Lanka. And, you know, I'm one of those guys that just watches the flight map the whole way, just hoping that the plane gets closer and closer.

00:01:44Melissa Erbacher: You know they've got videos, right? You can watch movies instead.

00:01:48Scott Trickett: I know, but the flight map, you know, it can be exciting. But it can be exciting when you fall asleep over Sri Lanka and you wake up and you're in Australia. Yeah. So I woke up again and we were just on the edge of Western Australia. And oh my God, I've never felt so happy and relieved in all my life to get about three hours sleep on the plane because I've never done it. And I did it. Yeah. But well done you. It's getting me back because I was a mess. I was a mess on Thursday this week. No, what day is it? We're recording this on a Thursday. I was a mess yesterday.

00:02:23Melissa Erbacher: Sounds like you still might be a little bit of a mess.

00:02:25Scott Trickett: No, no, I had a good sleep. I had a good sleep. I had a good sleep last night, so I'm all good. But yesterday we went to, and this is parkrun related, so I got off the plane to London and then headed straight to Canberra the next day. And the cool thing is we met up with a bunch of Canberrians parkrunners. I think that's what they call themselves.

00:02:45Melissa Erbacher: Yep.

00:02:46Scott Trickett: For a freedom run around Burley Griffin parkrun. And Mel, that's a little bit of a gem, that one. I was tired and I wasn't really in the mood for a run. But these people, these 12 or 11 awesome parkrunners got me in the mood and it was good fun. So a freedom run. A freedom run.

00:03:05Melissa Erbacher: Don't you just love a middle of the week freedom run in like a state that you've never been in?

00:03:11Scott Trickett: like around that course yeah well it's a great way to see these events because you know i talk about them and i work with them but really they're just names and places on a map a lot of the time but when you get to go and see what the events actually look like and the path looks like and the trees and the lake looks like it puts everything in context and yeah it's great like faces to names isn't it it's places to names So I've got an idea with my training. I'm in this phase of not training as it is, not running during the week.

00:03:42Melissa Erbacher: Non-training?

00:03:42Scott Trickett: Yep, because I really just don't want to run. But I'm thinking I'm going to... My new challenge, and maybe this can be an August challenge for me and all the adventurers, Mel, you can jump in. I'm going to do freedom runs. And most of my runs are going to be 5K and under, I think. None of this 8K, 10K rubbish. And God forbid going for like 21K runs. No, f*** that s***. I'm doing 5K runs and below for the month of August.

parkrun adventure challenge (listener challenge)

00:04:10Melissa Erbacher: God... How many minutes are we in and we're already explicit this week?

00:04:15Scott Trickett: Don't worry, I'll beep that one out.

00:04:20Melissa Erbacher: Okay, that's interesting. You know, we're not too far away from streaky September. I know. So you could just have a bit of a lazy August. And then when we get to September, you've got to go every day.

00:04:31Scott Trickett: Yeah, maybe. But maybe this was just a nice way to ease into it or ease back into running because effectively I was stopped. So just 5K runs, 5K and under, it's a great idea.

00:04:40Melissa Erbacher: Okay. So if you're going to turn this into a challenge, what is the plan? Like one a week or more?

00:04:47Scott Trickett: No, no, no. Let's stop there.

00:04:49Melissa Erbacher: You need to make it attainable.

00:04:51Scott Trickett: Okay. One freedom run a week. That's what we'll do for the month of August.

00:04:56Melissa Erbacher: And by we, you mean you and all the other parkrun adventurers.

00:04:59Scott Trickett: Yes, so I know you're not going to join me because I didn't join you on your Run the Date challenge.

00:05:04Melissa Erbacher: No, you didn't.

00:05:05Scott Trickett: So you can watch on with my August Freedom Run challenge. How's that? Now, I wouldn't be stupid enough to do 14 in one day like happened on the weekend.

00:05:17Melissa Erbacher: No, well, I mean, I guess, you know – It takes a certain kind of something to become a free genere, doesn't it?

00:05:24Scott Trickett: Yes. And there's only two, I understand. Two survivors.

00:05:27Melissa Erbacher: Two. Yes. It was a 50% survival rate got through and finished. I don't know if that's good odds or bad odds.

00:05:35Scott Trickett: I still reckon that's impressive because that's a lot of running. What is it? What are we talking? We're talking 70K.

00:05:41Melissa Erbacher: Well, yeah.

00:05:43Scott Trickett: Yeah, that's a lot of running.

00:05:44Melissa Erbacher: Exactly 70K. Did you do the maths before this?

00:05:46Scott Trickett: No, that was pretty quick, wasn't it?

00:05:48Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, that was very good. Well done. Yeah, that's a long distance in one day. And we've both experienced, you know, longest run days before where there's only seven events that you do. And we know that by, you know, five, six and seven, people are starting to get a little bit of an oof and a little bit of a groan at the start of each because they're And knees and joints are seizing up from being warm and then cooling down and then getting warm again and then cooling down. And can you imagine doing that 14 times?

00:06:22Scott Trickett: Yeah, no, silly, silly stuff. But who are our survivors? Who are our free geneers? Do we know them? Is one of our mates from the beaches?

00:06:31Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, Michael is. He's a Frigidaire. I do not know the name of the second person who made it all the way through.

00:06:37Scott Trickett: That's all right. Top effort, Michael. He's been on the podcast, so he's the only one we need to mention. But to the other guy or girl, my hat's off to you.

00:06:47Melissa Erbacher: Yep. They're probably still also recovering from that.

00:06:51Scott Trickett: Can I tell you about my adventure on the weekend?

00:06:54Melissa Erbacher: Please do, because we haven't caught up yet about what happened in the UK and everything and where you ran and all that sort of stuff. You know, I didn't get a new event in on the weekend, so I need to live vicariously through you.

00:07:07Scott Trickett: Okay. As you did. Let's work backwards. On Sunday, I went to Moormead Junior parkrun. Oh, awesome. Yeah. I met another PK, and I learned about the history of Junior parkrun. So let's save that for the outro. I'll give you an update. But Moormead Junior parkrun was equally awesome. I'm missing Westerfolds Juniors, I've got to admit, but it was great to have that substitute on Sunday. But on Saturday, I went down to Basingstoke parkrun, which has been around for 10 years, Mel. It's an old one.

00:07:38Melissa Erbacher: Wow. 10 years. That's awesome.

00:07:40Scott Trickett: It was one of the first and a fact that I learned. Remember Ewan, who's been on this podcast twice? From Canada. Who I got to meet also in the UK. He came over for the conference. And not surprised, Mel. He's an awesome bloke in person as he is over Skype. And he was the founding event director of Basingstoke.

00:07:59Melissa Erbacher: Ah, there you go. That's history for you.

00:08:01Scott Trickett: Yeah. So they celebrated 10 years the week before and they invited, of course, they invited Paul Sinton-Hewitt, the founder of parkrun, to come and celebrate because he was at the conference. So he headed there this weekend. And Renee and I, being the hangers-on that we are, we decided to tag along and do a parkrun with PSH and JSH. So Jo is Paul's wife and they've done exactly the same amount of parkruns. Another interesting fact, Joe got to 250 before Paul, much to his disgust, I think, when he found that out.

00:08:36Melissa Erbacher: And did he make her put the brakes on at that point so that he could catch up?

00:08:39Scott Trickett: No, because they didn't know. They weren't keeping track of it, and I think the event sprung it on JSH on the day and said, congratulations, you've done 250, and Paul, you're stuck on 249.

00:08:51David Moss: I think that's how the story goes.

00:08:56Melissa Erbacher: Whoops.

00:08:57Scott Trickett: Yep. But I got to parkrun with the great man, the living legend, and living legends, because they both had a big part to play. in parkrun but i'll tell you a funny story so imagine what it's like for paul when he goes to parkrun like everyone who wants to meet him right he's the he's the he's the hero he's the savior he's the man who gave us this wonderful gift in the run briefing uh usual run briefing standard stuff get through it and then they go now today we're joined by a very special guest Let us introduce Wonky, our mascot, our mascot bear, who's made up of old volunteer high-vis vests.

00:09:39Melissa Erbacher: Okay.

00:09:43Scott Trickett: Not PSH.

00:09:44Melissa Erbacher: Oh, was he sort of getting ready to get up and have a chat?

00:09:47Scott Trickett: Well, I think so. I think so. So we had this special guest, and then they introduced the stuffed toy. Paul was a bit deflated, and then they said, oh, and also the founder of parkrunning here, Paul Hinton-Sewart.

00:10:04Melissa Erbacher: I bet that's not the first time. It's probably not the first time. He's become a PHS.

00:10:07Scott Trickett: Yes.

00:10:09Melissa Erbacher: Oh, dear.

