Episode 241 - Toolern Creek

Welcome

00:00:23Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 241 of the parkrun Adventures podcast. I am Ollie Spake and I am joined by someone who was happy to have their barcode scanned a little closer to home this last parkrun day, Melissa Ellis. How are you, Mel? Hi, Ollie. I'm really good. How are you? I'm well, thank you. Excellent. Feeling slightly contained, but I'm well.

00:00:48Melissa Ellis: Oh, contained. So COVID has come to New South Wales. Yes.

00:00:54Oliver Spake: Yeah, it's migrated north for the winter.

00:00:58Melissa Ellis: You can have it. I'm just quietly. We're none down here.

00:01:03Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. I can understand that. And a bit of context there, as things are quickly developing, of course, the COVID situation has evolved quite rapidly in New South Wales. So I'm part of a lockdown area, Swapsie's,

00:01:22Melissa Ellis: Oh, no, it is not fun. And we're sorry for our neighbours in New South Wales to have that happen. However, in Victoria, we're lovely and COVID free currently and hoping that we can stay that way.

00:01:40Oliver Spake: Yeah, I think this is very much the environment we're living in at the moment. You've experienced a lot of the challenge and a lot of our listeners have had the same and, hey, I'll say even harder times as well. I think it's difficult to compare for everyone how it affects you and what impact there is. It's nice to see the positives. It's nice to enjoy the positives and it was nice to have a parkrun day nonetheless, despite everything that came afterwards. And even nicer, Mel, was to see the return of some parkrun days, namely yours. How was it?

00:02:18Melissa Ellis: It was good. I decided to stay local, stay safe and stay local. That was my idea this week and I returned to Happy Hill.

00:02:28Oliver Spake: How was Happy Hill?

00:02:29Melissa Ellis: Yeah, it was still there. So here was my dilemma this week. I had a week of work, which interrupted my regular programming, my regular training. I didn't get to get out on my... midweek long runs that I usually do and they were delayed to Friday which was not the perfect day to be doing them when you have your parkrun on a Saturday so I went out on Friday locally to do my long run and it was a little bit drizzly. So I planned 10Ks, I ran 10Ks, and it was wet. And where I would normally walk the last couple of kilometres back to where my car was parked, I thought, oh, I'll just keep running. Well, 10Ks for some isn't a very long run, but at the moment where I've been situated with my fitness, 10Ks is a stretch. It's my long run.

00:03:31Unidentified speaker: Yeah, yeah.

00:03:32Melissa Ellis: But faced with another couple of Ks back to the car and in the rain, I thought, no, no, I'll just keep running. And so I ran back and I was quite happy to notch up 12 kilometres back to the car. Didn't die, which was good, got back and generally yes yes into the warmth of the car and everything all good that was a Friday though so come Saturday morning I was feeling a little bit sore and a little bit stiff and a little bit like I'd you know pushed myself further than what my body was comfortable with

00:04:08Oliver Spake: But sometimes I suppose when you get out there after that, you kind of loosen up after a kilometre or two and it starts to feel a bit better. Was that the case? That was the hope.

00:04:21Melissa Ellis: That was the hope, Ollie. That wasn't the case, sadly. So I started off at Sunbury parkrun. And trotted off and I was very fortunate to join friends, Helen and Steve, fellow tourists, fellow Victorian tourists who came out there on the Statesman Trail in Victoria, notching up all the different events and they hadn't done Sunbury so they were quite happy to come out knowing I was going to be there and join me for Sunbury. Excellent. Yeah, so I started off with Helen and we trotted along and we got to about, you know, 500 metres down and I said to Helen, You better go because I can't keep going. My hips were not happy at all. So I waved Helen off in the distance and I had to walk, which is fine because, you know, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you have to walk or do a walk run or whatever.

00:05:17Oliver Spake: Well, that's right.

00:05:18Melissa Ellis: I knew I had to pull back. I knew that the body wasn't up to it that day. So I still enjoyed my parkrun nevertheless.

00:05:26Oliver Spake: And it's all part of that regime. So it's all still taking you towards another hill and another challenge.

00:05:35Melissa Ellis: Yeah, yep, yep. And I got to experience the Sunbury B course that I had on the longest run that I'd been unsure about.

00:05:45Oliver Spake: Yep, yep. Did it all make sense now?

00:05:48Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Yeah, basically when I did the longest run on my own and I was a bit confused, I basically did the A and the B course all together, which is why I ended up with nearly six kilometres. So now it all makes sense. Yeah.

00:06:04Oliver Spake: Ah, okay. So there's, I mean, obviously on different days there, but there's some extra Ks being the common theme around when you're running Sunbury.

00:06:14Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so no, happy to be back at Sunbury parkrun, catching up with friends. And a beautiful brunch.

00:06:22Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, I did see that brunch. Yeah, very jealous of that one. And I always shortchange you with my terminology, Mel, so I have to apologise. I always ask you, how was your parkrun day? You have two parkrun days. How was the Sunday parkrun day?

00:06:38Melissa Ellis: I do have two, don't I? Yeah. Ollie, the puddle was dried up.

00:06:43Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:06:45Melissa Ellis: I was an event course check, so it was my watch that went out there to discover that I had no puddle.

00:06:55Oliver Spake: And about a half an hour later or an hour later, they all came out and found you crying in a pile of dirt. Oh.

00:07:03Melissa Ellis: After I'd done the event course check and I had my rubber duck tucked under my arm and I was heading back towards my car and they're like, where are you going? And I'm like, there's no puddle. It's going back in the car. We can't have a duck sitting in a dry puddle.

00:07:20Oliver Spake: Oh, dear. How could you imagine? And you did say it was raining too.

00:07:22Melissa Ellis: Most of Victoria's been in flood. We've had record rain.

00:07:27Oliver Spake: And look, we've seen a bit of that rain around the country too. I've been seeing pictures of some of our fellow parkruns, particularly around, well, close to the ACT, places like Queanbeyan and Riverbank, just absolutely, yeah, absolutely washed out.

00:07:45Melissa Ellis: There's no logic to it, Ollie. I don't know. No.

00:07:48Oliver Spake: The puddle threatens to deceive, yes. Yeah.

00:07:52Melissa Ellis: But in any case, so, yeah, we had a small, a very small. We are nowhere in the, what do you call it, Ollie? What? Surbiton Juniors who tops the country in the UK for the amount of attendance. Eynesbury Heritage Junior parkrun is at the other end of the spectrum. We had 13, 13 children. 13, very happy children.

00:08:19Oliver Spake: And some first-timers, I noticed.

00:08:20Melissa Ellis: And some first-timers and some PBs.

00:08:23Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah.

00:08:25Melissa Ellis: So a success nonetheless.

00:08:27Oliver Spake: That's it. I'm impressed by the dedicated group there and I think, yeah, just coming back out of lockdown, we'll see, we'll see. The kids will catch on.

00:08:37Melissa Ellis: Yeah, to be honest, that's part of the problem. In Victoria, we've had such a disjointed season, if you want to call it that. We just haven't been able to get into a rhythm. We can't build on our attendance because we're locked down and then we're back and then we're locked down and then we're back. So... We've got a bit of work to do. We want to spread the word. We want to increase our attendance. Of course we do. And, you know, our volunteers are passionate. We had some fabulous new volunteers this week that joined us that we were extremely, you know, happy to have into the fold.

