— open the full-size coverEpisode 178 - Roving Reports
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Episode 178 - Roving Reports · 2019-10-09
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Source: https://log.5kadventures.net/transcripts/ep178.html · The Adventurers Log · An independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by parkrun.
Welcome
Lyndell Murray: Welcome everybody to episode 178 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. Surprise, it's Lyndell and I am here joined by host Mel Erbacher to recap on International parkrun Day. How are you Mel? I'm great, thanks Lyndell. How are you?
Melissa Erbacher: Really well, really well for a Monday afternoon. Awesome. Awesome. And International parkrun Day was pretty epic globally. Stuff going on all over the place. Did you have a big weekend?
Lyndell Murray: I had a pretty big parkrun day actually, Mel. I've got a bit of a story for you. Oh, well, please go for it. Well, I was at home this weekend, this parkrun day. I was at Bunyaville where we celebrated our 300th parkrun. So it was a pretty massive event and one of our regular parkrunners, Bruce, also ran his 300th parkrun. So... Yeah, it was fantastic. It was a really big event. It was really fun. People came and we shared brekkie afterwards. The coffee van came along. And, yeah, the stars aligned for me this weekend for me to have a bit of an adventure at home.
Melissa Erbacher: Oh, yes.
Lyndell Murray: Yes. So I'm in a bit of challenge quandary at the moment. I am starting to build my tourist streak. I didn't want to break it. But I also wanted to be at home for our 300th birthday. So I was in a bit of a quandary because if I ran there, that would have been the end of my streak. And by the time I realised this, all of the volunteer roles were filled. So I couldn't volunteer. So what I did, listeners of the podcast might remember a few months back when I was co-hosting with Scotty, filling in for you, Mel. We were shooting the breeze about fun things to do at parkrun and different ways to earn your other volunteer role.
Sarah: We had a few interesting ideas.
Lyndell Murray: Anyway, one in particular took my fancy and I thought it might be fun. And I thought, given it was such a party at Bunyaville, I was setting up to be that way with a 300th and a 300th, an international parkrun day to boot. I decided to try and earn my other volunteer role by being a cheerleader or a high fiver at Bunyaville.
Melissa Erbacher: Awesome. And did you get to like pick a particular part of the course to do that?
Lyndell Murray: Yeah, look, it was a very... There's a lot that went into this, Mel, I have to say.
Melissa Erbacher: Costumes, I'm hoping. I'm hoping for costumes. Fingers crossed here.
Lyndell Murray: Costumes, yes. This was all part of the promise was that I would dress up. I would bring a large foam hand, perfect for high-fiving. And I set a goal of achieving 300 high-fives during the parkrun.
Melissa Erbacher: Did they have 300 participants?
Lyndell Murray: No. What? No.
Melissa Erbacher: Okay. So you had to get multiple. You had to give out good enough high fives on the first round that people would want more on the way back.
Lyndell Murray: That is it. That is it. And Bunyaville is out and back with a bit of a dog leg at the beginning. So I positioned myself on the sort of start-finish chute. They couldn't miss me. I had my sparkly gold tights that are very famous now. Yes.
Melissa Erbacher: Notorious, perhaps.
Lyndell Murray: Yes.
Melissa Erbacher: Yes. Not designed for running in, but I have to say they're not bad for giving high fives.
Lyndell Murray: I had my massive blue foam hand, which Mel, again, you'll probably be proud of me here. I actually, after promising to turn up with a big foam hand, I realised I didn't actually have a big foam hand.
Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, this was going to be my question. Where do you even get those? Like if you're not going to some kind of a football game or something, which I assume they sell them at, can you just buy them randomly? Like where? Tell me.
Lyndell Murray: Yeah, so I found out late last week, Thursday night, when I was hatching all of this, that no, you can't really buy foam hands unless you buy them online and order them. And my time was out for that. So on the way home from work on Friday afternoon on my run home, I stopped in at Bunnings. As you do. As you do. Picked up some foam and some super glue or some kind of adhesive. And so Friday night after cooking dinner and getting all set for parkrun, the last thing I had to do was make my big blue foam hand.
Melissa Erbacher: So… When you say foam, do you mean polystyrene foam?
Lyndell Murray: No. No, no, no. They were just sheets of foam, really thin, almost like a sheet of felt, I guess. So, I had to chop them out in the shape of a big hand, make sure I left enough gap for me to fit my actual hand in the big hand.
Melissa Erbacher: Yep.
Lyndell Murray: And make it vaguely look like an actual hand. So… I am prepared to admit that it took a couple of prototypes, but I got it right. Well, kind of right. Whether it looked like a hand or not, I had a big blue thing on my hand. With five digits, I'm assuming. With five digits. Yes, it had five digits. So I think it fit the bill. So there I was. And, of course, a clown wig. Sparkly little tutu-ish skirt. I didn't quite want to wear a tutu because at Bunyaville tutus signify milestones and this wasn't a milestone.
Melissa Erbacher: Oh, so they've got like an official usage at Bunyaville.
Lyndell Murray: Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. If you do a milestone, you wear a tutu. Okay. So I didn't want to wear a tutu. So, yes, gold tights, sparkly little running skirt, giant foam blue hand. Clown wig. Multi-coloured clown wig. And I'd thought this through. I had a counter, so I had a clicker to count my high fives.
Melissa Erbacher: That's excellent, because I totally would have lost count after about 10, I reckon. Yes.
Lyndell Murray: So I needed the clicker. That came in handy.
Melissa Erbacher: Did you have an objective observer doing the clicking for you so that you couldn't cheat?
Lyndell Murray: No. I did my own clicking. And look, luckily, the event team at Bunyaville were very trusting. They knew that I... Wasn't going to fabricate the results. I'm a technical official for triathlon. I'm not allowed to cheat.