00:10:10Scott Trickett: So the run director, Frankie, I think it was one of her first times. I think she just got nervous. She's probably super nervous. As you do. But it is a funny story. So sorry, Frankie. at your expense but how about that wonky upstage the founder wonky did you get a photo with wonky i think that's what everyone wants to know i should have are you serious well renee and again you're right renee told me can you get a photo with wonky but i said no i kind of want a photo with paul if that's all right well one is not mutually exclusive i imagine you're right you're right i've failed again But anyway, that's my story from Basingstoke. Again, a beautiful parkrun, but again, hot, Mel. Hot. Hot. Sweating. I was in singlets, and you can't take your top off in the UK. That's frowned upon. Oh, is it? Yeah, well, I would have scared a few people, no doubt. But it was hot enough to do that. It really was. I don't know what they're talking about. It was really hot.

00:11:11Melissa Erbacher: Okay. Did the locals feel like it was hot?

00:11:14Scott Trickett: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. They were melting. They were all bright red. I didn't laugh because they're not used to it.

00:11:21Melissa Erbacher: Every time I hear – I've got a lot of UK friends and family, and every time I hear them say, oh, this heat wave is forecast to continue for four weeks, and I look at the temperatures, at what temperature is it allowed to be classified as a heat wave? Like – I just...

00:11:39Scott Trickett: It's relative. It's all relative. If it's hot, if you feel hot, it's a heat wave, I reckon.

00:11:44Melissa Erbacher: Meanwhile, we had the coldest morning in Queensland of the year. Really? Yes. It was ridiculous. So we completely swapped. We had all the chilliness going on in Queensland. It was terrible.

00:12:01Scott Trickett: Okay.

00:12:02Melissa Erbacher: Terrible. I don't know how I survived.

00:12:04Scott Trickett: But you did survive.

00:12:05Melissa Erbacher: Well, I'm here to tell you about it.

00:12:07Scott Trickett: Yeah.

00:12:08Melissa Erbacher: So I'm guessing yes is the answer to that question.

00:12:12Scott Trickett: And parkrun on Saturday, did you survive enough to go to parkrun?

00:12:16Melissa Erbacher: Well, I did. I think the last time we spoke, I may have mentioned that Wes and Adam had both been sick and I was avoiding it at that stage. I hadn't quite got it or had I just got it because I got it. And big surprise. You sleep in a bed that you pull your 13-month-old child into at 5 o'clock in the morning to keep him warm because he's sick and two seconds later he sneezes in your mouth like a nice big cough right in your face when he's two inches away. Big surprise, he gets sick. Yeah, so I told Adam, I broke it to him on Friday night that, because it was forecast to be so cold and it had been so ridiculously cold. I said, look, you're going to have to stay home with Wes tomorrow. You can't come to parkrun because it's too cold for him to be out there. He's still sick. And he had a mini tantrum. He's like, but I want to go for a run. And I said, well, I'm sorry. I would love to stay home. But in this situation, I'm down to run direct in the morning. And I think 150 odd parkrunners might notice me not showing up with the stopwatch and the barcode scanners more than they're going to notice you not showing up. to go for your little run. So it wasn't really negotiable. I think after he got over that initial shock that he wasn't allowed to go, he probably was quite grateful for it, especially when I slipped out and it was still pitch dark and it was freezing and he got to stay in the nice cosy bed where I wanted to be. But I've got a hack for you, Scotty, how to cope with parkrun when you're sick hack. What you do is you get up, you get dressed really, really fast in 700 layers and you put your dressing gown back on. And that is how you drive to parkrun. That is how you set up parkrun. You put your volunteer bib over said dressing gown.

00:14:24Scott Trickett: Right.

00:14:24Melissa Erbacher: And you just get on with the business.

00:14:26Scott Trickett: Did anybody know? Did anybody recognize it?

00:14:31Melissa Erbacher: I was asked by one parkrunner if I was cold, to which I was able to reply no, that I wasn't, because I was toasty warm in my 700 layers of my dressing gown. I did actually also use it in my pre-run brief as an example to everyone that's You know, everybody's welcome. Volunteers can show up in whatever they like to stay cosy and warm in in the wintertime, and it's okay. It's perfectly reasonable to show up in a dressing gown. And, yeah, I actually had a couple of parkrunners approach me afterwards and say, you know what, that's brilliant. We should have a pyjama run or a onesie run while it's still cold because we don't have an opportunity in Queensland too often to wear costumes that are very, very full body kind of costumes without getting too sweaty. So I think it's something we're going to do in the next few weeks. I've got a couple of run directors standing down and I'm I think there's no better way to thank them and send them off with a massive fun gratitude morning than getting everybody dressed in pajamas and onesies, which, you know, you've just got to be comfortable if you're in your PJs.

00:15:45Scott Trickett: Yeah, look, it's a good recruiting tool, isn't it? It's like if you don't care what you look like in public, this is the job for you.

00:15:54Melissa Erbacher: I don't think it's even about caring what you look like in public because damn it if my velveteen, soft, gorgeous, pale blue dressing gown isn't rocking it, you know, especially with fluoro orange over the top. And you know what? Like I said, everybody's welcome. There's no judgment. There's no judgment here. You can wear slippers. It's okay. If that's what you're comfortable in, I say do it. And I am a big advocate of leading by example as evidenced by with showing up on Saturday and you know what by the end like because I was feeling way below average I just really didn't want to be out coping with the faucet of snot that was coming out my nostrils um people did keep their distance because I did warn them that I was sick and you know um I apologized for being ill, but I thought they would consider it more important that I brought the stopwatch anyway, despite that fact. And they were grateful for that, so that's good. But I have to say that by the end of the morning, by the time I got in my car to drive home after packing everything up, I was feeling like Superwoman again. And I think it's just the smiles and the infectious happiness of people. Even when it was freezing, I got to see the sunrise, which was stunning over the ocean. You know, there were PBs all over the place. There were people, new adventurers visiting from faraway places. And I got to say hey to a whole bunch of and that was always cool. And, yeah, I just was on top of the world by the end of the morning.

00:17:32Scott Trickett: There we go. It's the power of parkrun.

00:17:36Melissa Erbacher: It heals. It heals. We are joined now by what is deemed to be or who is deemed to be a time traveller. It's a very, very exclusive club to join. There's only three of them in the world that I'm aware of at this stage. So welcome to the parkrun Adventurers podcast, Mark Musk.

00:18:09Unidentified speaker: Thank you.

00:18:10Melissa Erbacher: Well, obviously, time travelling, it's something that a lot of people would love the opportunity to do. Do you want to... dive in and tell us all about your story that, you know, it's only happened in recent weeks, Mark.

00:18:25Mark Musk: Yes, that's correct. Sure. So, yes, I was lucky enough to have a work trip come up to Vancouver. And I was certainly aware of the potential to be a time traveller because I've seen it mentioned before, I think, in the parkrun newsletter. So, yeah, I quickly had a look into it and managed to book some flights to make it potentially possible. And then it was up to the airline, I suppose, to get me from Brisbane, where I departed from, over to Vancouver on time. They didn't quite manage to do that, but they left me just enough time to make a quick Dash, thanks to a colleague who picked me up at the Vancouver Airport over to the Richmond Olympic parkrun and I managed to get there with a few minutes to spare before they started.

00:19:31Scott Trickett: So Mark, you had a bit of a scare. So you did your first run at Wynnum and you jumped on the plane or you jumped to the airport and it was delayed. What was going through your mind after all this planning that the airlines were going to stuff it up for you?

00:19:44Mark Musk: Yeah, that was always a possibility. and i think by the time we actually uh departed the flight was already uh an hour late and i think i had sort of a an hour and a half window uh up my sleeve from uh landing time uh to the time the parkrun was due to start so yeah i basically uh resigned myself to not making the start um But my colleague Jovan and I were planning, if it didn't work out, just to go for a social run anyway. So one way or the other, I would have caught up with Jovan and had breakfast afterwards. So it wasn't too bad.

00:20:31Scott Trickett: And can you explain the term time traveller? Now, this was something that the team in Canada came up with, or is this your title? How did this come about?

00:20:42Mark Musk: Yeah, I think that must be a term that the Richmond Olympic parkrun event team came up with, being related to jumping the international date line, I suppose. So, yeah, obviously running the parkrun here at 7am in Brisbane, and then a quarter flight at about 10.30am. And I think it was about 14 and a half hours flight time. But Vancouver is, I think, 17 hours behind Brisbane. So that allowed me to arrive. Well, I think that the flight was due to arrive at about 10 past 7 a.m. local time in Vancouver. So I sort of had a minus three hour flight time

00:21:43Melissa Erbacher: That is one very long day. And to fit two parkruns in as well, it brings up a lot of questions, one of which is how fast, like I want to determine whether or not this is capable, like a possibility for just a normal person, not somebody who finishes parkrun in ridiculous times. I haven't looked at your time, but I'm assuming it's low 20 minutes or thereabouts to finish parkrun. What kind of timeframe did you have To do parkrun and then get to the airport, I know you said your flight was at 10.30 or so, but was that before it was delayed or after it was delayed?

00:22:24Mark Musk: Yeah, that was before it was delayed. So I was obviously organised beforehand, so I was packed and ready to go and I live, you know, local to Wynnum parkrun. So I, you know, completed my parkrun at Wynnum, said my goodbyes and I was probably back home by quarter to eight and I had enough time to have a shower, get changed, call a cab and I was probably in the cab by quarter past eight, arriving at the airport at about quarter to nine and then my flight was in about two hours. But after that, I had enough time to obviously check in, go through customs and then get to my gate for the 10.30 flight.

