Episode 254 - Ev’ry heart beats true

Welcome

00:00:28Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 254 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. I am Ollie Spake and I'm joined by someone who has this week kept at least one eye on the red and the blue, Melissa Ellis. Mel, I imagine there are some flags flying high and hearts beating true after the grand final. Is yours one of them?

00:00:49Melissa Ellis: We're back to the winning team. Yeah. Go Dees!

00:00:54Oliver Spake: Congratulations to the Demons, yes. Absolutely.

00:00:57Melissa Ellis: No, very happy for the red and the blue to get over the line last night.

00:01:03Oliver Spake: Yeah, a little different once again. Must be very different for a Melbournian in particular to see the AFL Grand Final played elsewhere. But we live in interesting times. It'll be back.

00:01:16Melissa Ellis: Yes, over in Perth it was, I believe. It was Optus Stadium, I think. Yeah.

00:01:21Oliver Spake: I've lost track, to be honest. Yeah. Yeah. Is that the fancier one, the newer one?

00:01:26Melissa Ellis: I do not know. No.

00:01:27Oliver Spake: Okay.

00:01:28Melissa Ellis: It was round and Coliseum-ish, if that helps.

00:01:33Oliver Spake: I believe we may have a clue from Dazza's. So we'll be reminded when we get to Dazza's because there was a bit of info in there. May or may not give us the name. If not, I'm sure Cam or someone from over west will set us straight. But nonetheless, we love a good grand final. We also love a good parkrun day or not parkrun day. And how was yours, Mel?

00:01:57Melissa Ellis: It was fun. So we had the 55th running of Ellis Palace, not parkrun. And after a busy week, I decided our theme would celebrate the AFL grand final. So everything was red and blue to support the Melbourne Demons. Daryl had streamers, I painted my face red and blue and I made a small banner out of crepe paper. So the beauty of Not parkrun is its flexibility and I was able to have an early walk before heading out to the shops for lunch supplies, which were the traditional Aussie meat pies, cocktail franks and pizza, which Paul and Zoe enjoyed. I recorded my Dazza video post at the waving corner, avoided the swoopers and found a fledgling magpie who was so cute and fluffy. And the Ds won. So we backed the winner, which is always fun. But being back at work this week has been really great for me as sitting at home has not been good for my mental health. I'm a social person and I need to talk to people.

00:02:57Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:02:57Melissa Ellis: And I'm missing parkrun so, so much. I'm missing the travel. I'm missing the adventures. But most of all, I'm missing the people.

00:03:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah, because it really does, you know, connect us with a lot of people. And I would imagine, you know, you're travelling and visiting so many different communities, getting to, you know, to meet the local parkrunners and the parkrun volunteers. That's a big chunk out of your week, out of your month, out of your year that you're not getting. So, Mel? Yeah. How is work?

00:03:28Melissa Ellis: Oh, it's been a whole new experience.

00:03:31Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:03:32Melissa Ellis: All sorts of weird hours and long days. And, yeah, no, I took up a new – I was offered a position, which I don't think there's any reason I can't say. It's working for a major supermarket distribution centre doing rapid antigen testing of the whole workforce every day before they enter the premises. Wow. So it's a big task.

00:03:56Oliver Spake: I would imagine. Keeps you and I suppose keeps everyone on their toes.

00:04:00Melissa Ellis: And it's round the clock. So I very stupidly pressed accept for a shift I was offered that was 4 till 8 and it was only after I pressed accept that I realised it was 4am.

00:04:15Oliver Spake: That's a bit of a rude shock. How did you cope with the early morning?

00:04:17Melissa Ellis: It was actually, well, lucky I'm a runner and I'm used to getting up early for events because, or just even, you know, getting up to run around with plastic chickens.

00:04:28Oliver Spake: Yeah, that's true.

00:04:30Melissa Ellis: And the roads are nice and quiet because we've still got the curfew, so... There was no cars on the road at 3am, surprisingly.

00:04:37Oliver Spake: Yeah, you would have had it all to yourself.

00:04:39Melissa Ellis: I did. What about you, Ollie? How was your (not)parkrun morning?

00:04:44Oliver Spake: It was rather quiet. Not parkrun day was really just, it was a parkrun walk. I was joined by Hannah and we set off at 8am or I think as punctual as we are, it was about five past eight. And We were the equivalent of those people that rock up after the briefing and after everyone's set off and you try and contact the Tail Walkers and let them know that someone's coming along. Yeah, that was us. So it was also looking rather ominous weather-wise. It was a magnificent, you know, dark grey cloud to the south and But, yeah, the proposition of being rained on was something I was a bit too dismissive of. We tried to outwalk the rain when we realised that, no, I was completely wrong. The rain was coming our way. But we almost pulled it off. Yeah, so the usual Bass Point, not parkrun course, which was the plan, changed. We scampered in the other direction and we took the opportunity to walk around as many blocks as possible. and explore our ever-developing suburb. It had spawned another couple of empty blocks around the new marina, which opens soon. So we took the opportunity to see things from another perspective and get back after, I suppose, you know, highlight number one, which was an hour walking around and chatting with Hannah, for highlight number two, which was the coffee.