Melissa Erbacher: And you just have those clickers at home, I'm assuming. You didn't have to buy a clicker.
Lyndell Murray: No, I didn't have to buy a clicker. I had a clicker that I purchased for something else now. I don't know what. So, yeah. So, I happily high-fived and clicked away and got my 351 high-fives. So, I broke my 300.
Melissa Erbacher: Well, PB. High-five PB.
Lyndell Murray: High-five PB. Yeah. The funniest story that I have about this, though, is that there were a few little kids at Bunyaville on the weekend and a couple of them, their eyes just lit up, you know, because here was this lady dressed as a clown and they were so excited, which was really lovely. One of the children, though, it was his first parkrun and so his guardian that was there with him said, oh, could I get a picture of you, you know, the two of you together? And I said, sure, no problem. So I got my picture taken dressed as a crazy looking clown with this child who was doing his first parkrun. And as they said, oh, yes, we want to get a photo. It's his first parkrun. I said to the little kid, I said, look, just so you know, next time you show up at parkrun, there may not be a clown just in case what if next Saturday he's like yes let's go to parkrun we'll see a clown and then he showed up at parkrun there's no clown and he was all upset and crying and I didn't want that to happen to him so I broke it to him how'd he take it he was all right he was like okay that's good thank you thanks he gave me a high five and off he went so oh bless him yes no it's important it's important to establish these things because yeah you don't want to break his heart next week No, I do not. Oh, it sounds like you had an awesome morning.
Melissa Erbacher: I'm very impressed with the amount of high fives you got. Was your hand sore at the end? No, because I had this fantastic blue foam hand on it. Okay, that's good. Also, because you made the foam hand, I think that's better than the ones that you get at the football and things because those are always pointing, aren't they?
Lyndell Murray: That is true. That is true.
Melissa Erbacher: I too own a foam hand of sorts. Years and years ago, Adam did the Gold Coast Marathon. And I enlisted my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew in all getting dressed up to cheer him on. And we got dressed up as the aliens from Toy Story. So we've got alien onesies for the adults and the kids wearing We got the right colour tracksuits and all that sort of thing. And I made a giant foam alien hand. So it's actually only got three fingers, the little aliens. And then I made a sign to go with it that said free high threes. Yes. Try saying that fast five times and you'll trip over your own tongue. But yeah, I think there were a lot of people who didn't quite get it. However, my nephew just loved holding this giant foam hand. Like it got appropriated by him. He wouldn't let me use it.
Lyndell Murray: The sign.
Melissa Erbacher: I just had to hold up the sign and he held the hand out and got all the high threes. That we're going. That's fantastic. High threes. I love it. Yeah, free high threes. Always just have to do things just a little bit differently. Yeah. And Bruce, Bruce Willis.
Lyndell Murray: Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis is the guy who did his 300th parkrun on Bunyaville's 300th parkrun.
Melissa Erbacher: If I was wittier, there would be all sorts of diehard jokes and things like that, but I just can't think of any right now. Yes.
Lyndell Murray: Look, exactly. And, you know, everyone knows Bruce because they remember Bruce Willis, right?
Melissa Erbacher: Yes. But I have a question for you because I just happened to be poking around at the volunteer roster of Bunyaville parkrun on the weekend and I noticed – that there is a quasi doppelganger for our former co-host, Scotty Trickett. There's a Scott Triffitt who volunteered on Saturday. I mean, is he just a really big fan or is he trying to be an imposter and sneezed or something when he was registering?
Lyndell Murray: Yes, you're very observant, Mel. There is a Scotty Triffitt.
Melissa Erbacher: He was the photographer on the weekend and he takes amazing photos. Not unlike his, you know, Victorian counterpart. Yes, yes, yes.
Lyndell Murray: And I had a bit of a chat with Scotty on the weekend, Scotty with two Fs and not Scotty with a CK. Yes. It's funny because he pops up in my Facebook feed a little bit because we're both in a couple of trail running groups. And so he pops up all the time and I always think, oh, which Scotty's that? Scotty Triffitt. Scotty Trickett. Look, he's not... Scotty's a lovely bloke. They're both lovely blokes. They're both tall, dark hair, a little bit quiet till you get to know them. So there's a few similarities. I had a bit of a chat to him on the weekend and quizzed him on the important things. He doesn't have a particular penchant for bridges, Scotty Triffitt. There's a difference. Scotty Triffitt also loves running on trails. Not sure about Scotty Trickett. He's got a bit of a, you know, up and down relationship with the trails. Up and down, yes, pun intended. Yes. But one thing they have in common, which depending on how you look at it, could be something they have in common, could be something that they differ on. They both think that they live in the greatest state. Wow.
Melissa Erbacher: Only one of them actually does and I think we both know which one that is.
Lyndell Murray: Yes, yes, we do.
Melissa Erbacher: Oh, well, thank you for quizzing him for me, Lyndell. Thank you.
[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew
Roving report Grette Wilkinson — Charleston parkrun
Grette Wilkinson: Hi parkrun adventurers, it's Greta here and I'm doing my roving report from Charleston parkrun this week.
Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"
Grette Wilkinson: So I don't know if you remember but I did a roving report from Charleston when they launched a year ago and today they're celebrating their first anniversary. So they have a green theme and it's a beautiful day here, it's warm, it's been really cold in South Australia so everyone's really enjoying the warmer weather and It's lovely and sunny. It's a really rural setting here at Charleston. So I'm going to go do the run, listen to the briefing and find some people to chat to afterwards. Okay. So credit for this next bit of the report goes to Naomi. Naomi is one of the core event team at Charleston parkrun and to celebrate she has written a poem in rhyming couplets and she's asked for audience participation to read out or to call out the last word of every rhyming couplet and she did a fabulous job. So please welcome Naomi.