00:09:14Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:09:14Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Anyway, swings and roundabouts. We'll come back.

00:09:17Oliver Spake: Yeah, you certainly will. I don't doubt that. And fantastic to see Eynesbury back.

00:09:23Melissa Ellis: Our little community. And that's what it's sort of about, Ollie. It's not just about the kids. It's about the little group of volunteers that we have, the core team. We're very much, you know, we're very much a group, a family, a community. And just to be back together, putting on the event, that's what it's about.

00:09:46Oliver Spake: Well, yeah, and I would imagine you certainly don't take that for granted after – was it three weeks, four weeks?

00:09:53Melissa Ellis: Just the latest lockdown was four weeks.

00:09:56Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah.

00:09:57Melissa Ellis: We actually had an early call for the week. Previously, the announcements had come down to the Thursday or the Friday to be told, no, you can't come back, and I think this latest one – The Wednesday we were told, yes, we're on, you know. So big surprise to know so early in the week, which was great for planning purposes for the events, you know, to rally the event teams and to get the names on the rosters. That was fabulous.

00:10:29Oliver Spake: That's right. That's no small task. And I think the huge challenge there for event teams, and I know I'm preaching to the converted in that respect because there's many out there that would be a part of that experience. It's just that need to stay on top of that information, particularly if you don't necessarily see it quickly, to respond, to gather the volunteers, again, particularly for a junior parkrun. And then, of course, there's everyone back at parkrun HQ who are clearly trying to watch a whole lot of different requirements changing and get clarity. So it's no small task. And thank you, Mel, and thank you to everyone that's been a part of that exercise to get Victoria and get those events back up and running.

00:11:13Melissa Ellis: Yes, yes. But, Ollie, what about your parkrun day at Shellharbour?

00:11:20Oliver Spake: Yep, surprise, I was at Shellharbour. LAUGHTER Look, it was, I think, one of those staple parkrun days for me. I was volunteering. I was barcode scanning, which is more and more, the more I think about it, that's almost my favourite role. And, yeah, I think a fairly modest morning, given that mask restrictions had been introduced. Yeah.

00:11:45Melissa Ellis: So did you have to wear them outside? Is that what you mean?

00:11:48Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. So this was my first experience on a parkrun day with mask restrictions being that the requirement at that point in time was that everyone would have to wear them before and after the event and volunteers would have to wear them throughout. And pleased to say that I think that the mask compliance was pretty fantastic. As we see, we don't see everyone adhering to every restriction. But a huge shout out to everyone that was there and obviously across a number of different events that were part of the same restriction. At Shellharbour, we're not that far from Sydney. And whilst there were a number of cancellations in Sydney, those a little further out were subject to these restrictions. And I think it did obviously keep a few people away, but the positive mail was that that meant I got a sausage roll.

00:12:41Melissa Ellis: But did you have a special guest back at Shellharbour this week, Ollie? Yes, I did. Hannah ran the course.

00:12:51Oliver Spake: It's not where I'm going.

00:12:54Melissa Ellis: As much as I'm happy to know Hannah was there. Hello, Hannah. Yes. Yeah, happy you were at Shellharbour. It's not what I was angling at. You didn't know that.

00:13:04Oliver Spake: I know that, yes. Yes, yeah. Can I call him our friend? Damien. Damien. Damo. Damo. Damo. Damien Leith was back with his daughter. So I think the silver lining for some of his show cancellations were that they could duck down. Apparently it was his daughter, Kiki, that was responsible for encouraging him back down. Good girl. Yeah. Yeah. So second timers. And we know that as soon as they're second timers, it's starting to build. Yes. Yeah. We just need to get Damien registered.

00:13:23[laughter]

00:13:38Melissa Ellis: Oh, what?

00:13:41Oliver Spake: But let's leave it at that. Oh. But, yes, that was parkrun day, so I enjoyed that.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:13:47Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, we've had rather a lot of roving reports this week.

00:13:52Oliver Spake: Yeah, just a couple, Mel.

00:13:54Melissa Ellis: And there's some strange theme happening. Have you noticed that?

00:14:00Oliver Spake: Not at all. Not at all. Let's see if the listeners can pick it up.

00:14:03Melissa Ellis: Okay, let's have a listen.

00:14:04[12 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Cameron Drake

00:14:17Cameron Drake: G'day everyone Cam here reporting in for the channel 5 parkrun adventurers podcast I think I got that right this time I'm just at my local and boy it's so cold my brains frozen and forgotten all my jokes you know I was looking at the weather map and the only other place in Australia with the exact the same temperature as us was Toolern Creek so a big shout out to my Toolern Creek comrades we're freezing in unison Hey, Ray, how cold is it? Absolutely freezing. Really? Is that the words you chose to use? It's the words I'm allowed to use. Oh, fair enough. Jerry, just how cold is it today?

00:14:52Unidentified speaker: It's extremely cold because my tips of my fingers are just about to fall off and I'm having trouble holding a pen while I'm doing things, run directing.

00:15:02Cameron Drake: Fair enough. Ladies, how cold is it?

00:15:06Unidentified speaker: Um, I don't know the weather, but it's very, very, very, very cold. So cold that my fingers are welded to my phone.

00:15:13Cameron Drake: Lucky you're barcode scanning then.

00:15:14Unidentified speaker: Yes. Yes.

00:15:16Cameron Drake: Yes, you're right. It is cold.

00:15:17Unidentified speaker: It is so cold.

00:15:19Cameron Drake: Sarah, how cold is it?

00:15:20Unidentified speaker: It's pretty cold. Probably about eight, ten.

00:15:23Cameron Drake: I think it's less.

00:15:24Unidentified speaker: Thanks, Daddy.

00:15:24Unidentified speaker: It was pretty cold when I came in. It was four in the car. It wouldn't lie to me.

00:15:28Cameron Drake: Someone was telling me it was one. Does that sound about right?

00:15:31Unidentified speaker: Wow, is it really?

00:15:31Unidentified speaker: It felt like it, but now that the sun's out, it's all right.

00:15:35Cameron Drake: Yeah, I think it's made it all the way up to two. Thanks, guys. Well, that makes it official. It's cold. And I hope, like my buddies at Toolern Creek, you have defrosted by now because it is so cold. What are we doing this for?

Roving report Tracey Wood — Kedron

00:15:51Tracey Wood: Good morning, it's Tracey in a Tutu and I'm casually cruising my way around the Kedron course. If anyone knows Kedron, they know it's about 10km from the Brisbane airport. I believe it's the closest one to it. It sits nicely next to the Kedron Brook. And it's got a lovely bikeway that runs along next to the path as well. This course leads all the way along, I believe, to Mitchelton. We can't wave to the Mitchelton people like you would at the Toolern course, Mel, but if you kept running, I'm sure you would run into them. What am I doing this morning? I'm out doing the Event Day Course Check. What does that person do? That person comes out to the course, has a look around, makes sure that it's still okay for the parkrun to go ahead that day. Now, we did have rain last night, so I was a bit worried that if it was torrential, the creek would come up and the course would be flooded. But we've only had a little bit of rain and quite honestly you can't even tell that there has been much rain at all. There's no mud on the path, there's no branches, it's all clear, it's just wet. I imagine a few other courses would have to cancel for reasons like trees being on the path or I believe there was a car blocking a course one time. Oh, I don't know. Lots of reasons, I guess. But it looks pretty clear this morning. So I'm going to head back on the course and go check in with the Event Director and let her know the good news. Looks a bit rainy out this morning. I'd be taking it easy on the course just because there's a little bit of water around. But the fast guys who are here, well, they just keep going anyway. This is the course where last week the Australian parkrun record was broken with a blistering time of, I believe, 14 minutes and 2 seconds, which is pretty awesome. Anyway, that's all from me from now. I'll go head back to the course, check in, and then I'll go do parkrun. Okay, I'm out on Kedron course and I'm just walking with Steve at the moment. Say hi to everyone, Steve.