00:06:07Melissa Ellis: Excellent. Did you chronicle? I did not.

00:06:10Oliver Spake: I mean, that was a really missed opportunity, wasn't it?

00:06:12Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Sounds nice, though.

00:06:14Oliver Spake: Yeah, I've got some chronicle to do. I'm still struggling with that word, chronicling to do. So I probably have to retrace my steps, really, because that would have been it. You know, see the highlights of the Woolies delivery dock and construction fences everywhere.

Streaky September

00:06:32Melissa Ellis: But Streaky September has been a great distraction. I've really enjoyed seeing all the chronicles. And, yes, I am still streaking.

00:06:40Oliver Spake: Good. That was my next question.

00:06:42Melissa Ellis: And you are as well.

00:06:44Oliver Spake: I am. I am. And proud to say that the streak happened first thing this morning. Nice big run. So there's no late night streaking for me coming, which wasn't too bad after last week's podcast.

Septober

00:06:57Melissa Ellis: And what about Septober?

00:06:59Oliver Spake: Septober. Yet to visit A. So thank you for the prompt. I will be planning my first one for tomorrow.

00:07:09Melissa Ellis: Let me tell you about my septober. Yes. I have so far visited Airlie Beach to visit Tim. I've been to Bunyaville to see Lyndell. And just today I popped over to Callaghan.

00:07:27Oliver Spake: Ah, right, right. Well, that's a rare treat these days.

00:07:32Melissa Ellis: So that's three in the bag for me. Well done.

00:07:35Oliver Spake: You're clocking up some miles there, Mel.

00:07:37Melissa Ellis: Well, I figure. So another little – I've added my own little level up to this that I will – As we must, of course, yep. Mine are all going to be parkruns that I haven't been to and I will try to choose an event where I know somebody – that I would like to visit. That's a nice touch.

00:07:59Oliver Spake: And, I mean, it seems like your trajectory is taking you down the east coast of Australia. Is the plan to continue that or are we going to change things up for the next visit?

00:08:09Melissa Ellis: It's just random.

00:08:10Unidentified speaker: Okay.

00:08:12Melissa Ellis: no plan to it other than the uh aforementioned criteria yes but no I I do like the idea and it is it is distracting me and giving me a bit of uh of course there is parkrun happening regularly in around Australia it's uh it's just that both you and I are in lockdown still Well, that's right, yeah. But the great state of Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania as well as the Territory of the Northern Type are all still happily parkrunning.

00:08:46Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, and glad to see. It's giving me a lot of motivation still to see those parkrunners out there and it's been lovely to hear from them as well and, you know, enjoy some of their experiences.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:09:01Melissa Ellis: Yes, we've been lucky enough to get a couple more roving reports this week, Ollie, so perhaps we shall listen to those now.

Roving report Cameron Drake — Tamworth

00:09:17Cameron Drake: G'day everyone, Cam here, and I'm here talking to a man who eats parkruns for breakfast.

00:09:22Phil Gore: Tell me, what's your name and what do you do? My name's Phil Gore, I'm a parkrunner and also an ultramarathoner. So you say you're an ultra marathoner. So was there something recently that you did that was pretty epic? Yes, just about a month ago, I did Birdie's Backyard. I ran for 51 hours, which is about 342 Ks. I'm sorry, what? 51 hours and 342 Ks. Yeah, I heard you the first time. I didn't believe you. My God, how does the heck does that work? If you don't know what a backyard ultra is, you run 6.7 Ks on the hour every hour. So if you finish the 6.7 Ks in less than an hour, then you've got a bit of time to rest. I was doing my laps in about 45 minutes and having about 15 minutes to just reset and recharge each lap.

00:10:09Cameron Drake: Okay, so you do one lap every hour for 51 hours straight.

00:10:14Phil Gore: Yeah, that's how far I went. So the idea of it is you just keep going until you can't anymore, and the race just keeps going until there's only one person left standing, and that last person has to do one lap on their own to be crowned the winner. So 51 laps must be some kind of record, was it? Yeah, so that was the new Australian record. I set the previous Australian record back in March at Herdy's at 48 hours. I've just beaten it by three hours. Far out. And I heard something you're going to represent Australia or something like that? I did get the invite to compete at the World Championships in Tennessee. But just with COVID and how things are at the moment, it just worked out a bit too hard to get there. So I'm going to try again in 2023. Oh, excellent. Now, sorry, when's your home parkrun again? I'm the ED at Shipwreck parkrun, so we're there most weeks, but we're having a little trip down to Mandurah, so we thought we'd visit Tamworth today. Ah, cool. Well, it's great seeing you again, Phil, and congratulations on the win, and best of luck with everything else.

00:11:13Cameron Drake: Yeah, thank you.