00:23:12Scott Trickett: Now, Mark, I've just done a bit of international travelling, and one thing I discovered is getting through customs is not that quick, particularly if you're the foreigner going in to the foreign country. How did you manage to get through Canadian customs so quickly? Was it a quiet day? Are they just really efficient over there? How did you manage that?

00:23:31Mark Musk: Yeah, I think it was a quiet day. Being an early Saturday morning probably helped. There wasn't any of the usual... You know, if I had business traffic coming in from, you know, the States, for example. And I also did my best to, you know, politely squeeze my way up the queue as I made my way from the plane to the customs area. So I certainly, yeah, you know, made it a very brisk walk.

00:24:08Melissa Erbacher: Did you flash your barcode? Because that's what I'd be doing. I'd say, hello, parkrunner, priority, I've got to get to parkrun. Surely some of the customs guys would be working on the day, bus and parkrunners.

00:24:22Mark Musk: Yeah, I did go to that level, but I was certainly probably the most athletically dressed person on the flight.

00:24:33Melissa Erbacher: You know, that's something I have discovered recently with flights is People travel in their active wear and I don't know if it's because they've got some place to go that they want to be active or it's just they're really, really comfortable in their active wear. So that's what they choose to sit in a plane for 14 hours doing. Yeah, I might have to test the theory out. But that does bring me to my next question. You know, obviously you do not want to lose your barcode in between two so close yet so far away parkruns. Where do you keep your barcode and, you know, how did you make sure it was handy?

00:25:14Mark Musk: I've got one of those barcode tags that you attach to your shoes. So I've got one – yeah, one – my shoelaces so that's my my backup if you like and then obviously have uh you know a laminated barcode that i uh keep in my wallet um so yeah i've got got my you know go to and the shoe backup in case of emergencies and so you get tell you got to richmond olympic tell us all about richmond olympic what sort of parkruns it like were they friendly did they embrace you and acknowledge you that you traveled all this way Yeah, so I'd actually been in contact with them before I arrived just to get any inside information to help me locate the start point because it's a little bit down the course, the start point from sort of the access point. So it's sort of 100 to 200 metres from the road, if you like. So they gave me some some advice and some landmarks to look out for. So that was very helpful. But then, yeah, because I arrived with moments to spare, we basically just had to jog our way to the start line and take our position before they got underway. So we didn't have any time, unfortunately, to socialise beforehand. But certainly afterwards, we did. I caught up with the team and my colleague who I ran with, Jovan and I, had breakfast with the event team at the local Tim Hortons cafe that they seem to frequent over there. So yeah, there was quite a big contingent of parkrunners that basically took over the cafe. So that was quite a good social event.

00:27:11Melissa Erbacher: So normal parkrun day, getting up early, running at seven, getting around the course. Then you jump on a plane and you sit there for 14 hours and then you have to go through customs to Frantically get your way to the second parkrun. How fresh are you feeling when you start that extra 5K?

00:27:31Mark Musk: Yes, not very. I think it equated to about a 2 a.m. Australian time run time for the second run. So, yeah, I was certainly feeling it. And, you know, I'm not a great sleeper on the plane. So, yeah, I was certainly not feeling at all fresh.

00:27:53Melissa Erbacher: Yeah. And how did that translate to your time? Was it like a vastly different finish time from the first parkrun you'd done that day?

00:28:01Mark Musk: Yeah, I think I was about one and a half to two minutes slower than my time earlier in the day at Wynnum. And the courses are quite similar. Wynnum and Richmond Olympic are both, you know, basically completely flat courses. So, you know, they're quite comparable in times that you'd be expected to achieve.

00:28:28Scott Trickett: Mark, you're a bit of an adventurer back home as well. You've got around to a few events, I see, looking at your profile. You like touring a bit?

00:28:36Mark Musk: Yes, I do. So I've been lucky enough to make some new friends through parkrun and we've one of which is a colleague from work and he recently moved over from our Perth office and relocated to our Brisbane office and one of his friends was a keen parkrunner and he discovered parkrun through his friend and then came about through social conversation at work that we were both parkrunning and My friend Duncan was basically using parkrun as a good way to explore and introduce himself to the local area. So he was sort of adventuring around on the weekend and doing a parkrun in the morning and then going and having a social breakfast and then maybe doing a hike or a bit more exploration of the local area wherever his parkrun adventures might take him on the Saturday morning. So yeah, Duncan and I And our mutual friend, David, we basically quite regularly catch up and do some touristing, you might say, to various parkruns.

00:29:59Melissa Erbacher: And it's not just Australian parkruns. You've done, is it five different international countries, parkruns in international countries?

00:30:10Mark Musk: Yes. I've been lucky enough, again, to travel internationally. with work and I managed to I was in Paris for work so I managed to do a parkrun there and then I had another work trip to Belgium and sadly there's no parkrun in Belgium but the proximity of Belgium to the rest of Europe made it quite a simple process to hop on a flight and very quickly find myself in London so I could complete the bushy pilgrimage. So that was great. Managed to do that on the weekend before I came home. And I've also just hopped over the ditch and been on a cricket tour to New Zealand and managed to squeeze in a parkrun on the Saturday before a game.

00:31:06Melissa Erbacher: Nice work. I think there's a lot of people out there that want your job, whatever it is. Have you got any highlights in particular from the international events that you've done that you can remember?

00:31:19Mark Musk: Yeah, well, doing the parkrun in Paris was a fantastic experience because I had to get up quite early and being that far away from home, I didn't want to buck up the commute. So I caught the metro through Paris and had to make a couple of changes, but got across to the other side of town from where I was staying to I think it was Parc des Montsouris, if I pronounced that correctly, and had to walk up to the park where it was located and found myself there very, very early. I think they had a 9 a.m. start and I probably arrived about before 7.30 and it was very cold. I think it was about three degrees and the park was covered in frost, but it was a beautiful park and I was... I was confident I was in the right spot. I stalked their Facebook photos and recognised the landmarks. I was confident I was in the right spot. There was plenty of other joggers there running around the park. So, again, quite confident that parkrun would be happening. But to my surprise, it did eventually happen. But I was getting very nervous because the event team probably rocked up at about, 8.55am by that stage I was quite concerned but the flag popped up much to my relief and quite surprisingly the participants in the event there were quite small in number, I think there was only four or five runners on that day which was a surprise considering the amount of people that were jogging and running through the park but speaking to the event team at the time parkrun was quite new to to france and i think uh what they explained to me that the the french uh traditionally see uh jogging is their sort of escape and me time and that's sort of the social aspect of it hadn't yet quite caught on so you know that was something that i was hoping to change but it was it was very early days for that that parkrun event when i was there i think i was there in the first um five or 10, uh, events after their launch.

00:33:48Scott Trickett: The French parkrun experience is a fascinating one. I think that story you tell is very similar to a lot of stories people have brought back from France that they're generally small and full of expats or Aussies running them. So that's not surprising, but pretty casual approach to rock out of the car at five minutes too and put a parkrun on.

00:34:10Mark Musk: Yes, that's right. And, um, You're right about the expats as well. The event team, I think, were all British or ex-British people over there for work. But yeah, they were certainly very friendly and welcoming to this tourist. So yeah, I think that was, as you said, quite common that they have a fairly high contingent of tourists. But yeah, they certainly have a plan to work on the locals and spread the word

00:34:43Melissa Erbacher: I want to skip to the other side of the world from France to another place which does not necessarily get a lot of attention. participants on a weekly basis however we haven't quite ventured there yet um to find out what's what it's all about you were the first finisher at kangaroo island parkrun at one point and i noticed that the second finisher came in about 12 minutes later than you 11 or 12 minutes later so that was quite did when you finished that did you feel like perhaps you hadn't done the right course

00:35:21Mark Musk: Well done. You've done your research there. Yeah, Kangaroo Island. So that was a great experience. And if you're a committed parkrun tourist, you have to plan your family holidays around parkrun. So that's what I did. We had a break over the Christmas New Year period in conjunction with school holidays. And My wife and children had never been to Adelaide. So we headed down there for the break and managed to do a couple of parkruns in Adelaide on the New Year's Day double, which was great. And then I think following that, we headed over to explore Kangaroo Island, which is a beautiful spot just off the coast of Adelaide. And we managed to fly over. You could also catch the ferry there. But my wife has a tendency to seasickness, so we took the easy route and flew over. And yeah, spent a couple of days exploring Kangaroo Island. And before I left on our way home, I snuck in the local parkrun. And it is quite exposed up on the cliff beside the water. So you've got a beautiful view over the Southern Ocean. And Yeah, it was quite a small little event. Obviously, you know, Kangaroo Island is not a huge population. So I took off at the start. I think there was 20 to 30 runners. Took off at the start and basically ran for 2.5 k's into a headwind from the Southern Ocean. So that was pleasant. But yeah, certainly made it easier on the way back. It was a lovely undulating course. Yeah, with magnificent views over the water. And yeah, great little event team there. Very social and family-centric. And then we all went and had breakfast in one of the local cafes. Yeah, it was a really lovely day.