00:17:58Unidentified speaker: How are you, everyone?

00:18:00Tracey Wood: Kedron course, as I've said, is a nice out-and-back course. I believe Toolern Creek is the same. It's a lovely flat course and good for running, isn't it, Steve?

00:18:09Unidentified speaker: I say it's running and it keeps you running a lot. And you run very, like, normal pace when you're running and jogging too. And you... Try one very hard, too. Awesome.

00:18:25Tracey Wood: Good work, Steve. Okay, I'm with Bronwyn, who's the Run Director this morning and also ambassador for Kedron parkrun. How did it all go, Bronwyn? Fairly smoothly this morning. We had a lot of great people who turned up despite that it looked like it was about to rain. So actually a really nice, friendly atmosphere to have here at Kedron this morning. Excellent. And can I ask, any parkrun records broken this morning? No. Not this week. My special guest appearance last week scored the record. But no, lots of people doing PBs though this morning, which is great. How was it last week when you saw him flying home and you looked at the clock and went, oh boy.

00:19:05Melissa Ellis: We were like, oh, my goodness, what time is this? And then I'm frantically Googling on the website for parkrun. Is this the record? Is it not? Oh, my goodness, it is. Oh, wow. It was a really exciting atmosphere here last week.

00:19:19Tracey Wood: Yeah, I bet. This is a lovely out-and-back course. Very much like Toolern Creek, I've heard. Lovely out-and-back course. It's been a great morning. Oh, I see you're required elsewhere, so thanks for talking to us.

00:19:30Unidentified speaker: I'll let you go.

00:19:31Tracey Wood: And that was Kedron parkrun. Thanks to everyone. Great morning out. I'm just heading up for a coffee at the local cafe up here, which is very nice and handy. A shout out to everyone at Toolern Creek this morning who haven't been getting as much love as Shellharbour lately. So hi to everyone. And just by the way, the stats for this week, the SPF was a consistent 13 and Paul Toolern Creek was only one. So hoping they'll get a bit more love this week. That's all from me. Toodles from Tracey. See you on the B-side.

Roving report Tony O'Connell — Inverloch

00:20:04Tony O'Connell: Howdy, parkrunners. It's Toc from Inverloch coming to you from the sunny stump at Inverloch where we're celebrating Inverloch's 313th event and the welcome return to parkrun in Victoria. And I'd just like to say a big shout-out to the Bell family who are volunteering today at Toolern Creek. Well done, guys. Catch you later. Toc out.

Roving report Alison King — Puaranga parkrun in Rotorua, New Zealand

00:20:25Alison Fraser (King): G'day parkrunners, it's Alison King here reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew from Puarenga parkrun in Rotorua, New Zealand. Just wanted to let everyone know that this weekend we celebrated our fifth birthday and it was an awesome event with 90 parkrunners and an amazing cake made by one of our volunteers, Megan, and her husband, Russell, who did the decorating. And so not only did we celebrate our fifth birthday this weekend, but it was also National Volunteer Week in New Zealand. So a huge shout out to everyone who has volunteered at a parkrun, especially in New Zealand. We had, I think, over 300 volunteers this week and across all the events. And we absolutely love it when people put their hand up to volunteer because it makes our job as Run Directors so much easier. And volunteering is heaps of fun. So this week and I was the run Report Writer. So you can have a read of that over on the Puarenga parkrun website. And I'd also like to give a huge shout out to our friends over at Toolern Creek parkrun over in Melbourne. So welcome back this week, Toolern Creek. Have an awesome week, everyone, and I'll see you next week.

Roving report Nadine Crawford — Fair Park Reserve

00:21:36Nadine: Good morning, parkrunners, and welcome back, Victoria. I hope you all had a wonderful parkrun morning. It's Nadine here. We went to Fair Park Reserve. We didn't quite get to Toolern Creek this week, although it is on the list. I hope you all enjoyed your morning and that you've all got Toolern Creek parkrun on your list to visit soon. Have a great Saturday.

Roving report Greta

00:22:00Grette Wilkinson: Hey, parkrun adventurers, it's Grette here. Long time no hear. Look, while I've got you, I just wanted to do a shout-out to all the parkrunners from Toolern Creek.

Roving report Lyndell Murray — New Farm parkrun

00:22:09Lyndell Murray: All righty, parkrun adventurers, it is Lyndell here, and I am checking in this morning close to home at New Farm parkrun. Now, I've stayed close from home. There's a lot going on around Australia at the moment, and with all the border restrictions, unfortunately, I couldn't get down to Toolern Creek to, you know, visit there this week. So, yeah, no new event for me this week. So instead, I've come to New Farm Park to up my P-index, It's still a work in progress, no new number today, but staying close to home, here I am. No time for a full roving report, but it's been a while, so I thought I'd check in to say g'day, see how everyone's going. And that's it from me. I'll speak to you next time on the parkrun adventurers.

Roving report Mark Scarborough — Wagyu Bridge

00:22:54Mark Scarborough: Hello parkrun adventurers, this is Mark reporting in for the Channel 5 news crew from Wagi Bridge. Now we're about to head off on another Australian adventure where we're going to check out other parkrun courses as we travel around. One of the things that we like to do as we're travelling around visiting other parkruns is try and tick off those key things within the parkrun challenges apps. And one of the ones that we're trying to work through at the moment is the alphabet challenge. So I thought, well, why don't today we have a chat about the alphabet challenge and choose a random letter to talk about. So let's use our alphabet spinner and see what random letter is selected and have a chat about that.

00:23:29[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:23:41Mark Scarborough: with the letter T. So let's have a look at the parkrun courses we have on option around Australia. Let's start with the letter T. So if you were in ACT like myself, we've only got the one choice, and that's Tuggeranong. Now, in New South Wales, we have a few more choices. We've got Taree, Ted Scobie Oval, The Beaches, The Entrance, The Ponds, The Terrace, and Tamworth. If we move further north and go into Queensland, we've got Tamborine Mountain, Tannum Sands, Toowoomba and TYTO Wetlands. Now over in Western Australia, and we've only got the one option there, Tamworth Wetlands. And then in South Australia, we have Thorndon Juniors, available to the junior parkrunners only. And then for the adult parkrunners, the Avenues and Torrens. And then further east into Victoria, we've got Timboon, Torquay, Tarragun, and Toolern Creek. So today has been brought to you by the letter T, and I'll be talking to you soon on the parkrun adventurers as we adventure around Australia.