Naomi: Charleston parkrun, you're turning one. Now I'd like to tell the story of how you run. Yes, it's true. Believe the goss. You began in the dreams of Kylie Ross. On Amy Gillett, all those runs, rides and walks. We should have a parkrun out here. And so begun the talk. Phone calls, negotiations and planning got underway. Finally all the preparations were ready for launch day. Our Mount Barker parkrun friends helped us in the beginning while the word amongst the locals started spreading. People telling their family, friends and more, locals happy to have a parkrun at their back.
Unidentified speaker: Door.
Naomi: A walk, a jog, intervals or a run. Charleston parkrun welcomes... Everyone. The young, the old and four-legged friends too. Lots of laughs and the occasional... Poo. There's cows, they're supposed to be moving. We're always reminded it's a shared pathway. The word bike can often be heard so we can get out of the way. Any occasion we love to dress up to. Christmas Australia Day and may the 4th be with you. Now this one, I'm sorry, it's terrible, but if you like statistics, this one's for you. From the day we launched and our number totalled 117, right through to a cold winter's day with a low attendance of? 14. 14. 14. Charleston, parkrun continues come rain, hail or shine. Over the year our average number of finishers is? 46.9 Now that we have been going for a year there are always people willing to? Volunteer. Thank you. Healthy competition, rivalry and plenty of PBs. Everyone comes to parkrun for a different reason you see. For many, the new friendships being made are the best part of parkrun. Supporting each other and just having fun. Thank you so much to all our parkrun friends. We hope you keep coming again and again.
Grette Wilkinson: Okay, I'm now here at Charleston parkrun. I'm here with... Tracy. And how did you go today, Tracy?
Tracey: It was hot and humid, but I did okay. Not as good as I'd like, though. It was a little bit sticky today, wasn't it?
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah, very unusual for South Australia after the weather we've been having, but a nice change.
Tracey: Lovely change. It's a beautiful course. Have you done this one before? This is about the third time I've done this one. It's fairly close to home, so I thought I'd come out for the birthday.
Grette Wilkinson: Yes. So it's a double out and back, isn't it?
Tracey: Yes, which is always a challenge. It is. LAUGHTER Because you're coming back that first time and you think, oh no, now I've got to do it all again. I know, all over again. But good community, yeah, lots of high fives, so it makes it all fun. And what's your normal parkrun home event? What do you call home? Well, I call Lochiel Park home, but I don't get there much more these days due to all the great parkruns around. I try and You know, pick a different one each week.
[laughter]
Grette Wilkinson: You're a bit of a tourist. I am. And are you chasing any of your unofficial milestones?
Tracey: Any clubs or anything? Well, I'm chasing the Statesman's Club, three away. Which ones haven't you done? Mount Gambier, Naracoorte and KI. Oh, yeah. The ones that require a bit of travel. That's right, sleepover ones. Yeah. Hopefully maybe knock them off before the end of the year. Yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: And how long have you been parkrunning for?
Tracey: Oh, I've been parkrunning for about three years now. Yeah. Love it. It's not a sad day unless you parkrun. It's the best way to start the weekend, isn't it?
Grette Wilkinson: Absolutely. And what got you started with parkrun? A friend. Yeah. Yeah.
Tracey: Charlie's taking our photos. Just a friend said, come on out, and I haven't looked back. I love it. Yeah, I've done a few interstate and also... Which ones have you done interstate? In Victoria and Queensland, so Albert Park, Westerfolds.
Grette Wilkinson: Oh, you've done Albert Park?
Tracey: Yeah, and... One last weekend in Victoria and I can't remember the name. And also Studley.
Grette Wilkinson: Oh, Studley. So you've done Westerfolds and Studley. Scotty will be pleased.
Tracey: Oh, I love them both. They're really lovely. They are lovely.
Grette Wilkinson: And Singapore in East Coast.
Tracey: Oh, you've done them. Which one did you? East Coast.
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah. Gee, that would have been humid too. Oh, wow. Much more than this.
Tracey: But lovely. Yeah. So, I don't know. It's not a sad day, is it?
Grette Wilkinson: No, it's the best way to start the weekend. And where are you off to next week, do you think?
Tracey: I think it's time to go back to home, to Lochiel Park. Visit home, say hello to the gang. Catch up. It's a nice social parkrun.
Grette Wilkinson: Well, it was lovely chatting to you, Tracey. Thank you so much for coming along to the anniversary today. And I'm sure I will see you at a parkrun nearby soon. All the time.
Tracey: Thank you. All right, enjoy breakfast.
Grette Wilkinson: Alright, I'm now here with... Dylan. Dylan, and do you know why I've come over and talked to you? I'm out my propeller hat. I love your propeller hat. Where did you get that? In the park. Yeah? And how long have you had it?
Dylan: I don't know, like a few months or something. Yeah, yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: And I know that Mel and Gary, a couple of friends of mine, they would love the fact that you have a propeller hat. Do you always wear it to parkruns?
Dylan: No.
Grette Wilkinson: No? Is it just because it's a special occasion today? Yes.
Dylan: Yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: And you've got a parkrun t-shirt on. How many parkruns have you done?
Dylan: 21, I think. 21. I think. 22. Yeah? Yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: And where do you usually parkrun?
Dylan: Largs Bay. Largs Bay is your home? Yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: And do you do a bit of visiting to other parkruns?
Dylan: Yes. Yeah?
Grette Wilkinson: Which other ones have you done?
Dylan: Mount Barker, Carisbrooke.
Grette Wilkinson: I hear you went to Carisbrooke last weekend for their anniversary. How was that? Good. Yeah. So do you just follow the cake? Do you just go wherever there's cake? No. No? But it helps, right? Yeah.
Unidentified speaker: Yes.
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah. And where do you think you'll be running next week? I don't know. Don't know. Maybe back at Largs, hey?