00:37:33Melissa Erbacher: In my experience, the headwinds never seem to give you a tailwind when you run the opposite direction. I always seem to either get smashed from the side or or the headwind turns around when I do. It's never convenient. But I'm glad to hear that it worked for you at KI. Did you see any kangaroos when you were on the course?

00:37:57Mark Musk: No, not that I can recall, not on the course. But, yeah, certainly plenty of wildlife on the island. You know, we had numerous encounters with the wildlife there. Yeah, it's an amazing spot.

00:38:13Scott Trickett: Hey, Mark, you obviously love parkrun and you love adventuring. How did you get involved in parkrun? What was the hook that got you keep coming back every week and now stepping up to be a run director?

00:38:24Mark Musk: Yeah, well, I discovered parkrun through a friend. This friend and I, another Mark, play cricket together and one day we were in the dressing shed and I noticed he had this little tag on his shoe and I asked him, what that was. And he explained to me, oh, that's my parkrun barcode. And he said, oh, yeah, you should come along. You know, it's really fun, et cetera. And I was like, oh, you know, I'm not a runner. But, yeah, he gave me the brief and reassured me. So eventually I came along and, yeah, was lucky enough to run together with this other mark on his 100th run. His local run is at Stone's Corner. So that was a really nice morning and that was a well-celebrated achievement. So that was great fun. Yeah, and so sort of he was my inspiration, if you like, after getting started and seeing the way that his local event embraced him and his achievements. I thought, yeah, it was a really great concept and look forward to maybe one day achieving the same thing.

00:39:40Melissa Erbacher: You've, as Scotty mentioned, just before, uh, become a run director at your local, at Wynnum parkrun. That's only been a relatively new development for you. What inspired you to, to join the event team when you're such a big adventurer?

00:39:56Mark Musk: Uh, yes, well, I was lucky enough, uh, yeah, to, to, uh, you know, be a local at, at Wynnum and, and, uh, have, uh, the support of the, uh, our local event director, Alan Burrell, and he's also, uh, a very key parkrun tourist. So, you know, he, uh, reassured me that it certainly won't limit my ability to get around and travel and explore other parkruns and also highlighted the benefit of doing that to be able to see how other events manage their morning and pick up the pros and cons of the different approaches they take on the day. So I think it's the The travel and tourism aspect of seeing so many different parkruns is certainly beneficial to the RD role and being able to consider different experiences and hopefully apply the benefits of those to your own home run.

00:41:04Scott Trickett: Taking all that into account, if money was no object, Mark, and you could go anywhere in the world, it sounds like you've already done that, but if there was anywhere where you've missed, is there a parkrun you'd like to visit?

00:41:16Mark Musk: Ooh, that's a good question. No, I don't know if there's any particular parkrun. I think if I was to name the next one on the bucket list, I would probably... I think there's a parkrun close to Mount Etna in Italy. So that would be a good tourist destination for me with my vocation. I'm a geologist, so I certainly have an interest in that area. So if I could take a holiday and tick off a parkrun as well, that would be great. Unfortunately, My wife's keen on Hawaii, but Hawaii refuses to have a parkrun at this stage, so I have to delay those plans.

00:42:07Melissa Erbacher: It's not very convenient, is it? We need to get more of these tropical island getaway parkruns happening, I think.

00:42:17Mark Musk: Yes, we do. I think, you know, Hamilton Island might be the first teaser, maybe a practice run for Hawaii when it gets, eventually gets a parkrun.

00:42:28Melissa Erbacher: It's the flagship. Now, Mark, I've just got one really last quick question before you go. Would you recommend joining the Time Traveller Club? Like is it something you would do again or are there any tips? That's probably a better question. Are there any tips that you would have for people who are aspiring to do that?

00:42:54Mark Musk: Sure, yeah, certainly recommend it. It was a good, you know, fun thing to try to do. In terms of advice, I would certainly, and this I think applies in general to any sort of time you're looking at going to a new parkrun is scope out their Facebook page, make sure the event isn't cancelled the week that you're looking to go there. So, yeah, look at their Facebook page or their future volunteer roster. That's always a good uh, idea or gives a good idea of, uh, you know, sort of generally about a month in advance of if there's any, uh, pending cancellations, uh, and then have a look at their, their photos, uh, or their Facebook page. So you could try to identify their, uh, start point, look out for landmarks, uh, anything that can help you, uh, find the right spot, uh, because yeah, you don't want to be, uh, you know, go through a panic at the last minute, uh, if you discover you're in the wrong spot or can't find the start point. If need be, reach out to the event team via their website or their Facebook page. I've done that on several occasions and have always been well-received and welcomed and responded to very promptly. So that's always been beneficial as well.

00:44:23Scott Trickett: All great tips. Thanks for that, Mark. And thanks for coming on the parkrun Adventures this week and sharing your story of becoming a time traveller.

00:44:32Mark Musk: Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure and a thrill. Thank you.

Channel 5 News Crew

00:44:49David Moss: Hello, we're at Wivenhoe Bay, west of Brisbane. And the Cormorant Bay parkrun has just been launched. So it's the inaugural launch on a brilliant day. Very cold, but blue skies. Might have a look around and see if we can catch up with a few people. And we're with Janine. Janine, how did you find the course?

00:45:08Janine: I loved the course. I thought it was absolutely beautiful.

00:45:13David Moss: You had a chance to look around. Well done.

00:45:16Janine: I did. I ran with my friend Jan today and thank goodness because we just stopped and looked at the beautiful lake the whole way. But it was just amazing. I loved it. I'll be back for sure.

00:45:26David Moss: Oh, beautiful. Yeah. So you actually enjoyed the course?

00:45:29Janine: I did. I thought it was challenging in places and just really nice running in other places. For a trail, I would rate it really highly.

00:45:37David Moss: Beautiful. Thank you very much. You've seen quite a few trails, I believe.

00:45:41Janine: I do, some of them I'll never attend again but this one I definitely will. I think it's got a few small lumps and bumps which give you that little bit of an effort you've got to put in but the vistas that you look at is just stunning and it just takes your mind off the pain so no for sure I give it 10 out of 10.

00:46:00David Moss: Beautiful thank you. Okay I'm with Jody who's the event director of Cormorant Bay. Jodie, what got you into parkrun?

00:46:08Jodie: We used to live in Brisbane and ran parkrun quite often and it's just a great event to be able to have something free and timed and it's just a good thing to be involved in.

00:46:20David Moss: Okay, whereabouts in Brisbane?

00:46:21Jodie: New Farm was our home.

00:46:23David Moss: Okay, so this is a somewhat more undulating course.

00:46:26Jodie: This is.

00:46:27David Moss: And what made you, or what got you into becoming event director out here?

00:46:30Jodie: Well, we own the local gym at Rocket Fitness, and we wanted to add running a little bit more into our schedule. And when we moved out to Fernvale, we wanted to bring parkrun and knew that there was quite a few hoops to jump through, and it's just taken us this time to make it happen. And this particular course is just stunning. It's along the water. It's got your trail running. My husband's a trail runner, so he really enjoys the different surfaces. And yeah, it just keeps it interesting.

00:47:02David Moss: It's a very good trail run. About 50% of it is quite difficult.

00:47:05Jodie: Yes.

00:47:06David Moss: And the other 50%, you're knackered.

00:47:08Jodie: Yes. There's a few rolling hills. It's nice though, because what goes up comes down. So you get to experience both sides of the hills.

00:47:16David Moss: So did you take a look at a few different places before deciding on this one?

00:47:19Jodie: Well our main reason why deciding this one, we initially thought the rail trail would be a good surface because it goes for so long and it's a nice wide course but there's too many roads along there so we couldn't have a stretch of two and a half k without crossing a road and this particular course we've got toilets, we've got a cafe, and there's no roads obviously um it was actually paul hayman who suggested this course um before um he had suggested i actually didn't even know the course was here so there's so many hidden hidden places around the somerset region where you can really experience this kind of this kind of thing it's a beautiful one there are trees the whole way it's nice going over a uh what the barrier dam uh the saddle dam wall i think it's called yep

00:48:05David Moss: So you actually get to see people either coming back or going out on the first part there.

00:48:10Jodie: Yes, and by having the loop around, it feels like a completely different track, even though it's only 2.5km twice. By turning around on a trail, it just feels completely different. Different views, different ups and downs, and it's a really, really lovely course.

00:48:27David Moss: Thank you very much. Despite the fact that it's quite challenging, there are a lot of very happy faces.

00:48:31Jodie: Yeah, lots of smiles. It's been fantastic today. Thank you so much.

00:48:35David Moss: Thank you, Jodie. Cheers. Okay, and I'm with Susan, who has also just done the course here at Cormorant Bay. What did you think of it?

00:48:42Susan: Oh, it's so pretty. You know, going around past that water, and it's really lovely.

00:48:47David Moss: Beautiful. Whereabouts do you normally run?

00:48:50Susan: I was at Coomera, but I've just started at Gainsborough Green now.

00:48:54David Moss: Okay, so you've come out especially for this one?

00:48:56Susan: Yes, we have.