Roving report Paul Kitching — Mount Barker

00:24:53Paul Kitching: G'day, it's PK here checking in for another roving report for the Awesome parkrun adventurers podcast. I am checking in from South Australia for my home parkrun, which I haven't done for a while, here at Mount Barker. You might be able to hear the distant drums in the background. Can you hear the drums, Fernando? And anybody else listening? Yes, it is great to be here. Oops, sorry, just watch out. I just nearly bumped into a bollard. Gosh, it's almost like I'm at Toolern Creek. A few bollards here, like I believe there are bollards at Toolern Creek anyway. Would love to get there one day. I hear Toolern Creek is awesome. Anyway, yeah, it's a beautiful brisk morning up here at Mount Barker and looking forward to chatting to a few of the legends here and checking in. Alrighty, let's go and find some. Okay, we are at the end of parkrun. I'm not sure if you could hear the drums before. I could hear them. Let's get a little bit closer to them. I'm sure you can hear them now because here's PB, Paul Butler, playing the drums at the end. How are you, mate? Yeah, really good. Awesome, mate. Yeah, great, mate. How was your parkrun today? Fantastic, yeah. Beautiful out there?

00:25:06[music]

00:25:46[music]

00:25:58Paul Butler: Yeah, it was funny. During the week, you know how on Facebook you get those memories pop up? Yes. And I had one where it popped up, and it was around this time of the year, and I had the caption, doesn't get any colder than this, because it was the hockey fields out here. Oh, yes. And they got covered in ice. Yes, of course. Really, really frosty mornings. Yes. You know, it felt like minus two or something like that. You know what it reminded me of? You know that parkrun? There's one in Victoria called Toolern parkrun.

00:26:19Paul Kitching: Oh, Toolern.

00:26:19Paul Butler: I've heard of Toolern. Yeah. It's very similar because you run out. It's out and back. You run past the hockey field. Ah, yes. And the time that I went there, coincidentally, was winter. And it was icy. Wow, mate. And as I ran past, I thought, oh, this is just like being back at Toolern. One of my absolute favourite parkruns.

00:26:34Paul Kitching: There you go, mate. Fantastic, mate. No, it's great to hear, mate. I was only thinking about Toolern myself just before, so it's amazing that you've thought about it as well, mate. I'll let you go and keep banging out the drums. Will do. Good on you, mate. Enjoy. Thank you for your support. Good on you, mate. Enjoy. What a legend he is. Alrighty then, I thought I'd finish up by just checking in with someone who's done a milestone today. G'day Kim, how are you?

00:26:57Kim: I'm good, thank you. How are you going?

00:26:58Paul Kitching: Yeah, I'm good mate. You did your 200th today.

00:27:02Kim: Yeah, the big two tonne. Very proud, very pleased to have got this far.

00:27:05Paul Kitching: Well done. And you've done, where have you done most of your parkruns?

00:27:08Kim: It is Mount Barker. It is Mount Barker, it is home. And a few other local ones, Strathalbyn, the new one at Kuitpo Forest.

00:27:15Paul Kitching: Yeah, that looks amazing.

00:27:16Kim: Do that one. Yeah, that looks fantastic. And I've got a number of others that I may move on.

00:27:20Paul Kitching: Awesome. And a beautiful day, of course. Well, a bit brisk, but, you know, lovely to be out here. Stunning. And just quickly, where, so you're 250. Obviously, that's the big one. Yeah. Do you have any ideas as to where you might do that?

00:27:32Kim: Well, I've got a, it's a bit of a long list because there's so many to do. But I have to say, the one I'm aiming for and the one that's top, that's number one, is Toolern Creek. Toolern Creek. Toolern Creek is on the bucket list.

00:27:43Paul Kitching: Wow, everyone seems to be talking about this place. Yeah, yeah. Fantastic. Well, good on you. I hope you get out there and do your 250.

00:27:48Kim: I will do. I'll keep going.

00:27:49Paul Kitching: Awesome. Good on you, Kim. Love your work. Thank you, mate. Cheers. Good on you. There you go. That was Kim doing a 200. Going to do a 250 at Toolern Creek. Far out. Sounds like I need to get out there myself. All righty. That's me checking in, checking out. Have a good one. See ya.

00:28:04[16 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:28:19Oliver Spake: So, Mel, we had a lot of roving reports there and coming in from many of the team and, look, a whole lot of love for Toolern Creek parkrun.

00:28:30Melissa Ellis: There was, Ollie, quite unusually so, a lot of reference to Toolern Creek, which I appreciate.

00:28:39Oliver Spake: Yeah, I'm just curious. Did any of the listeners pick that, the roving reports? Did anyone pick the common theme there?

00:28:44Melissa Ellis: It was very subtle. Okay.

00:28:46Oliver Spake: So I'm sure what many of the listeners will appreciate is that your co-host is rather single-focused when it comes to describing parkruns and my experiences at parkruns. So it's nice to see a balancing of the ledger because, you know, look, Mel, you might love your local parkrun, but you're an adventurer. So it's love from a distance.

00:29:11Melissa Ellis: Well, it is, Ollie. I do love to travel and I do love to seek out adventures, but I also am very fond of my local parkrun. And I thought that I should profile it a little bit and give the listeners a little bit more of insight into Toolern Creek, if you could indulge me.

00:29:30Oliver Spake: I would love to, as you do every week with me. Thank you. Okay.

00:29:34Melissa Ellis: Well, I did reach out to previous Event Directors of Toolern Creek parkrun, being Mark Porritt, who's quite well known down in Victoria. He was the founding Event Director of Toolern Creek. And I asked him to let me know a little bit of the history of Toolern Creek and how it came to be. And this is what he told me. Back in 2014, there were a handful of us that regularly made the trip to Point Cook every week. After a while, we got sick of it, so we started to investigate the possibility of an event closer to home. I first made contact with the Melton Council in May of 2014, and unsurprisingly, they'd never heard of parkrun. It was around the same time that I contacted parkrun to start the process. When I contacted both Council and parkrun we already had the course in mind as there were very few options to cover five kilometres without multiple loops. It also helped that the potential course was in a relatively unknown area still yet to be developed at the time so Council was happy to support it. While the support was there we still had to wait for the next round of funding to commence. We were successful in obtaining a grant in October of 2014, and from there things moved reasonably quickly. Back then there were no parkrun EAs, so we were fortunate to have Scott Trickett. Oh, Ollie, I think we know who that is.

00:31:02[laughter]

00:31:02Unidentified speaker: LAUGHTER

00:31:04Melissa Ellis: We were fortunate to have Scott Trickett attend one of our trial runs to give the parkrun seal of approval. Prior to that, the only course approval we had was via video of the course taken by me on a push bike. We launched in February 2015 and were the 13th event in Victoria at the time. It was forecast to be in the high 30s and as the ED, I was convinced that nobody would turn up. But as it turned out, we had 212 finishes, which was the record Victorian launch at the time.

00:31:37Oliver Spake: Which is pretty impressive. I think going back to parkruns of that vintage, what an excellent turnout. And I find it really interesting having never been involved myself in the launch and setup of a parkrun. Just to hear about some of the techniques there. I like in particular the use of the video camera on the bicycle.

00:32:00Melissa Ellis: I know. Yeah. Yeah, and back then, no event ambassadors, so they were just working pretty organically.

00:32:08Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. Much more grassroots, I suppose. Not that it's not today, naturally, but... Yeah, I think it's a lovely insight and the event being set up before much of it surrounds, as I understand there, shows, I think, a great level of support. You know, it's that build it and they will come, right, Mel?