Unidentified speaker: Maybe.
Grette Wilkinson: All right. Well, thanks for talking to me today. Have a good parkrun next weekend, okay?
Claire: Okay.
Grette Wilkinson: I'm now here with Claire. How are you going, Claire?
Claire: Oh, it's a great day for it here at Charleston parkrun. Love it. Isn't it wonderful? Oh, bang, bang. There were some balloons bursting away. It's not shotguns. It's balloons. So it's good. It's good. Yeah, yeah. We're all happy. Everyone's healthy. Everyone's not bleeding. So it's good. That's always good, isn't it? It's a good start. It's a very good start. And I just wanted to do a big shout out to Jo and Jackie. I don't know where. Jackie's here. Jo, I think she's at Mount Barker. Is she? She's missing out. Oh, she missed out on cake. Yeah, green fun. Lots of green fun.
[other]
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah, so we're all dressed in green today, aren't we, for the anniversary?
Claire: Absolutely, including Jaffa the Wonder Dog with his beautiful green ribbon.
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah, and you always run with Jaffa, don't you?
Claire: Oh, every week. Absolutely love it.
Grette Wilkinson: And look, for the listeners, what sort of dog is Jaffa? Oh, he's my red kelpie. He's a red cloud. He's beautiful.
Claire: Everyone loves him, mostly. He's very friendly, isn't he? Yes, he's very friendly. He joins the summiteers all the time for their runs as well.
Grette Wilkinson: Now, what are the summiteers?
Claire: Oh, awesome group led by a whole bunch of people, including PB for Renew Nursing, Paul Butler. Yes, we know the Butler boys. The listeners know the Butler boys. And Charlie, awesome gang. But crew, we love to run hills. So Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights, Sundays, we run, run, run. Run all the time.
Grette Wilkinson: And it doesn't matter how fast you are or how slow you are, does it? Oh, gosh, no.
Claire: You can be Speedy Gonzales, or as slow as me. Just you. Love it. Anyone can join. You're all welcome. It's a fantastic group of people. Love everyone. Everyone's great.
Grette Wilkinson: So everyone listening to the podcast, come to Mount Barker and join the Summiteers.
Claire: Oh, join the Summiteers. Do it and your life will be better for it. Love it. Now, is this your first time at Charleston? It is.
Grette Wilkinson: Or have you done this one before? No, it is.
Claire: First Charleston. So I've finally done three. So one at Torrens, one here at Charleston today, and the rest at Mount Barker. A bit boring, but, you know, I've got to, you know, slow build up.
Grette Wilkinson: I think they're called a passionista. If you've only done, you know, your parkruns at one, that's a passionista.
Claire: Not a tragic. No, just completely committed. Not to do with close to home at all or anything like that. Nothing to do with the sleeping. Nothing. But I loved Charleston. That was great. Really good camaraderie. The best thing I loved about it was getting another lady home. She wanted to walk and Jaffa and I wouldn't let her. So we got her home. So it was awesome. Isn't that always good? Loved it, yeah.
Grette Wilkinson: Runners and walkers always help each other out. Definitely.
Claire: Another lady stopped. You all right? No, she was just stretching. She was all good as well. So if you want to come out, it's, yeah, best group of people there are. It's a beautiful community. It is. Love it. It's just, yeah, lovely people, keen on running, walking, running slow jogging swaddling whatever you want to do just come out and have a go it's just amazing and how about you why did you start parkrunning um I don't know my story is back in about 2014 I think where someone said oh go do a parkrun I'm like what's that so I registered and went out and yeah the rest is history so yeah and how many have you done now Oh gosh, not very many. Only about 55 or 56 or something. So not too many. So there's been a few hiatuses. In between. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it used to be a lot faster, but that's okay now. I'm just out for fun. So yeah, loving it.
Grette Wilkinson: Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for coming to the anniversary today and having a good time and joining in with the community.
Claire: I know. Yeah, I love it. No, it's really good. I'm just so glad to be back and, yeah, just hopefully, yeah, running for years and years to come. So, yeah, anyone who wants to come along to any parkrun, do it. I just can't recommend it enough.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew
Roving report Cameron Drake — Tamworth Wetlands
Cameron Drake: Happy parkrun day everybody. It's Cameron here from beautiful, bright, sunny WA. And I'm not adventuring today. I'm at my local Tamworth Wetlands at the beautiful Tamworth Wetlands Reserve in Baldivis. And Tamworth Wetlands, as the name suggests, runs around a lovely wooded wetlands area, and we have created a course that goes up and down features such as Evil Hill. We run through the Puddle of Doom and a turnaround point known as Skippy's Revenge. I'll tell you about Skippy's Revenge later. To get to Tamworth Wetlands, just follow the map, there's parking at the shops opposite and the start-finish line is just across the road. We start at the top of a hill So that means we start going down and unfortunately we finish going up so it makes a rock star finish a little bit interesting but it's worth it because there are about umpteen million coffee shops at Baldivis Shopping Centre here and we like to go across to the dome because we get a discount and there's plenty of space for us to chill out and relax after a lovely run. So I've come here a little bit early today to see who I can chat to so let's go. One of the great things about Tamworth Wetlands is being wetlands we have lots and lots of wildlife join us for the parkrun days. So we have anything from kangaroos to kookaburras to cockies to magpies, darn them. We also have a lovely little native marsupial called a quenda and they're funny little scampering guys, they always run away, you can never get a photo of them. and about 10 million frogs in the swamp and of course where there's frogs you'll find snakes we do get the occasional snake but it's very rare and they're never very big and they're usually no they're not friendly so you might be wondering why we have a turnaround point named skippy's revenge well let me recount you the tale of old man skip There was an old roo named Skip, who died and smelt like the tip. So Craig called the ranger, who said, quite stranger, nah, he's not dead, he's just having a kip. Okay. Yes, g'day everyone. I'm here at the Post Run Coffee at Dome, and what's your name, where you're from, and what's your parkrun history?