00:48:57David Moss: And you found it rather cool first thing?

00:49:00Susan: Yeah, I didn't take the jumper off. Even as I warmed up right near the end, I thought, nah, it's starting on.

00:49:05David Moss: There are a few people like that. And was it just you or your family?

00:49:10Susan: So my husband and one of our children came with us. Nice early start.

00:49:16David Moss: It was an early start. Yes. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Okay, bye. And that's about it from the beautiful and scenic course out here at Cormorant Bay. I recommend it to everyone who really wants to put in a little bit of effort, but it's well worth it.

00:49:34Paul Kitching: G'day, Scott and Mel. It's PK here, checking in from South Australia, sunny South Australia. I'm not actually at a parkrun. Well, I'm at a parkrun launch. It's not the launch. Get it right, mate. It's a trial for the launch of Pakapakanthi, Pakapakanthi, Pakapakanthi, say that a few times, which is at Victoria Park in South Australia, the second parkrun to open in the city of Adelaide. We've had Torrens for many years, as people know. So it's awesome to have another one. So it launches on August 4, and we are here today for the trial. And it's beautiful. Really nice course. We're just walking past. We've done the trial now. And just walking past some people doing the Pedal Prix, madly riding past us here in the middle of Victoria Park, as many people in Adelaide know. Walking towards the cafe, but I saw that, you know, who was coming along today and, you know, who shows interest in going and there was this name that popped up and I'm like, nah, he wouldn't be in Adelaide. What would he be doing? Nah, it can't be the same guy. But sure enough, Mr. Brendan Peel is with us. G'day, Brendan. G'day, PK. Good to meet you, mate. Yeah, fantastic to meet you, mate. Far out. When I saw that you were there, and then when I saw you limbering up and getting ready at the beginning, I went, yep, that's him. That's the man. So I'm glad that we recognised each other. You're a legend in your own lunchbox. Well done, mate. For those who don't know, there is something called the Peel Club. I think, was it one of the very first clubs? Obviously, there's the Pirate Club, there's the Alphabet Club. I mean, there's so many now. Tell me about the origins of the Peel Club.

00:51:11Brendan Peel: The Peel Club, as I've said before on the podcast, started with the old incarnation of the parkrun show. The professor, Alan Burrell, put it out there that whoever does parkrun in each state or territory gets it named after him. And at the time, I was... I only had a couple to go, and I thought, oh, well, I don't come first at many things, so I may as well do that. So since then, that's how it started, and I think on the weekend, there was four inductees, if you could call them that, yesterday. So there's more than 50 members, and that's something that is a little bit achievable compared to being a statesman in Queensland or South Australia, for that matter. Yeah. Because at least once you've got it, they're not adding any more states or territories, so...

00:51:51Paul Kitching: Brilliant. Yeah, no, it's absolutely fantastic. It's a bit of one of those urban myths that there's a club that it's named after someone and then you actually meet the person. So I feel quite honoured. And South Australia is honoured to have you here this weekend. I know some people may know of the Peel Club, but also there could be some new listeners to the podcast that hadn't heard about it kind of thing, so it's nice to know about it. So you need to do one parkrun in each state, is that right? And territories. Yeah, and territories, sorry, that's right. So one parkrun in each state. and territory, and then you too can join the Peel Club. So, yeah, get amongst it. So do you have to then register it, or is it something that just pops up, or does it get added to your results?

00:52:35Brendan Peel: It's just an unofficial club, so therefore people normally post on Facebook when they've joined.

00:52:41Paul Kitching: Ah, right, right, yeah. So it's certainly an unofficial club. Yeah, it's a bit of fun. Why not? And so what brought you to Adelaide this weekend?

00:52:49Brendan Peel: Um, we, we planned this quite a while ago. We, um, when we did Mawson Lakes parkrun, which is another gorgeous South Australian parkrun, if I can give that a lovely plug. Yeah. Um, we ran into a woman called Cheryl McKibbin and she was launching Gawler.

00:53:02Paul Kitching: Ah, nice.

00:53:02Brendan Peel: We happened to do Gawler's trial, uh, very first trial and, um, ended up coming back a year later to do their first birthday. Ah, right. And as, as things would turn out, there happened to be a trial, which is, a trial's a great way to catch up with other parkrun people. Yes. Um, Yeah, it's just about as good as a parkrun without getting your barcode scanned. Absolutely. Yeah, it's a beautiful morning down here. An absolutely perfect place for a parkrun. It'll be very, very popular. I think it will. Yeah, what did you think of the course? Oh, it's perfect. It's a mixture of sun, shade, asphalt, gravel, dirt track. Really pretty place. And the thing is, it's quintessentially Adelaide too because if you look at an aerial of Adelaide, you just see that the CBD is just surrounded by this huge amount of flat, beautiful parkland. And that's exactly what you've got here. So... It's just a wonderful place and it'll be very popular.

00:53:52Paul Kitching: I think so too, mate. I reckon they're going to get great numbers here. Some people may defect from other parkruns. I know that I'm definitely going to come along. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a hard decision, but I reckon I'll... I know a few mates who are thinking about changing where they go, but I think it's beautiful that it's just another option, another good parkrun to come and do, you know. There are lots of new parkruns opening up, we know, all the time, and it's making it harder and harder for people to become statesmen. But, well, no, it's a challenge. That's the word. It's not hard. But so I can see a pattern emerging here. So does this mean we may see you in a year's time for the anniversary?

00:54:31Brendan Peel: Would be nice. Would be nice. Yeah, yeah. We'll run for cake, I think, is something TOC likes posting, and I think I tend to go along with that.

00:54:38Paul Kitching: Yeah, well done, TOC. There's a fellow parkrun adventurer podcast member. who we know and love. Well, good on you, mate. Michelle, you're enjoying being part of the parkrun journey, part of Brendan's journey?

00:54:51Michelle: I love the parkrun community and the journey where it's taken me.

00:54:54Paul Kitching: Yeah. You were saying that, yeah, you certainly, you know, you get out there as much as you can as well? Absolutely. Supporting it and getting amongst it?

00:55:03Michelle: Absolutely, with all my parkrun family now that I've met and my parkrun sisters and another channel five years crew member.

00:55:08Paul Kitching: Yes, well, it's lovely. Yep, indeed. No, it's great to have you here and really good for you guys to help spread the word. I mean, that's all part of it, isn't it? The more people... Out there, I know I can't help myself talking about it to anybody and everybody, and no doubt you guys do too.

00:55:26Michelle: That's it. That's it, the nail on the head, and it's great to meet you, PK.

00:55:29Paul Kitching: Yeah, you too. All right, well, we are, thank you, we're just on approach to the cafe. And, yeah, look, everybody get out. Know that there is another parkrun here in the city of Adelaide, Packer Bacanthy. Look it up. Check it out. I think it means trotting in the Kaurna language. So you too can come and trot amongst the parklands and enjoy. Great to chat with you guys and awesome that you're here in Adelaide. Well done. I'm now over at the cafe, you know, some would say the best part of parkrun. What's this cafe called again?

00:56:06Alicia Hopper: Kiosk at 16.

00:56:07Paul Kitching: Kiosk at 16. And that lovely person chatting with me here is Alicia Hopper. Is that right? Alicia? I got your name right. Alicia is the new ED here. Yeah. Is that right? Yes, that's right. It's Sunday morning. It's early.

00:56:23Alicia Hopper: And you haven't had your coffee yet.

00:56:24Paul Kitching: Correct. How did the first trial go? of Pakapakanthi?

00:56:31Alicia Hopper: Look, overall, really positive. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the course. We had about 50 participants come out today, which is a great number for a first trial. Yeah, and some really great feedback on, you know, there are a few twists and turns in this parkrun about our marking and just clarifying... the course for people. So, yeah, so I think we'll come back next week bigger and better and smoother than ever before.

00:56:59Paul Kitching: No, it's good. It's a beautiful course. Well done. It's taken a while to get another one in the centre of the city. I think, you know, and it's going to be great, especially for tourists, the people coming to Adelaide. It's an easy one to get to if they're staying in town. Has there been a need for another one? I mean, Torrens is getting really big? Was that a reason for it?

00:57:20Alicia Hopper: Yeah, I think that was certainly one consideration. Torrens, they still consistently have the highest numbers of any parkrun here in the state. And their paths aren't as wide in some places, so it can get a bit congested. yeah i think particularly being the sort of south um south east west kind of corner of the city i think we're probably going to get to see a lot of um new parkrunners through who live kind of the dull itch you know um park side glenside kind of way um that that might not necessarily get all the way over to Torrens yeah three k's yeah no no but you're right absolutely sometimes that's all you need you just need like i know what it's like when you have kids sport kind of thing and you're trying to fit something in or you want to do parkrun but you have to we all know what it's like when we all have commitments so you're right I think it's going to be another really good option for town and I think we've had real really fabulous support from the Adelaide City Council they approached Torrens about opening a second one and they want to see the parklands get used and I think that one of the best parts about this course is everyone thinks of Victoria Park as the old grandstand and the racetrack, but the park is huge and there's some really beautiful sections and we're deliberately avoiding the well-known parts and getting people to see some of the really beautiful stretches.