00:32:30Melissa Ellis: Yeah, and Ollie, I can say, so early days I did have the pleasure of coming out and doing Toolern Creek parkrun when it was still in its early days where you just pulled up on the side of a gravel road and walked along a track and where they started under the gum tree yep basically just started randomly under a gum tree and you ran out 2.5 k's and back and that was it then there was no infrastructure but since you know we're we're in a growing area out here we're in a new estates growing um well are you are you beyond the reach of the suburbs of Melbourne still is it fair to say that So, Melton was always a satellite city.

00:33:18Oliver Spake: I see.

00:33:20Melissa Ellis: But it's now being enveloped in that Melbourne Metro so that during this lockdown, Melton was actually considered Melbourne Metro, whereas previously we would have been a little country town.

00:33:31Oliver Spake: All in the timing, yes.

00:33:33Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so in any case, with the infrastructure that's happening and with the booming population in the City of Melton, yeah, so there's a new sports precinct in the area. So where Toolern Creek parkrun previously started, they've created an athletics track, there is hockey fields and there's infrastructure for a lot more to go on in the future.

00:34:00Oliver Spake: And we heard about the hockey fields too, the roving reports.

00:34:02Melissa Ellis: Yeah, we did. And the bollards.

00:34:05Oliver Spake: And the bollards, yes.

00:34:06Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:34:07Oliver Spake: And Mel, so it's one of the path parkruns, so concrete path the whole way?

00:34:12Melissa Ellis: It is, yes. It's two and a half kilometres out and back.

00:34:16Oliver Spake: Okay.

00:34:16Melissa Ellis: And probably at the two kilometre mark, it's worth mentioning you can stop and pause and wave at Alice Pell's parkrun.

00:34:25Oliver Spake: Well, that's right. It's probably been the most waved-out parkrun over the last year. Is it an undulating parkrun at all?

00:34:33Melissa Ellis: It's relatively flat. Okay, yeah. The undulations are not as remarkable as such parkruns as, say... Wagyu Bridge. And look, it's a small community. They probably average around the 80 participants a week, which is quite a... Yeah, more of a modest size, isn't it?

00:34:56Oliver Spake: A more intimate parkrun, which genuinely are some of the nicer experiences you can have. Not that I've had many adventures to rural or regional areas yet, but naturally hearing a lot of people's experiences travelling to smaller parkruns, you do get to feel that level of comfort, generally inclusiveness and a chance to kind of have a conversation with a few people where the bigger numbers can sometimes be a bit more like a real event. Yeah. Nice in its own way.

00:35:28Melissa Ellis: And supported very strongly by the local running club, which is the Melton City Runners, otherwise known as MCR, very well known in the area. Yeah.

00:35:37Oliver Spake: Oh, that's good. Yeah, well done to the community there. That's clearly given the parkrunner a nice long lease of life already and hopefully many more years to come. So, Mel, I must say, even though it has flown under the radar for myself, I am looking forward to visiting Toolern Creek sometime.

00:35:58Melissa Ellis: Oh, thank you, Ollie. We look forward to having you.

00:36:02Oliver Spake: Yeah, when I'm allowed out, of course.

00:36:04Melissa Ellis: Oh, true.

00:36:05Oliver Spake: Yeah. So thank you, everyone, for your roving reports.

Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"

00:36:09Oliver Spake: And, Mel, worthwhile mentioning as well, happy birthday, Puarenga. Yes. Because it was Puarenga parkrun's birthday in there and National Volunteer Week in New Zealand. So a huge shout out to all of our Kiwi volunteers. Thank you. And I think not lost in the fact that there was great discussion about this Victorian parkrun is that welcome back to all of the Victorian parkruns. But, yeah, so nice to hear from everyone.

00:36:36Melissa Ellis: Definitely, yes.

Dazza's

00:36:37Melissa Ellis: And, Ollie, we've got a plethora of reports coming in from Dazza's Cafe this week.

00:36:44Oliver Spake: We have. So first in the cafe, with a stack of pancakes, please, Dazza, was Ingrid Botha. So Ingrid said, ''A stack of pancakes, please, Dazza, before a leisurely not-parkrun later today. Look, I did enjoy the sleep-in, but if Sydney could please get back under control soon, that would be great.'' I'm on run number 96 and would like to earn my black T-shirt soon. And, of course, Ingrid's referring to the fact that Doll's Point was one of the cancellations last Saturday. And, of course, the context being that restrictions have tightened since then. Ingrid, hang in there.

00:37:22Melissa Ellis: And Claire Statchbury, no bird but a bee course for our 88th different event at Nambour. Can guarantee it is a tough workout.

00:37:33Oliver Spake: How about that elevation profile?

00:37:36Melissa Ellis: I know. Claire shared her elevation profile in the post at Dazza's.

00:37:43Oliver Spake: And Alison King, who we heard from just before. Shout out to Russell and Megan at Puarenga parkrun. Megan baked and Russell decorated our birthday cake. It's a map of our course for those yet to visit.

00:37:56Melissa Ellis: Yeah, well done, Megan.

00:37:58Oliver Spake: It was a pretty big one too.

00:38:00Melissa Ellis: Yeah, it was impressive.

00:38:01Oliver Spake: And well represented.

00:38:03Melissa Ellis: And Brett Bailey ran Pegasus 250th with Brunner. 245 parkrunners. Coffee and sausage roll, 6 out of 10 at the flat white. Excellent. Congratulations, Pegasus.

00:38:17Oliver Spake: Yes. And look moderate to strong. Do we call that strong? 6 out of 10?

00:38:23Melissa Ellis: I'd say so, yeah. Yeah, it's a winner.

00:38:25Oliver Spake: Bernadette Bennett. Taree with a surprisingly comfortable temperature this morning. Was that over 20? Following the rules, re-masks before and after. Hopefully a stack of pancakes to come, please. And did notice the zebra mask there.

00:38:43Melissa Ellis: Yes, very fitting. And Bruce Purdy, I'm always amazed at the things parkrun adventuring has taught me and I wonder what Mary MacKillop's best five kilometre time would be.

00:38:55Oliver Spake: Well, I was wondering there, Mel, I have to admit, whether you could possibly estimate that and just extrapolate maybe everyone with the surname MacKillop and come up with a statistical example or maybe... track parkrun times back. I know they don't go back to 1890, but surely there's a way we can... We can make the stats work in our favour.

00:39:18Melissa Ellis: Yeah, let's ask one of our informants.

00:39:21Oliver Spake: Yes. Got them all to choose from.

00:39:24Melissa Ellis: Multiple.

00:39:25Oliver Spake: Well, no, actually, I need to talk to you. I had a big, long conversation with HR, but that's for another time.

00:39:30Melissa Ellis: Okay.

00:39:31Oliver Spake: Thanks, Mel. Tracey Wood. Hi, team. It was a bit grey at Kedron this morning, but there were still smiles all round. And yet there were.

00:39:40Melissa Ellis: Oh, that's good. And Chris Fraser, 9am, just getting out of bed after a first sleep in at the new house. Now to investigate where is the nearest bakery not done yet. Hashtag stay at home, hashtag not lockdown. And Chris has coined the sausage roll mile, Ollie.