Shirley: Hello, my name's Shirley. My main parkrun is Tamworth, but I also do Rockingham parkrun. Excellent. Started off at Rockingham and then it's nice to have an alternative in Tamworth being a more trail run. History, yeah, that's about it. Funniest thing I've seen at parkrun is probably Myself and my running wife dressed as bathing beauties at Rockingham parkrun for her 100th parkrun.
Cameron Drake: Bathing beauties, what did that involve?
Shirley: Pool inflatables. Nice. Shower caps and bathers.
Cameron Drake: Oh, excellent. So did you go for a swim after parkrun or during?
Shirley: No. We just during it. We also had the bubble wands. Ah, yes. The soapy bubble wands. We had those. That was probably one of our funnier moments or when we dressed as Ghostbusters.
Cameron Drake: Ah, yes. So how did you get started in parkrun?
Shirley: I seen it advertised in the local newspaper and thought, oh, I'll give that a crack. It's just 5Ks, free, timed.
Cameron Drake: Oh, how long ago was that?
Shirley: Oh, when it first started at Rockingham, so that would have been... How long ago was that? 2013. Wow. Yeah, and I think it had only been going for about four weeks, and I went along.
Cameron Drake: Oh, fantastic.
Shirley: And loved just how friendly people were, how encouraging people were, and I was quite surprised because I just went along on my own. Yeah, so that's it, and now that's my Saturday morning.
Cameron Drake: Gone. Excellent. Thank you very much, and I hope to see you again next week.
Shirley: Thank you.
Cameron Drake: All right, we're still having coffee, and so, please excuse me, but I don't know your name. Michelle. Michelle. Nice to meet you, Michelle. And Michelle, how did you get started in parkrun?
Michelle: I thought I saw an advert on Facebook, actually, but it was like the second week of Rockingham starting, and I went down, and I think I didn't run until about the fourth one in 2013.
Cameron Drake: Excellent. And so apart from Shirley and Sarah, what's the funniest thing you've seen at parkrun?
Michelle: Either Tim dressed as Santa Claus or Katrina as a Halloween zombie nurse chasing me. Some of those Halloween ones with zombies with people has been a lot of fun.
Cameron Drake: Oh, that would be the zombie run we did for Tamworth's first anniversary, is it?
Michelle: Yeah, I was there for that one as well. And for Tamworth's May the 4th Be With You and My Son Did His 100. That was a good one as well.
Cameron Drake: Oh, that was fun. That was a bit last minute on my part, but we put it together in the end.
Michelle: Definitely love dressing up in parkrun.
Cameron Drake: So, weird question, what's your favourite colour tutu?
Michelle: Blue. Blue? Yeah, with my blue outfit.
Cameron Drake: I do agree with blue. Green, blue? Fantastic. And do you get out to other parkruns often? Have adventures?
Michelle: I've done over 20 different parkruns. Yowzers! Oh, different parkrun locations. I've done over 200 parkruns.
Cameron Drake: Fantastic. So I've had to put you on the spot. What's your favourite parkrun so far?
Michelle: Nowadays I like to go to Tamworth. Wetlands is my favourite one with my kids on the weekends. But favourite overall... I really like Albert Park, actually, in Melbourne. That was my favourite interstate one that I've been to.
Cameron Drake: That's supposed to be really big, isn't it? Lots of people? Yeah.
Michelle: It is, but it's very well managed. I liked it. I even saw the black swans in the pond there and I thought, hang on a second, aren't they belonging in WA? But anyway.
Cameron Drake: Traitors.
Michelle: I know, what are they doing there? No, that was really good. That was freezing, absolutely freezing last school holidays there, but it was good. What about WA, James? What's your favourite in WA?
Cameron Drake: In WA, I reckon this one. Oh, you're both very kind.
Michelle: We're not going to pass up a nice flat one like Dawesville. Dawesville is lovely because it's nice and flat.
Cameron Drake: Oh, I haven't done Dawesville yet. That's my next, after next NENDY. I think I've got Bibra Lake after that. So I'm looking forward to some flat ones. All right. Thanks, gang. And hopefully see you around soon.
David Moss: Thanks.
Cameron Drake: I'm here with Sarah, who is the Run Director today. How are you going, Sarah?
Sarah: I'm good, thank you.
Cameron Drake: Excellent. So how was today's run? How many people we end up getting along today?
Sarah: Well, I reckon about 72-ish plus.
Cameron Drake: Oh, so I was right, about 70? Mm-hmm. Oh, excellent. So how did you get started in the parkrun? You're not 70.
Sarah: I am.
Cameron Drake: She's not 70. What are you talking about?
Sarah: I feel like after RD in today.
Cameron Drake: Oh, go on. How did you get started in the parkrun?
Sarah: Now I've got to remember my answer from last time.
Cameron Drake: Well, maybe if I press record the first time, we wouldn't have to do this, but you can give a different one.
Sarah: Shirley got me involved. Oh. Our lovely Shell Sparkles. Many, many moons ago when Rockingham parkrun started.
Cameron Drake: Excellent.
Sarah: In 2013. 2013, yes.
Cameron Drake: Cross-checking the answers. Good work.
Sarah: Yes. We're a team.
Cameron Drake: So I hear that you like dressing up. So what's the best dress up you've ever gotten around at parkrun?
Sarah: The best dress up I would say would be Ghostbusters.
Cameron Drake: Ghostbusters, excellent.
Sarah: Where Shirley was a ghost, she was one of the ghostbusters and I was the ghost. And I had to navigate parkrun with a sheet over my head. Oh.
Cameron Drake: So you were a visually impaired runner or you could see through it?