00:58:41Paul Kitching: Yeah, absolutely. And actually for those who are listening in and wanting to know where to turn up for either the launch next week or... um or the sorry the the next trial next week or the actual launch i keep saying this launch this is the trial um the launch on saturday august 4 um we meet at uh we meet at the corner of wakefield and east terrace is that right yeah yeah so if you go along wakefield road um and go almost to the edge of the park yeah um and that's that's yeah it's it's the like the sweat track i think is what it's called isn't it so the gym equipment is people seem to Yeah, that's it. So, yeah, it's that track on the west side of Victoria Park and then you head out on that and then you curl around a bit down the bottom, which I've often walked that corner bit with my dog before, so I know that corner bit really well. And then you get into the middle, you turn around, and so it's a bit of an out and back with a few twists and turns. I love an out and back. You get lots of high fives and all that kind of stuff. So, no, it's great. It's a really good course to get amongst. So I'll let you go and have your coffee. I just wanted to congratulate you on getting this far and all the best for the coming weeks.

00:59:49Alicia Hopper: Oh, thanks, PK. No worries.

00:59:50Paul Kitching: Thanks for your support. No worries. No, no, I'm looking forward to the launch. I'm on Finnish tokens, so... How many numbers are you – no, let's not even talk about that. No, no. I'm looking forward to handing out lots of Finnish tokens.

01:00:00Alicia Hopper: Yes, definitely.

01:00:02Paul Kitching: No, it's going to be good. All right. Thanks, Leesh.

01:00:04Alicia Hopper: Thanks.

01:00:04Scott Trickett: David Moss was reporting in from Cormorant Bay. They had their launch on the weekend. And PK is back at – Mel, this is where I need your help.

01:00:14Melissa Erbacher: It was at the Pakapakanthi trial.

01:00:16Scott Trickett: Okay. Packer-Picanthi trial there. And catching up with our madness champion, our current reigning madness champion, Mr. Peel himself. He must speed you back pretty soon. But, Mel, I teased in the intro, Junior parkrun on the weekend, I met another Aussie PK. We were on the tools together at Moormead Junior parkrun. And he comes up to me and introduces himself as PK and he's got an Aussie accent and I was immediately at home. Everything was good in the world.

01:00:47Melissa Erbacher: Did you wonder whether or not he just shaved his beard?

01:00:51Scott Trickett: No, I could tell.

01:00:52Melissa Erbacher: And that was what PK looks like? No?

01:00:53Scott Trickett: Different voice? Different voice. Wasn't as charismatic as our old mate PK. But... He was a great bloke and a good volunteer. We ran a pretty smooth operation at Old Moormead Juniors. Did you? And what I will say is the Aussie invasion we took over. So I was on the stopwatch and Renee was on the scanner and we said, we're doing it app-based. So they're still using the stopwatch and the scanner, you know, old school. We said, no, it's 2018. We're here to innovate. Okay, cool.

01:01:26Melissa Erbacher: Welcome to the future, Moormead Juniors.

01:01:28Scott Trickett: Yes, and Renee did a brilliant job recruiting the other barcode scanner to use her iPhone.

01:01:33Melissa Erbacher: So when they went to upload the results… When you say recruiting, I know Renee's methods. Was it really recruiting so much as…

01:01:45Scott Trickett: Well, we know Renee, so our listeners won't. So I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and put it in that frame of mind for our listeners that Renee did a wonderful job convincing the other volunteer of the many positive benefits of using the app. But they came to light when they went to upload the results. And I secretly hovered over the run director just to see how he would approach it. And he did. He just checked his emails, saved the three files, went to upload the results, and then he commented. He said, oh, that was really easy. I didn't have to plug anything in. I didn't have to mess about with the cables.

01:02:22Melissa Erbacher: I'm loving AirDrop. Oh, yes. AirDrop is even better than emailing. It's like... An extra level of you don't have to save the files. They just get saved. You don't have to open or download anything. It's just there. Yep. That's what I'm loving. I'm trying to bring people around at Kawana. I'm gently encouraging people to – to download the app if they can, if they've got iPhones. Obviously, if they don't have iDevices, it makes it a little bit tricky at this stage, but looking forward to when the Android app is widely available for everyone.

01:02:54Scott Trickett: It's coming very soon, Mel. That's a little bit of a tip I can give you. Like, it's ready to go. I know it's being tested. It's days away, I reckon. Days? This is our campaign for the next couple of months as well. If you're out there and if you're volunteering, suggest to the event team, can we use our app? If you can use the app, and I'm confident that the Android app is going to be days away. So just do it, people.

01:03:19Melissa Erbacher: Awesome. Well, that can be an adventure. That can be an adventure challenge for people.

01:03:24Scott Trickett: Yeah, maybe we need to get someone on to talk about the app. Because it was developed in Newcastle, maybe we can get the Newism guys on the app to do it. We're workshopping on the fly here, Mel. This is how the podcast works.

01:03:37Melissa Erbacher: We're just making this stuff up as we go.

01:03:39Scott Trickett: Yeah, so don't be surprised if the next week's guest is the guys from Newism.

01:03:44Melissa Erbacher: But don't be surprised if it's not because they might say no.

01:03:47Scott Trickett: They say, who? Podcast? What? Yep. But what I was saying is I get the apprehension and I'm talking to our event directors here too.

01:03:56Melissa Erbacher: You get the apprehension.

01:03:58Scott Trickett: Yeah, get it?

01:03:59Melissa Erbacher: Get it?

01:04:00Scott Trickett: Yep.

01:04:02Melissa Erbacher: We should totally do something with that, the apprehension.

01:04:05Scott Trickett: But I'm talking to our event directors here in Australia and in the UK and in Poland and wherever else, Germany. Well, actually Germany, they don't have a choice. Do you reckon we've got any listeners in Russia? I think we do. I don't know. Embrace the app, people. You're scared at the start because it's just different, but it's so much better. So do it. I highly recommend it. It'll be interesting to see what they do at Moormead Juniors if they adopt it after we've left. I fear they won't.

01:04:33Melissa Erbacher: All it takes is one person who really likes it to show up again the next week and you just need an advocate. Yeah.

01:04:41Scott Trickett: But another little story I've got from Junior parkrun. So we're sitting down at coffee afterwards. Another highlight of parkrun is the post-parkrun coffee. And when you do juniors, you get to do it on Saturday and Sunday. It's awesome.

01:04:54Melissa Erbacher: Coffee two days in a row.

01:04:56Scott Trickett: Coffee two days in a row. So I'm sitting down with all these people and this guy is sitting across from us and he starts talking and he mentions that he started Moormead Juniors. And I'm like, what? You started here? Because he wasn't really involved on the day. Actually, he might have been a marshal out on the course. I didn't see him. I don't know. And then he goes, yeah, yeah, I started it. I mapped out the course and so on and so forth. So three years on, so they've got a new event director now, perfectly natural. And then he started saying, yeah, so when I started Bushy Juniors and started telling us the story about how Junior parkrun actually started and how he had this idea for kids to get active every weekend, just like he saw parkrun, people getting active every weekend. So his name's Paul Graham and he was involved in a running club If you go back in the history of parkrun, most of the people involved in the early days came from a running background, but he was also an occupational therapist. And so he had this drive to get children running and active on a Sunday morning. So he approached PSH and said, can I do it? Really, he just wanted PSH's insurance because there's nothing to stop him doing it. But PSH, the visionary that he is, said, yeah, why not? Probably not really knowing what he was getting himself in for, but...

01:06:09Melissa Erbacher: Do you reckon you've got to be named Paul to have these kind of really big ideas?

01:06:12Scott Trickett: Maybe, maybe. God, I hope I got his name right. I think it was Paul Graham. Paul, if it was Peter Graham, I apologise. But he was a lovely bloke too and told us all these wonderful stories. So that was just another little benefit of volunteering at Junior parkrun on the weekend.

01:06:30Melissa Erbacher: Isn't it funny? The people you meet.

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

01:06:32Scott Trickett: So this week, you have that opportunity to start a new community in two events, in two locations. And where are those locations, Mel?

01:06:43Melissa Erbacher: What do you mean? I have the opportunity.

01:06:45Scott Trickett: Well, no, you don't. You're right. Others do. I'm sure there's others involved.

01:06:50Melissa Erbacher: There are. And look, these ones are pretty special.

01:06:54Scott Trickett: Are they? Yeah. Why? They mean they're all special.

01:06:56Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, they're all special. I'm going to tell you why these ones are special this week. So the first one, it's special because it's in Queensland. The second one is special because it's in Tassie, and also it is going to be the new Southern Compass Point.

The Compass Club (new adventurer club)

01:07:14Scott Trickett: Oh, wow.

01:07:14Melissa Erbacher: It is the last thing that I need to chase down to become a navigator in my own club. In the Compass Club. And that's going to be at Jeeveston. Jeeveston. Jeeveston is launching. Yeah.

01:07:27Scott Trickett: So is this it? Is this as low as we can get? Because we've had a few shifting points with the southern point.