00:40:02Oliver Spake: Yeah. So look, maybe this is a new lockdown activity for some of us. I'm pretty sure I could incorporate a mile into eating a sausage roll. In fact, this might be the motivation I need. So thank you, Chris. But yes, yes, maybe that hashtag will change next week. Tanya Bailey, Barcode Scanner today for our 250th parkrun at Pegasus. We had 245 parkrunners, a variety of barkrunners and 18 volunteers. I made a tin of number five cookies as it was our fifth birthday too. And the Bailey Bickies strike again, Mel.

00:40:38Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so just like Rebecca, who's quite handy at offering baked goods at Shellharbour, Tanya is doing the same at Pegasus.

00:40:48Oliver Spake: That's right. Always good to have a shot of Baileys around, huh?

00:40:52Melissa Ellis: Yeah, we need that shot.

00:40:53Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:40:54Melissa Ellis: And surprisingly, Rebecca Bailey, first timers briefing at a run at Shellharbour this morning, off to find some brekkie now and to maybe plan some upcoming tourist runs. And so it sounds like Bec's got some plans afoot.

00:41:09Oliver Spake: Yes, hopefully.

00:41:11Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah.

00:41:12Oliver Spake: And next up, our very own Melissa Ellis. Avvo smash. Hold the bread. Yummy brekkie at Jolly Miller's with fellow tourists, Helen and Steve. Uncomfortable limp run today at Happy Hill. My own fault. Still rather a limp run with friends to being in lockdown. So Mel, I wanted to include that. That had to be included because those brekkies warranted that.

00:41:34Melissa Ellis: Well, yes, I usually avoid including my own report in the pod.

00:41:40Oliver Spake: And, yeah, I'm clearly regretting the Vegemite toast I had for breakfast today.

00:41:44Melissa Ellis: But it was nice to spend the morning with Helen and Steve. And, yeah, I did have a limp run because of my dodgy hip. Oh, and me. Sorry. Chantelle Hosking, keeping time at Laylaw. Thankfully, the rain held off during parkrun. So Chantelle was Timekeeper there at Laylaw. Thank you for volunteering, Chantelle.

00:42:06Oliver Spake: Yes, big thank you. And, oh, there we are, Hannah Newton. Staying warm on a cold day, lovely parkrun walk at Shellharbour. And Han, Han, Hanny, there we are, Hanny.

00:42:22Melissa Ellis: Hey.

00:42:22Oliver Spake: Hanny. She'll love that. Aw. Hanny shared a picture of her and. Forever Hanny. Yeah. And her nonna, Galen.

00:42:33Melissa Ellis: Honey and Granny?

00:42:34Oliver Spake: Nah, it's nonna. Always nonna. Yes, doing their best husky impressions with their jackets.

00:42:41Melissa Ellis: They looked very, very warm, I will say.

00:42:45Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:42:45Melissa Ellis: And Greg Garner attended Wandai parkrun's 200th event as part of the Wandai Wandai Country Festival and Running Festival.

00:42:54Oliver Spake: Yeah. Well done, Greg, on a good effort on the trails there. And Mel also noted congratulations to Eman. I believe he came first in the half marathon there too.

00:43:04Melissa Ellis: Wow.

00:43:05Oliver Spake: So, yeah.

00:43:06Melissa Ellis: We'll claim him.

00:43:08Oliver Spake: That's it. Yeah, we'll claim both of them, that's for sure.

00:43:10Melissa Ellis: parkrun adventurers own Eman.

00:43:12Oliver Spake: Yep, yep. And Annie Holmert, I was RD at Highlands today. Welcome back, Highlands, and thank you for volunteering too, Annie.

00:43:23Melissa Ellis: And Sam Schroder, such a happy day. Yes, I'm in a volley vest. Yes, I volunteered today. But I was Tail Walker and I got to scan my barcode for the first time in 12 weeks. Oh, happy day. Well done, Sam.

00:43:38Oliver Spake: And Judy Franklin, Tail Walker at Laylaw for my 30th volunteer. And welcome back, Laylaw. And thanks for volunteering, Judy.

00:43:47Melissa Ellis: and Val Warwick, the old fella. I can call Steve that as I'm only three months younger. And I volunteered at Launceston this morning in fog. It really only got cold as today's walk, jog, run finished. Mind you, Steve, as token giving out, was with the timers up on the flood levy bank, so they probably would not agree with the three of us barcode beauties who were down in the shelter of UTAS Stadium, the Tasmanian home of the Hawks. Not a shamrock in sight nor a group gathering for coffee, so we just enjoyed that together afterwards as we walked back to our accommodation. For those who know Lonnie, you may know that the road rose as we walked, but fortunately did not rise up to meet us.

00:44:35Oliver Spake: And what did Val add there? She said, that's about as Irish as I could make this drop into Dazza's today. Good effort. Good effort, Val.

00:44:43Melissa Ellis: Oh, definitely.

00:44:44Oliver Spake: And Adelina Trott. Long-awaited milestone celebration after many pauses in Victoria. To finally run my 250 parkrun at Westerfolds. Post-run celebration with my Westerfoldian family enjoying granola muesli with fresh fruit and yoghurt. And a huge congratulations on your 250.

00:45:05Melissa Ellis: Little clap for Adelina.

00:45:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, long awaited.

00:45:08Melissa Ellis: I know Adelina.

00:45:09Oliver Spake: Ah.

00:45:10Melissa Ellis: Yay. And Sally Heppleston, celebrating Adelina's 250th at beautiful Westerfolds parkrun. It's so good to be back. Managed a sub 25 run too. Was close to my Westerfolds PB and 11 out of 10 morning.

00:45:27Oliver Spake: Wow.

00:45:28Melissa Ellis: Super Sal, oh my goodness.

00:45:30Oliver Spake: Wow.

00:45:31Melissa Ellis: She's just killing it at the moment. Wow.

00:45:34Oliver Spake: That's so nice to hear. I'm really enjoying hearing about all the Victorian returns there, Mel. Speaking of whom, Toc, Tony O'Connell, back at the stump to celebrate my 250 plus one with my parkrun family at Inverloch. Then latte and cheesecake at Paul the Pie Man's. Hashtag love parkrun.

00:45:54Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes. And, Ollie, we've got a correction from last week where we read out...

00:46:04Oliver Spake: A barcode?

00:46:04Melissa Ellis: Yeah, Tony's barcode. Well, we read out Tony's stats. However, we had his parkrun barcode number wrong. His barcode number is, in fact, a 772279. Oh.

00:46:20Oliver Spake: Just a trick for new players.

00:46:22Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes. Now, Andrew Turner, back at Maribyrnong for the return post-lockdown and managed a PB. That was followed by a shot of Pfizer. Nice mix. Nice mix. Oh, it's the best shot you can get.

00:46:35Oliver Spake: I reckon. And welcome back, Maribyrnong. Sonja Pohlman. So there was a photo here, and if you haven't seen it, head on to the parkrun adventurers page just so you can have the feels because Sonja said, those feels when you forget your barcode and you are on 248 runs. And, yeah, so that photo shared was of a young Pohlman staring, I don't know, maybe despondently out to sea, wondering just what could have been.

00:47:07Melissa Ellis: Either P3 or P4, I'm not sure which one. And Mark Scarborough, Run Director at Wagger Bridge Today. Eggs Benedict at Stonehouse for breakfast afterwards.