Sarah: Kind of. Oh, excellent. It was good in theory, didn't actually work in practice.
Cameron Drake: Oh, okay. So zigzagging around you would have done slightly more than 5k.
Sarah: Oh, yeah. Probably would have done that.
Shirley: We just randomly shouted, who are you going to call?
Sarah: Ghostbusters!
Shirley: We were really happy.
Cameron Drake: Oh, fantastic. So what prompted you to start getting involved with the volunteering side of things at parkrun?
Sarah: Well, you've got to give a little back. You put in, you do all the runs and usually you see the same volunteers week in, week out. So it's just nice to be able to get in there, get the social side of the parkrun and cheer people on and encourage them to do their run in.
Cameron Drake: It's nice getting the high fives and the smiles, isn't it?
Sarah: Yeah, exactly.
Cameron Drake: And you stepped up for Run Director.
Sarah: Yes, third time run directing today. Fantastic. I think we got off without any hitches whatsoever, which is good. It's getting easier each time. The setup's hard, but when you're doing it solo. Oh, okay. And the last two, Craig was helping out, making sure that the cones and markers were in the right place. So hopefully I did him proud today and put everything in the right spot.
Cameron Drake: Well, I think you did a great job. Well, thanks, Sarah, and I'll see you later. Oh, thank you.
Roving report David Moss — Hove Promenade
David Moss: And hello, we're at the, what's that, Hove Brighton, what is this?
Sarah Graywald: Hove Esplanade, I think.
David Moss: Hove Esplanade. Or maybe the promenade. We've just finished it, and I'm with... Sarah Graywald from Kawana. And what a coincidence, which happens to be my home run, and we both just turned up here at the same time to do the same course.
Sarah Graywald: Yes.
David Moss: And Sarah, what do you think?
Sarah Graywald: It's very straight and very flat.
David Moss: I should say we're standing in the barcode queue at the moment. So just thought I'd squeeze this one in before Sarah shoots off. Sarah's over here for just a few weeks.
Sarah Graywald: Yep, visiting my brother here in Brighton.
David Moss: It's a perfect day. How long have you been running for?
Sarah Graywald: Oh, three, two or three years. Two or three years.
David Moss: And you're also doing the right thing. They ask us to wear parkrun shirts. You actually brought yours with you.
Sarah Graywald: I've got my 100 milestone shirt on, which I got at Newbury, which is also in the UK when I was here last year.
David Moss: Sarah's an Australian. You just can't tell from the accent. All very well. Okay, look, I'd better let you do this and run off for your breakfast and so on.
Sarah Graywald: Thank you very much. I'll enjoy it. Yes, thank you. See you at home in Kawana.
David Moss: You will indeed. Okay and we've completed the parkrun here and I'm with Mark who is the Run Director and Mark are you also the Event Director for what I keep forgetting the name is it Hove?
Mark Brocklehurst: We are Hove Promenade or if you're local it is Hove Prom because promenade's a bit of a big word.
David Moss: And I noticed there are a few different parkruns in this area so people do have a choice but over 400 people came today.
Mark Brocklehurst: That's great, I mean that's a really good attendance for us in October. We're really weather dependent because we've got five in a very short area plus many more outside the city of Brighton and Hove. People can be picky and choosy. Today it was cool, there was no wind so we got over 400. If it rains next week we'll get about 200.
David Moss: Now it was, it's been a perfect day. And tell me, how did you get involved in parkrun and get this parkrun going I guess?
Mark Brocklehurst: A conversation at work with a friend. The oldest parkrun in Brighton and Hove is Brighton parkrun which is in Hove Park. That's been going since 2007 and about six years ago, just over six years ago, a friend convinced me to sign up for parkrun. It took me six months from getting my barcode to actually turning up and I debuted at Preston Park. and the rest is history really it was such a warm welcome instantly made a few new friends went back the next week and then in time became a member of the core team and got invited to join the team that helped set this one up and that we are now four years old and from then on went and joined the ambassador program as well so it's just typical of parkrun that everything's there for anybody that wants it It is, it's excellent. It's really good that you've got a coffee shop right next to the start finish line as well. Absolutely. And that seemed to be quite well attended today. Definitely. The guys are fantastic. They support us all the year round. They come out on New Year's Day, especially for us when we do our double. They've been fantastic, even to the fact that they help us store our equipment as well. There's not many parkruns in the world that can keep their equipment in a beach hut.
David Moss: No it's a beautiful, it is, it's very nice and you seem to have quite a bit to do with parkrun. I noticed you mentioned beforehand you've just been over to Germany.
Mark Brocklehurst: That's right was over at Esslingen because I can't say Neckarufer properly, went over with a group of friends, swelled their attendance to a massive 104, which by UK and certainly Australia standards is a low attendance, but for them, they were delighted. And it was so special. The first runners, as we started, they crashed through an impromptu Berlin wall to be very symbolic, very friendly welcome and like you guys down in Australia they're all on the phones and on the apps and I got my result when I was queuing for coffee which was incredible I've done the results now I thought I've done them quite quick yet the parkrun started about two and a half hours ago so that's incredible I thought you did them very quick as well actually
David Moss: And do you get to go around to a number of different courses?