01:07:33Melissa Erbacher: Well, I mean, technically there's more of Tassie. So, you know, you could go further south. However, for now, the Compass Point has shifted. This is the third time it's shifted this year, the southernmost Compass Point. So I'm pretty sure that at least for a couple of months it's going to stop. um but before something else changes like we get a new wa event or something like that which takes me back to two compass points paul asked and get my um navigator status because you know what and i haven't discussed this with chris yet but i think it's it's important to discuss and i will be very shortly after we finish recording I think that once somebody achieves four compass points at a point in time all at once before they change to something else, I think they should become a navigator and always have that navigator status even if the points change because otherwise nobody's ever going to stay in the club. It's a little bit different to statesmanship in that respect. However, I think it's an important thing. I'm going to make medals up because you know what? It's an unofficial club. I can do whatever the damn well I want. You can. I'm going to make medals and there's going to be – I might make 10 or 20 of them.

01:08:51Scott Trickett: Careful. Okay, put a lemon on it. That's it. Good idea. Put a lemon on it.

01:08:55Melissa Erbacher: They're going to be exclusive. And on one side of the medal, there's going to be a picture of a compass. And on the other side, people can go out and just engrave the four points that they obtained to become a navigator. And it doesn't matter if the points change afterwards because it'll be engraved. And I'm not going to sell them. I'm just going to give them to those people who get there.

01:09:15Scott Trickett: Can we get the parkrun Adventurers logo on this somehow? We'll use some of the Netflix money to pay for it.

01:09:24Melissa Erbacher: Sure. Why not? And we'll send it out with a pair of knitted leg warmers at the same time.

01:09:30Scott Trickett: Yep. How are they going? How are we going with it?

01:09:33Melissa Erbacher: To be honest, do you want me to be honest?

01:09:37Scott Trickett: No, no. Let's save that for next week.

01:09:38Melissa Erbacher: Did you get a deadline for this?

01:09:41Scott Trickett: No. Go on. That's great. That's great. That's a great development in the Compass Club.

01:09:47Melissa Erbacher: Well, yes, I do have to make sure my co-conspirator and partner in crime, Chris Timms, agrees. But I'm sure she'll be on board with that, especially if – It's going to be a bit awkward now, Chris. It is. Well, I've recorded it, Chris. Yep.

01:10:02Scott Trickett: So if the medals don't happen, you know who to go to. Christine Timms. What's her email address?

01:10:10Unidentified speaker: Yeah, so –

01:10:13Melissa Erbacher: So should we skip across to some anniversaries for some other people to celebrate some different things this week?

01:10:18Scott Trickett: Yep. Where have we got? We've got Armidale in New South Wales, Mansfield in Queensland, not in the other part of the world where it is, must be in the UK, Mansfield in Queensland, Meadowbrook in Queensland, Pittsworth in Queensland, and Renmark also in South Australia. So not also. Not also.

01:10:37Melissa Erbacher: Just in South Australia. But also Renmark in South Australia.

01:10:41Scott Trickett: Yep.

01:10:42Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, that's pretty cool. Lots of anniversaries happening this weekend. So happy anniversary to all those event teams. Thank you for everything that you've done for parkrun in that period of time that you've got to where you are. Hope you enjoy your mornings. Now, Scotty has highlighted the poem zone in the run sheet, so I'm assuming that means he's going to read it this week.

01:11:03Scott Trickett: Well, I will. I will. And I've got to apologize as well, Mel. Last week, I'm sure keen listeners would have heard the poem zone, but they wouldn't have heard the intro music. Remember the wonderful intro music that I did in my hurry to get the episode out last week? Because I don't know if you noticed, the episode was running a bit late last week. Everybody got it on Saturday morning.

01:11:24Melissa Erbacher: It's quite possible it was the latest of all our episodes ever that actually got released in a calendar week. There was that one time where we didn't release.

01:11:35Scott Trickett: There was that time too, yeah. Yeah, but that's not late. We said we wanted to talk about that.

01:11:40Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, that was up to the quality control, you know, that was out of our hands.

01:11:45Scott Trickett: Yeah, yeah. Episode 113 is running a bit late too, but that's for another day. But I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. So before I get to the Poem Zone.

Poem Zone

01:11:58[music]

01:11:58Jodie: The Poem Zone.

01:12:01Scott Trickett: So here we go, the poem zone for this week. And peel back the curtains. Mel has just said, do you want to read through this first so you get the cadence and make sure you do it properly? And I said, no, no, no.

01:12:10Melissa Erbacher: But he's, no, no, Scotty's going this raw.

01:12:14Scott Trickett: So let's see if I can do it. I'm not going to edit this. That's my guarantee to you guys as well. People who wake up early are clever, as they head to parkrun to be together. Arriving just before it's time, they gather near the starting line. Running or walking, fast or slow, it matters not how fast they go. Kids and dogs, big and small, this really is a space for all. Remnants of the week are shed, as moving is good for the restless head. Uncomplicated... It's doing so well. That's a long word. You are doing well.

01:12:50Melissa Erbacher: Keep going.

01:12:52Scott Trickett: Uncomplicated and easy. It's always 5Ks. Whether hot, cold or breezy. Oh, I should have rhymed easy and breezy. Sorry. You did. I did?

01:13:02Melissa Erbacher: Just by reading them out, you rhymed them.

01:13:06Scott Trickett: Not to be scoffed at. parkrun is as simple as that.

01:13:10Melissa Erbacher: And you didn't mention who the author of this awesome poem is.

01:13:13Scott Trickett: That's our good buddy, Caroline Southwell. She's one of our favourite Poem Zone contributors. That was really good. It was easy to read, apart from where I got lost at the end there. Except for the last line. Not to be scoffed at, parkrun is simple as that. Oh, we're rhyming at and that.

01:13:29Mark Musk: Okay, I didn't do that very well.

01:13:31Scott Trickett: Forget it now. It's so much better on the second read-through. But we don't have that privilege on the parkrun adventures.

01:13:39Melissa Erbacher: Not when you decide not to take the privilege. But I'll tell you what we can do.

01:13:44Scott Trickett: When we put up our Facebook post this week, I'm going to post that poem so you can all read it and it'll be so much better when you guys read it yourself.

01:13:52Melissa Erbacher: I hope you remember to do that because, you know, have you ever noticed we promise to post a lot of things that we never actually do?

01:13:58Scott Trickett: That's okay.

01:14:00Melissa Erbacher: Just a minor detail.

01:14:02Scott Trickett: That's okay. This is the beauty of a podcast. They're throwaway things. So you listen and you throw it away. You never think about it again. Sometimes you've just got it on the background. You don't even hear half the stuff we're saying. Like last week, there was a naughty word in it, and I don't think people picked up on it. I know Peter Pohlman went back searching for it. It was hard to find.

01:14:23Melissa Erbacher: Oh, really? Yeah.

01:14:24Scott Trickett: Did you find it?

01:14:25Melissa Erbacher: Obviously. Oh, I didn't need to find it. Just jumped out. I just heard it and went, oh, okay. Those Brits, they've got dirty mouths. They do.

01:14:33Scott Trickett: Hey, but you know what? A couple of weeks in the UK, I reckon they were all right. I reckon we gave them a bit of a hard time. But I've been there two years in a row now and I think they're okay. I actually quite like them. Well, you know. They're very polite.

01:14:44Melissa Erbacher: They did give us parkrun. They did.

01:14:47Scott Trickett: That's one thing, yeah.

01:14:49Melissa Erbacher: But also, I mean, we give them a hard time because we know they can take it. They've got a good sense of humour.

01:14:53Scott Trickett: Is that what it is?

01:14:54Melissa Erbacher: That is what it is, yes.

01:14:56Scott Trickett: And I said they're polite, so I drove this time. We drove everywhere. And I was a little bit apprehensive about that as well because, you know, just foreign countries, new cars, all that sort of stuff. And Renee hired a manual, which I haven't driven in 20 years, which was... It's a bit like riding a bike though, Mel. Once you sort of just start pushing the pedals, it all comes back to you. But I was nervous because the streets are so narrow and, you know, just, again, just driving in a foreign country. But it was really easy because everybody's really polite. And they've got a really sensible traffic system because there's roundabouts everywhere. So eventually you get sick of going around roundabouts. But that makes sense because it means you don't have any of these hairy right turns that we do have at big intersections where you've got to just, you know, take your life in your own hands and try to get across roads.

01:15:41Melissa Erbacher: Well, this is the thing. You're referring to Victorian traffic. Is that what it is? Yeah. We don't have those in Queensland, those big right hook things that you've got to like go and wait and then you – I don't know how those work.

01:15:55Scott Trickett: Yeah, they're a bit silly. They're ridiculous. They're ridiculous even for us locals, the right-hand hook turns. But I'm talking just in general. It was really safe. I felt really comfortable driving over there and I love a roundabout.

01:16:08Melissa Erbacher: And tell me, how did your passengers feel? Did they feel equally as safe?

01:16:14Scott Trickett: Maybe not. Maybe not, but... I tell you what, I might have let them down, but they let me down. Because, Mel, what happens to you when you hear this song?