00:47:20Oliver Spake: And Janet Reid, being a parkrun tourist this week with my fellow EAs here in SA. We were at Steppenheath parkrun where I filled the delightful role of First Timers Welcome. Lots of muddy puddles to navigate, then off for a bacon and egg toasty with a skinny flat white. And the Purple Gang were back, clearly. Yes, they were. Excellent. Good to see. Thank you, everyone. Nice to have a bit of company at Dazza's there.

00:47:50Melissa Ellis: Absolutely. And nothing much left now, Ollie, than to throw over to our informant. Whoever knows who it'll be this week. LAUGHTER

00:48:00[laughter]

00:48:02Oliver Spake: So we believe it's the informant the second.

00:48:04Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:48:05Oliver Spake: Because the name has been decided.

00:48:08Melissa Ellis: It has?

00:48:09Oliver Spake: Well, I think our intern has... Has read up on the rules around internships and HR does advise me in the many discussions we've had this week. Thanks for the heads up, by the way. Yeah, HR has advised me that you can only be an intern for so long before you must be made permanent.

00:48:29Melissa Ellis: Right.

00:48:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah.

00:48:32Melissa Ellis: So she's taken on the informant role, therefore she is now the informant.

00:48:37Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah, so what was is no longer and what is is now to be.

00:48:44Melissa Ellis: Thank you.

00:48:44Oliver Spake: On that note, let's go to something that will make a little more sense.

the Informant

00:48:48The Informant: Hello, parkies. This is The Informant. Coming to you live from Level 2 with a view. Well, it's only a view of the shady deals going down in the back alley, but at least I no longer have to share a kitchen with old Rumblebum. Thanks, Ollie. These are unofficial stats. They're only current at the time they're collected and may differ from the stats you read elsewhere, but why would you? This week we welcome back Northern Ireland with 28 events. Oh, sorry, that wasn't me. I'm just the narrator. We also welcome back from COVID exile 87 events in Victoria. We had a total of 382 in Australia and 28 in New Zealand. Elsewhere in the world we had 7 in Denmark, 23 events in Japan, 71 in Poland, 65 in Russia, 28 in South Africa, 28 in the USA and 5 in other UK territories. That's a total of 665 events worldwide, which is a huge post-COVID record. up 111 on last week. That includes one launch at Magnitogorsk Eco Park in Russia. With the return of Victoria, Aussie New Zealand attendance is up with an extra 2,790 runners taking part. Our total was 32,709 out of 46,132 worldwide. We had 3,843 PBs, while 879 people participated for the first time. Is that the same as last week? Spooky. 82 juniors reached the Junior 10 milestone, 166 people reached their 50 milestone, 115 reached their 100 milestone, and 24 people reached their 250 milestone. 20 people called bingo. Glennis Frizzell was the quickest with 159 events. David Legg was the slowest person, taking 341 events. We had seven new ACT Territorians in Georgia Elliott, Ben Clancy, Kripa Anthony, Matthew Beale, Siobhan Trim, Kathleen Wellington and Matthew Lockhurst. In New Zealand, Andy Mears completed all the South Island events at Dunedin. On the top 20 most Aussie New Zealand events list, Robin Wishworth moved to equal 13th after running Narromine Wetlands. The biggest winners on the overall most events list were Marilyn and Bradley McCann, Dave Blakey, David Cliff, Brent Radoslavich, who all moved up 11th to 226th. On the other side of the ledger, there were five people who dropped five places. 37 people increased their wing decks. There were three big moves this week. Bridget Hewardson-Bevis moved up 41 to 112. Mark Hibbard moved up 46 to be 59. Ed Wilson is the biggest mover up 48 to be on 69. Woo! All three of them moved up into the top ten of their respective states. Ed is sixth in Victoria, Mark is fifth in New South Wales, and Bridget is fifth in Queensland. To see these stats in full, visit www.theinformer.me or follow The Informant on Facebook. And something about a spreadsheet that might not be the smallest going around. That's it from me. Stay safe, wear a mask if you should do, log a (not)parkrun if you need to, and we'll bang on again about the numbers next week. This has been The Informant, and my stats report is totally awesome!

00:52:36Oliver Spake: Thank you to our informant. And, Mel, speaking of stats and maybe a little away from stats, challenges. I understand there are some suggestions of some Victorian challenges.

00:52:50Melissa Ellis: There are, Ollie. We've got some interest out west in Victoria for a couple of new clubs. So I would like, if you would indulge me, to let you know of such clubs?

00:53:04Oliver Spake: I've been looking forward to it, absolutely.

00:53:07Melissa Ellis: Well, the first one is the Gold Miner Challenge. So this encompasses seven events that are in what would be known as the Goldfields area of Western Victoria. And the events are Ararat, Ballarat, Wallaby Track, Goldfields Reservoir, Castlemaine, Bendigo and Kennington Reservoir. Now, please ignore the chihuahua. Tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap.

00:53:42Oliver Spake: It's like you're working against the clock there. So that's the gold miner challenge. Okay.

00:53:51Melissa Ellis: Anyway, he's in his bed now, so it should be good. Anyway, so yes, so that is the potential gold miner challenge. So our listeners might like to let us know what they think about those seven events to be part of that potential club.

00:54:09Oliver Spake: Oh, look, and I'd encourage everyone, get on board. Tell us, who's in the club already? Who's a gold miner?

00:54:15Melissa Ellis: Oh, well, me.

00:54:17Oliver Spake: Yep. I should have realised that, yes.

00:54:22Melissa Ellis: Okay, so the second one, we're still sort of tossing around a name for this one, but our idea at the moment is the Western Wanderers. Now, this encompasses 10 events, and it was suggested by Adrian Hillyer, who is the ED at Peppertree parkrun. And the 10 events out west to be a member of this club slash challenge are You Yangs, Wyndham Vale, Point Cook, Altona Beach, Newport Lakes, Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Sunbury, Peppertree and Toolern Creek. You might have heard of that last one before.

00:55:06Oliver Spake: Ah, not enough.

00:55:09Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so there's a couple of little challenge slash clubs for the parkrun community out west of Melbourne to embrace. Yes. The Gold Miner Challenge and the Western Wanderers.

00:55:22Oliver Spake: I think it's a great idea. It's good to see the regions coming together in such a way and who doesn't love a new challenge or a new club?

00:55:31Melissa Ellis: I know.

00:55:32Oliver Spake: Evidenced by the Sausage Roll Club, clearly.

00:55:36Melissa Ellis: It didn't take off, Ollie. No.

00:55:39Oliver Spake: No. People just didn't embrace it. About a three out of ten, that one. Way too flaky.

00:55:45Melissa Ellis: I am determined to get a club, to get something off the ground. I will not stop until I achieve such things.

00:55:53Oliver Spake: Ah, would you say to me like striking gold?

00:55:57Melissa Ellis: Yes, yes, yes. Like a gold miner.

00:56:01Oliver Spake: Like a gold miner. No, two impressive ideas. Credit to Adrian as well. Well done.

00:56:06Melissa Ellis: And I think Bruce Purdy might have had a little bit of input as well.

00:56:09Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, well done, Bruce.

00:56:11Melissa Ellis: Friend of the podcast. Yes. And fellow dirty cheater. Bruce and I may be the only dirty cheaters to run next week. Who knows?

00:56:19Oliver Spake: Yeah, true, true that. That's a lot of jumping you'll be responsible for.