Mark Brocklehurst: I do, I mean as a regional ambassador I try and go around all of the events when I can. I've been to every parkrun that's in the county of Sussex bar one because that's a new one which was the Ifield Mill Pond which launched two weeks ago, three weeks ago Though we have just now embracing the prison parkruns as well so we've got a prison parkrun that was coming hopefully in the next four or five weeks. So yeah I get around when I can but this is home. I live a stone's throw away from the promenade so it's great to walk down. But it is nice to do a bit of travelling and keep in touch with the teams, you know rather than be the name Who's the regional ambassador? They know who you are You can go and help out and you can answer questions about the course in the run itself And what got you into becoming a regional ambassador? I joined I applied for an ambassador three about three four years ago and then when the opportunity came up I just really thought I wanted to get in touch because there's only so much you can do an event you are limited to about six events which is to make sure that your time is not taken over by parkrun and we had the opportunity because the southeast is such a hotbed of parkrun that HQ split it into counties and now there's about four of us doing what one person did Kerry French used to be South East ambassador and it was just impossible for her she did a fantastic job so there's now four of us was me Dave Donna and Kerry that cover the area between us and the way it's going who knows when it's going to split again
David Moss: And I believe you've met one or two Australians in the past.
Mark Brocklehurst: Yes just one or two of them. I happened to run around with Tim when he was over for the parkrun conference. Worked a lot with Carol and this morning itself Renee has been pestering me on my phone even though she should know full well that I'm in the middle of a parkrun. So right bang in the middle of at 9.15 UK time I'm getting messages from her and I was very polite but I really wanted to tell her where to go.
David Moss: Ah, management.
Mark Brocklehurst: I know. There's always complaints. There's complaints. I could swap a few stories, but I've been sworn to secrecy. And I think if I shared the stories, I don't think I'd ever be able to part run again. She'd break my legs. Okay. We'll leave that until after the recording. Definitely. Let's get the teas in and let's dish some dirt.
David Moss: Okay. I think that'll probably do.
Mark Brocklehurst: Right now, I'm going to slip this bit in. One of the great things as well is it's great to say hello to everybody in Australia and I've got to do a little plug, though, for With Me Now because Danny and Nicola would never forgive me. They're big fans of your podcast. We know lots of people listen to both. And I've already had messages from them both to say Danny is at Bushy Park today for their 15th birthday and Nicola is at Beverley Westwood, which sounds more like a catalogue rather than a parkrun. But I'm looking forward to hearing from them soon. OK, thank you. That should do, Mel.
David Moss: I'll leave you to look after the rest.
[16 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]
Melissa Erbacher: And we had the trifecta of roving reports this week from the guys, from the crew. A couple of Channel 5 News crew members, we had Greta and Dave, and then Cameron back second week in a row with more roving reports, but this time from his home parkrun, which was very cool. I don't know about you, Lyndell, but I didn't know what a rhyming couplet was.
Lyndell Murray: No, neither did I.
Melissa Erbacher: So thank you, Greta and Naomi, who was the RD at Charleston on the weekend, for educating us about rhyming couplets.
Lyndell Murray: That seemed to work well.
Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, it did. I mean, I was a bit confused. Do you think they gave the audience the answer, like what they were supposed to chime in with, or do you think they were supposed to guess what it was?
Lyndell Murray: I don't reckon they gave them the answer. I reckon that you're familiar enough with the content and you know it's got a – like it just feels like it needs to rhyme. Okay. So I reckon it's one of those situations where, you know, it just makes sense.
Grette Wilkinson: Well, you would hope so anyway.
Melissa Erbacher: Speaking of learning things, when Cameron was talking about the local wildlife and he mentioned a marsupial called a quenda, I actually kind of thought I was pretty well across my marsupials in Australia. But no, this is a new one to me as well.
Lyndell Murray: New to me as well. I'd never heard of a quenda.
Melissa Erbacher: I had to go Google marsupials beginning with Q and there's a couple of them actually. We have quite a few Q marsupials in Australia. But for those who are wondering, a quenda is a subspecies of the southern brown bandicoot. And they're actually classified as near threatened, sadly. I mean, I'm not near threatened. I don't know how serious that is. It's not quite threatened or at risk of being a threat. I don't know. I don't know. It doesn't sound like it's a good situation, though.
Lyndell Murray: No, it must be some kind of threatened if it's near threatened. There mustn't be all that plentiful. No. Hmm.
Melissa Erbacher: But it sounds like they have a lot of fun there, especially Shirley and Sarah with their fancy dress and their costume shenanigans. Oh, yeah. Bathing beauties or ghostbusters. I like the idea of running around with a giant inflatable something. I've done a parkrun with, you know, those little arm floaties that you put on kids when they're just still learning to swim. I've done a parkrun with those on. But they… They got quite sweaty. It was in summer, of course. They got quite sweaty and sort of started to chafe. And because normally your arms are like quite close to your body when you're running. And yet I had to hold them out like I was one of those burly men with the muscles and walks around with their arms apart. That's how I had to run because these little things were chafing under my arms. Don't recommend that. Yes.
Lyndell Murray: No, rightio. I'll file that away. No floaties. No floaties as part of your dress-ups. Exactly.
Melissa Erbacher: And Dave, loved your form again. I thought it was hilarious that you kept forgetting the name of the event that you were at. Yeah, but it wasn't just him either. No, it wasn't. Obviously, Kawana parkrunners are not very good with geography or paying attention to where they've... Look, they managed to show up to a parkrun, so kudos to them. And it was great to hear from Sarah. I didn't know she was overseas at the moment. It'll be good to have a chat with her when she gets home about her adventures too. And thank you also to Mark Brocklehurst, who created a little bit of extra work for me this week, just quietly. But
PALMparkrun adventurers Listener Meetup
Melissa Erbacher: lovely of him to give a shout out to the with me now podcast because we are big fans of those guys too yes we are so we've got some big news this week Lyndell. Yes, well it's big news in the parkrun adventurers sphere anyway a date has been set for palm20. Fantastic. How exciting. I'm looking forward to it already. Me too. I really am. And it's been a few weeks coming in terms of trying to figure out what the date should be and checking with the people that really need to be there, you know, like the organiser, Gary Murphy. We had to make sure he was available. Yes, good idea. Checking that there weren't clashes with other major running events or if other things were going on. The inside tip is, though, that we have picked a weekend which is going to coincide with some other fun events happening in Adelaide. That could mean that accommodation might be a bit scarce. So I recommend if anyone does want to go this year or next year, I should say, that you get in early and book your accommodation just so that you've got the most choice when you're planning it. Of course, we don't know what the exact location is of the parkrun yet, but odds are good that it'll be in and or around Adelaide.