01:16:20[music]

01:16:34Melissa Erbacher: So what happens to me, personally? Yes. Well, every now and then I fall apart. That's what happens. Exactly. And it happens at the top of your lungs, even if you're not on pitch.

01:16:46Scott Trickett: Exactly. So, look, Bonnie Tyler's lawyers might come after us on this one, but I'm going to take the show out with this, and I want everyone to sing along in their cars, on their train, in the bathroom, wherever you're listening to it. Because my colleagues didn't sing along. It came on the radio, and Renee refused to sing along with me, and Carol got out of the car.

01:17:07Melissa Erbacher: Didn't Renee have her – I'm pretty sure she lost her voice while she was away.

01:17:10Scott Trickett: She used that excuse. Yeah, she used that excuse. But I don't think she would have sung along anyway. So I was left – they walked off. I was left stuck in the car because I had to wait for the song to finish. And I challenge all our listeners not to sing along to this song. I'm going to be doing it. Not on air this time. But that's how we're going to end the show this week. With a little sing-along.

01:17:30Melissa Erbacher: Sounds good to me. Hey, but before we get there, I want to ask you, I mean, we've got a few things. You want to sing, like, right now?

01:17:39Scott Trickett: Quick, what have we got? Oh, no, I know what we've got. Go, yes, go. This is more important than singing Bonnie Tyler songs.

01:17:47Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, so a couple of weeks ago when we did our highlights episode, you know, halfway through we were starting to come up with new challenges for our adventurers, which we haven't had one for a very long time. And we thought, oh, well, you know, we'll figure out at the end of the episode what we're going to do. And we actually didn't come back to it. And that hasn't been pointed out to me by anyone. It's just something that I remembered afterwards. We didn't go back to the conversation. So, you know, not only are we not good at following through things that we're going to say we do, we literally don't do it within the space of an episode. But something that we we've been chatting about is having a previous champion of March Madness, which became August Madness and then November Madness. and we haven't had it since actual March Madness this year. That was at Palm 18. Simon Mackley very kindly offered to write the questions for us. And so after the episode, he got in touch and said, hey, you know, I've written the questions. You know, I want to send them to you guys so you can check out whether or not they're any good, et cetera, et cetera. And then we can get some new people on the show. And I was, like, feeling during that conversation, I thought to myself, you know, I don't want him to send us the questions. I want to be surprised. I would like to see what he's come up with. And that led me to have a little bit of a brainwave.

01:19:18Scott Trickett: Okay.

01:19:20Melissa Erbacher: Which is, and you were privy to this, Scotty. You were there. You may have forgotten. I suggested to Simon, hey, here's an idea. One of the other things we were talking about was doing reverse freedom runs again. How about we amalgamate those two challenges and we do a reverse freedom madness? Okay. Where we aren't the hosts. Simon can host it. He can ask the questions. And you and I will be the contestants.

01:19:51Scott Trickett: Oh, is that what was happening? I didn't follow that conversation at all.

01:19:55Melissa Erbacher: Did you not? Or did you think this could happen? I don't know.

01:19:58Scott Trickett: I see a lot of conversations. I just went along with it.

01:20:01Melissa Erbacher: But you said.

01:20:02Scott Trickett: I know.

01:20:02Melissa Erbacher: You said, yeah, sounds great. I'm ready for that whenever.

01:20:09Scott Trickett: I am. I'm ready for that. I'm ready for that. It sounds awesome. So good. And I like this. This is an opportunity to have a competition against you.

01:20:17Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, see, and that's where I realized my mouth got opened and words came out, and I probably should have had a bit more of a think about it before I did that. So as it is, Simon is excited. He's on board. He's happy. He has run the questions by an objective way. a third party to make sure that they're not showing bias to one or other of us, which I think is really very upstanding of him because were it me, I would totally be biased to my favorite. We won't mention who his favorite is. I can only assume who it is. But yes, in all fairness, that's, I think, a great approach to take. And so I am looking forward to that with some sort of means of apprehension. I don't know. Will we do that next week, do you reckon? Or will we wait for August and make it in August Madness again?

01:21:10Scott Trickett: Could be any time soon. August Madness fits well with me. I think that's when we should do it. So let's do that.

01:21:18Melissa Erbacher: Okay, so a couple more weeks away. I think if anyone has any suggestions for Simon, we can't very well get you to email us about it because that won't work. We'll see the questions. No, let's not say it. I'm sure I have other faith in Simon's questions.

01:21:35Scott Trickett: Trust, I do. I do. Okay, that's coming up. And one more thing before we get into that. Before we get into that. Because you've got the words wrong.

01:21:48Melissa Erbacher: Did I? You need the music, don't you? Every time I – you forgot the now and then part.

01:21:53Scott Trickett: Oh. Okay. Everything – let's –

01:22:00Melissa Erbacher: You are so excited about rhinos, aren't you? You can't get the words out.

parkrun adventure challenge (listener challenge)

01:22:09Scott Trickett: Have you heard of, and I know you have, because it was your idea, but who is Lego Admiral Ackbar? This is a question you've posed to me, Mel, and I don't know, and you've posed to others. We want to know. For those that don't know, Facebook page, Lego Admiral Akbar. Look him up. Look her up.

01:22:31Melissa Erbacher: Or her.

01:22:32Scott Trickett: Her? Well, the Admiral's a he, so let's assume.

01:22:34Melissa Erbacher: Well, is he?

01:22:35Scott Trickett: Yeah, I think so. And what are you basing that on? He looks like a bloke. He sounds like a bloke.

01:22:41Melissa Erbacher: He looks like a bloke with those fish eyes? Yes. Okay. He's got a baritone voice. He does. So that's what you're basing that on. It's a twap. That sounds a little bit more like Arnie Schwarzenegger than like Admiral Ackbar. But yes, he's got his own Facebook page and he's a parkrunner, the Admiral is.

01:23:01Scott Trickett: But we want to uncover the identity.

01:23:03Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, he's based in Western Australia, we're assuming, because he goes to a lot of Western Australian parkruns. And I have had a couple of theories about who the admiral is, and I have contacted those people directly, to which I've received the responses of, no. However, people do have some theories that they don't seem to want to divulge to me, which I think is quite ironic because it's like somebody has a theory, but they don't want to share it. I don't know if it's just in case they're wrong or just in case I pass it off as my own theory, but And therefore, when I'm right, you know, I get all the kudos. But I think we should have almost like a competition. If somebody has a theory about who Lego Admiral Akbar is, they need to get in touch with us either to come on the show or they should record some audio or something like that and let us know. And we should run a competition and we should get Lego Admiral Akbar on the show. And if we do, then... he or she may or may not reveal themselves. Maybe we could do a voice changing thing.

01:24:15Scott Trickett: But there's our challenge for our WA peeps. So don't ever tell us that we neglect the WA. That side of the country, we love WA.

01:24:23Melissa Erbacher: We do. And damn it, we want to know who Lego Admiral Akbar is. Because we think the Admiral's very witty and we enjoy the posts on Facebook. We want to shower them with praise. Yes.

01:24:35Scott Trickett: And bring them fame and the massive numbers that our audience brings in Facebook likes and followers. Look it up. Find out who it is and get back to us now.

01:24:45Melissa Erbacher: And even if you don't know who it is, just follow them because they do do hilarious posts.

01:24:51Scott Trickett: So is that it, Mel? Can we go? Because I really need you tonight.

01:24:56Melissa Erbacher: No, this could get really awkward if you start.

01:24:59Scott Trickett: That is a bit wrong, that line. That's a line, isn't it?

01:25:02Melissa Erbacher: I really need you tonight. Forever's going to start tonight, that's for sure. Possibly one of the more awkward ways we've ever ended the podcast. So let's just leave it at that. It's not going to get any better.

01:25:16Scott Trickett: Sing along, everyone. Don't be ashamed. Everyone does. Do it.

01:25:20Melissa Erbacher: Turn up the volume right now. and slow it down to normal speed.

01:25:41[music]

01:25:41Unidentified speaker: Every now and then I get a little bit nervous That the best of all the years have gone by Turn around Every now and then I get a little bit terrified And then I see the look in your eyes Turn around Bright eyes Every now and then I fall apart Turn around Every now and then I fall apart Every now and then I get a little bit restless And I dream of something wild Every now and then I get a little bit helpless And I'm lying like a child in your arms I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry Every now and then I get a little bit terrified But then I see the look in your eyes Every now and then I fall apart Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving up, oh I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight Forever's gonna start tonight One time I was falling in love Now I'm only falling apart There's nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart Once upon a time there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart

01:28:09Unidentified speaker: Thank you.

01:28:47Unidentified speaker: Every now and then I fall apart Every now and then I fall apart And I need you no tonight And I need you more than ever And if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever And we'll only be making it right To the end of the line. Love is like a shadow on me all of the time. All the time. I don't know what to do. I'm always in the dark. Living in a party. Can't get off the spot.

01:29:31Unidentified speaker: I really can't.

01:29:42Unidentified speaker: Once upon a time I was falling in love But now I'm only falling apart Nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart Once upon a time there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark Nothing I can say. A total eclipse of the heart. A total eclipse of the heart. Turn around,