00:56:25Melissa Ellis: Oh, hadn't thought of that. Lucky I've been practising.

00:56:28Oliver Spake: That's right. And, Mel, look, I suppose just to say I look forward to kicking off my Western Wanderers efforts one day before too long, hopefully, at Toolern Creek.

00:56:39Melissa Ellis: Oh, we will welcome you at Toolern Creek.

00:56:42Oliver Spake: At Toolern Creek. Longest run.

00:56:45Melissa Ellis: Longest run.

00:56:46Oliver Spake: And Mel, look, you did just offline recently call out that we missed one.

00:56:53Melissa Ellis: We did. Whoops. We did, Ollie. Yes. There was a last minute, unbeknownst to us, longest run that was formulated in South Brisbane. Yes.

00:57:06Oliver Spake: That's right. And, you know, I don't wish to point fingers when it comes to mistakes in the podcast, but clearly, you know, we have to let these things slide now that some are no longer with us. Say no more. But... Well done to the South Brisbane team. Well done. It looked like a pretty impressive line-up there, Mel. If I'm not mistaken, was it Lota, Wynnum, Minnippi, Mansfield, Wishart, Capalaba and Cleveland. So, no, nice set-up there. And then just this parkrun, well, this junior parkrun day, of course, but this longest run day just gone, South Australia really hit their straps.

00:57:49Melissa Ellis: Yes, there was a lot going on over there in South Australia. It looks like fun.

00:57:55Oliver Spake: Yeah, so I'm not going to try and read out all of the events there because it looked like it was almost all of the events there. Great coordination with three streams but coming together, as I understand it, there for Pakapakanthi and Torrens and what a way to do it.

00:58:12Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I was a little bit sad I couldn't get over there, Ollie, but that's just the nature of things in this current situation.

00:58:21Oliver Spake: That's right. Look, well done to everyone that took part in that. The pictures looked like it was a fun time and no doubt some of you might be hurting hopefully no longer after that. But, yeah, there's always next year, we hope. and more opportunities like that. I think if the memory doesn't drift too far off into the distant past by this time next year, we'll all be planning as many longest runs as possible, right?

00:58:47Melissa Ellis: Will you tour next year, Ollie? Are you tempted for anything?

00:58:52Oliver Spake: Yeah, I'm tempted, but particularly love how it's been spread out. I mean, I like, you know, having it on the public holiday, having it on the longest, you know, closest to the longest day. That's great. But this opportunity to spread it out, I think, you know, it's a great way to do it and provides the opportunity and look for anyone that can travel. And I'm I suppose not sure if anyone can in the current conditions. But next up is Perth. So, hey, everyone over for Longest Run Perth, we hope you have a great Longest Run day. Not too far now, Mel, hopefully for the Victorians either.

00:59:28Melissa Ellis: Yep, only a couple of weeks away, Victoria's reschedule events, and I guess I'll jump in with some friends and have another fun day.

00:59:38Oliver Spake: Yeah, it will be a fun day, I'm sure.

00:59:41Melissa Ellis: Well, we make it fun, Ollie, because, you know, running around with your friends on a Sunday afternoon, I mean, what's not fun about that? Adding a few tutus and maybe a bottle of bubbly at the end. I'm abby.

00:59:56Oliver Spake: Is the duck going to come?

00:59:58Melissa Ellis: Ooh. That's a good point. Yes. Yes, I think so. There we are. Yes.

01:00:04Oliver Spake: Yeah.

01:00:05Melissa Ellis: The duck's got to be named, I think.

01:00:07Oliver Spake: Oh, okay.

01:00:08Melissa Ellis: We might have to have a competition or something. Name the duck.

01:00:14Oliver Spake: Like a name for the duck. Yep.

01:00:16Melissa Ellis: Mm-hmm.

01:00:16Oliver Spake: Yep.

01:00:17Melissa Ellis: But definitely, potentially, as long as I don't lose him slash her on said events, I'm happy to bring the duck.

01:00:26Oliver Spake: Excellent. Also, speaking of things coming up, I realised, Mel, we probably haven't mentioned in a couple of weeks that it's now only a few weeks away to the Ugly Christmas in July date, 24th of July. Yes.

01:00:43Melissa Ellis: Yes, Ollie, you are correct.

01:00:46Oliver Spake: Yes.

01:00:47Melissa Ellis: We should be pumping that up. I haven't got my ugly buffs yet in the mail.

01:00:51Oliver Spake: No, nor have I.

01:00:52Melissa Ellis: But they must be due soon.

01:00:55Oliver Spake: Very excited. And the Ugly Christmas Singlet's got a good workout in the longest runs, but certainly saving them for the day now.

01:01:02Melissa Ellis: I wonder if we're going to be still in lockdown, Ollie. I wonder if you could come, like, south and I could go north and we could kind of meet somewhere in the middle.

01:01:10Oliver Spake: Ooh, that could be fun. Yes.

01:01:12Melissa Ellis: Mm.

01:01:13Oliver Spake: All right. Well, clearly we can't plan for it, but hey, let's stay tuned. Yes. What else? Look on the calendar of events. Mel, there is another milestone a little closer to, well, today, potentially, depending on when people are listening. Who's coming back this week, Mel?

01:01:31Melissa Ellis: Oh. Ooh la la.

01:01:35Oliver Spake: Welcome back.

01:01:36Melissa Ellis: Does that give you a hint?

01:01:38Oliver Spake: Yes. Welcome back, parkrun France.

01:01:41Melissa Ellis: Woo. I've got a French flag.

01:01:44Oliver Spake: Oh, there we go.

01:01:45Melissa Ellis: We did that theme in Alice Pellis parkrun last year, so yay. Yeah. I can pull out the French flag for that. That's right. And, Ollie, oh, my gosh, they're coming back on the 3rd of July. It's not the 4th of July. Is that not like Bastille Day? Oh, no, that's the 14th.

01:02:03Oliver Spake: Yes, yes.

01:02:05Melissa Ellis: It's really close, though.

01:02:06Oliver Spake: That's right. Yes, it is very close to Bastille Day, just to get them warmed up. And I must admit, I don't think we know how many of the eight locations are coming back in week one, but very exciting to see them returning and welcome back.

01:02:23Melissa Ellis: Do we know anybody in France? Have we got any connections for those parkruns? We can work on that.

01:02:30Oliver Spake: Not sure. We'll have to get the informant onto it.

01:02:33Melissa Ellis: Okay. Not so confident.

01:02:36Unidentified speaker: Okay.

01:02:37Oliver Spake: We'll have to get someone onto it.

01:02:40Melissa Ellis: Anyway, anyway, Ollie.

Sign-off

01:02:42Oliver Spake: Yes.

01:02:42Melissa Ellis: We should mention to everybody that, as always, if you want, you can contact us via our Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com.

01:02:55Oliver Spake: Love to hear from everyone. So reach out.

01:02:58Kim: Hmm.

01:02:59Oliver Spake: Anyway, Mel, I suppose whilst we can't say with great certainty where we'll be or what we'll be up to next parkrun day.

01:03:07Melissa Ellis: Yes, Ollie, that's it for another week. So see you all next week for more adventures.

01:04:20Unidentified speaker: Mel and Ollie, juniors is back today yay I ran with Hannah and tessa I had fun and I came 12 and mum said we will be visiting Toolern Creek really soon bye