Lyndell Murray: Yes, and that was already locked in, right? It was already been decided that South Australia was the location or Adelaide was the location. Yes, yes. So that's not the...
Melissa Erbacher: That's not the news. The news is the date. And do you want to let everyone know when it is?
Lyndell Murray: Yes. So parkrun Day – actually, which day is which? It's the 7th, 8th and 9th of March. So is parkrun Day the 7th or the 8th? It must be the 8th.
Melissa Erbacher: No, yeah, it's the 7th. The 7th. So we've picked the long weekend. So I guess technically it's 6, 7, 8, 9.
Lyndell Murray: Yes, because there's Friday night festivities for Palm. There are.
Melissa Erbacher: So whether or not we extend it on to the Monday as well this year – Oh, that, I mean, that, dare I say it, is it too much parkrun to have over four days? I don't know. Some people might agree. Some people might disagree.
Lyndell Murray: And some people have long weekends and some people don't.
Melissa Erbacher: Yes, it's only a long weekend in South Australia, Victoria and the ACT. So if you're coming from other states, then you might not have the benefit of that Monday as well. So let's just call it the 6, 7, 8 long weekend. Let's call it that. And if you want the bonus 9th, Monday the 9th off, organise your annual leave with your bosses or do whatever you have to do to be there because it's going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully, whoever ends up being the new future co-host of the parkrun adventurers podcast is available that weekend.
Lyndell Murray: Yeah, I hope so.
Melissa Erbacher: That could be really awkward if they've got prior engagements.
Lyndell Murray: Well, that might be a criteria.
Melissa Erbacher: Exactly. It's a prerequisite. Prerequisite.
Lyndell Murray: Must be available.
Melissa Erbacher: If you want to co-host a pod, you're going to have to be available this weekend or make yourself available. But I have it on good authority that our former co-host, Scotty Trickett, will be there so we can have a mini reunion.
Lyndell Murray: Yes. Do you think I need to check up on his doppelganger and see if Scotty Triffitt will be there?
Melissa Erbacher: Well, yeah. I reckon put it out there, Lyndell. I'm assuming he is an avid listener of the podcast. Oh, without any doubt.
Lyndell Murray: Yeah.
Melissa Erbacher: It wasn't the first he'd heard of it when you spoke to him on the weekend?
Lyndell Murray: Hard to tell. I'm not sure. I can't guarantee that he's a regular listener, Mel.
Melissa Erbacher: That's okay. I'm sure he is now. I'm sure he is. Hi, Scotty Triffitt. G'day, Scotty Triffitt. But that's not the only big news. But wait, there's more. But wait, there's more. You now get a set of 99 knives. Stainless steel everlasting sharpness.
International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day
Melissa Erbacher: No, the extra news is that the Ugly Christmas Singlets are coming. Don't have a date for when those are going to be released. I did mention in September that they would be out in October. So that is still my plan and intention. And the design work has commenced and samples of the new fabric that they're going to be made out of. It's going to be different fabric than last year. We did have some reports that It wasn't as breathable as it could be for a technical running singlet. So we have asked the suppliers what the other options are and they've sent out samples. And it's very nice. It's very light and soft and definitely breathable, which I'm pretty excited about. Still will be manufactured in Australia. They don't have to go overseas to do that. But yeah, so that's something for everybody to keep a lookout for in the coming weeks, the orders opening up, for the 2019 Ugly Christmas Singlets.
Lyndell Murray: Well, that is good news. And where do we stay tuned? Is it the Facebook page for updates, Mel?
Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, Facebook and here and we'll probably even share it on Twitter and Instagram. We'll be that excited about it.
Lyndell Murray: All of the socials.
Melissa Erbacher: All the socials for the parkrun adventurers. And if you don't know what they are, on Facebook we're parkrun adventurers. On Twitter, we are PR underscore Adventurers. Oh, Instagram. What are we on Instagram, Lyndell?
Lyndell Murray: It's parkrunadventurers.
Melissa Erbacher: All one word, all lowercase. That's it. So pretty easy to find us. And if, you know, you're listening to the podcast, we'll also let you know here.
Lyndell Murray: Fantastic. Any clues on colour or design or is it still early days yet, Mel? What I will say is we're going traditional ugly. Traditional ugly. Yes.
Melissa Erbacher: So you can read into that what you will.
Lyndell Murray: I don't know that that helps.
Melissa Erbacher: Well, there's definitely a different colour scheme this year.
Lyndell Murray: Definitely a different colour. Yes.
Melissa Erbacher: Yeah, it's not going to be purple and orange like it was last year.
Lyndell Murray: Well, that's good because, you know, purple and orange is awesome, but you've got to mix it up. Yes, you do.
Sign-off
Melissa Erbacher: Lyndell, thank you very much for joining me this week. And I should mention as well, thank you to Dave for joining me last week. I completely forgot in my weird flutteriness of recording the outro for the third time last week that I didn't thank him in that version. And he... did so much, went above and beyond technologically included to try and be there and record with me. And the schemozzle was in no way his fault. I am very happy that we have not had a similar schemozzle this week and that you've been able to join me with some excellent Wi-Fi and banter. Thank you for being here. You make hosting a pod look, or I should say sound, extremely easy. You're such a pro at it now and it's always fun to have you here.
Lyndell Murray: You're very welcome, Mel. Thank you for having me.
Melissa Erbacher: And look forward to doing it again in the future. I hope so. Thank you.
Unidentified speaker: Thank you.