Roving report Tracey Wood — Logan River parkrun

00:11:15Tracey Wood: Good morning parkrunners, it's Tracey in training and I've limbered my legs along to Logan River parkrun. Do you like what I did there? Anyway, I'm here at Logan River and I've not done this event before and I've actually found it's a number for the Fibonacci Challenge. What is the Fibonacci challenge? Well, Fibonacci is a mathematical string of numbers where the next number adds up to the two preceding it. So it starts with zero and one. So the next number would be... Oh, no. Starts with zero. The next number is one. Then the next number... Then it's one again. Then the next number is two because they're two ones. The next number is three because it's two and one. The next number is then five, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, all you need to know is that 377 is one of the numbers on the challenge. Anyway, we're here. Let's see who we can go chat to. Okay, I've found some good-looking volunteers here. They tell me they're locals. I've got Sam and Kieran. Good morning to you both.

00:12:29Unidentified speaker: Good morning.

00:12:31Tracey Wood: And Sam, you're doing photographer this morning. I believe that because you've got a camera around your neck.

00:12:36Unidentified speaker: That's a very good assumption.

00:12:37Tracey Wood: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:12:39Unidentified speaker: You've done this role before? No, this will be the first time. So hopefully, I think I figured out how to turn it on and take the photos. So we'll see how they turn out.

00:12:47Tracey Wood: So if we get 50 photos of your nose, we know that maybe it's not the job for you. Yeah, just a whole lot of selfies. Excellent. I like it. Do you do other jobs here, Sam? No, this is my first time volunteering. Sam, you are awesome. Welcome to the world of volunteering. Thank you. Excellent. And what about you, Kieran? Barcode scanning. Barcode scanning. Have you done that one before?

00:13:07Unidentified speaker: Yeah, once or twice before.

00:13:09Tracey Wood: Once or twice?

00:13:09Unidentified speaker: It should go all right.

00:13:10Tracey Wood: Are you being modest there, Kieran?

00:13:12Unidentified speaker: No, no, no. Usually once or twice. I think I've probably done it twice in total. So this will be the third time around.

00:13:17Tracey Wood: Well, look, quite honestly, as a previous Run Director, we've seen everything. We can't stuff it up too much. It can always be fixed. Absolutely. Now, you guys are local, I believe.

00:13:27Unidentified speaker: Yeah, we are, yep. So we're lucky enough to have lots of parkruns sort of in the vicinity. Oh, really? So we switch up between Logan River and Meadowbrook usually.

00:13:35Tracey Wood: Oh, Meadowbrook. Wow. How far away is that? Oh.

00:13:38Phil Gore: Yeah, probably 15 minutes.

00:13:40Unidentified speaker: 10 minutes, yeah. 10, 15.

00:13:41Tracey Wood: Yeah, yeah. And how many times have you done this one?

00:13:45Unidentified speaker: I think I've done the most at Logan River. I think I've done about... 30 odd here yeah 15 for me yeah now I'm I'm new to this so can you tell me about this course um it's like it's a two lap course so we go you go out over the bridge come back um and then just go under the bridge again so um yeah so we got the lake of like a river on one side so yeah it's really nice nice course pretty flat there's a little bit of a hill at the um at the bridge but yeah Yeah. And it's quite busy. Like, we get, how many do you think they normally get? A hundred and something? Yeah.

00:14:21Tracey Wood: Looks a good number. Yeah, awesome. All right. Thanks very much for volunteering, guys, and thanks for chatting with me. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, I've just finished a beautiful Logan River parkrun and I've run over a red bridge and I've found a man in red. So, what's your name? Michael Browning. Hello, Michael. How are you this morning?

00:14:40Michael Browning: Good, thank you.

00:14:41Tracey Wood: That's good. Are you a local here?

00:14:42Michael Browning: Yes, indeed.

00:14:43Tracey Wood: Have you been here for a while?

00:14:45Michael Browning: Yes, I had three weeks ago I did my 300th Saturday morning run. Well done. It started about nearly half years ago.

00:14:52Tracey Wood: Wow. And so do you stick to this one all the time?

00:14:55Michael Browning: Where I can. Sometimes the park might be closed due to flooding, so I go to a nearby one.

00:15:00Tracey Wood: Yeah, yeah.

00:15:01Michael Browning: But I try not to miss the Saturday morning run.

00:15:03Tracey Wood: Yeah, it's good on you. So which other ones have you visited?

00:15:06Michael Browning: Meadowbrook. Mm-hmm. Underwood. Yes. And Berrinba.

00:15:11Tracey Wood: Mm, mm.

00:15:12Michael Browning: And a couple of down the coast when I've been on holiday.

00:15:15Tracey Wood: And why do you keep coming back to parkrun?

00:15:16Michael Browning: Because I love it. The atmosphere is good. All ages, all types, walkers, runners. It's more like a family affair.

00:15:24Tracey Wood: Yes. And did you do anything for your 300th? Did you have a little celebration?

00:15:28Michael Browning: Not really, just bright colours and just a few family members. Yeah, lovely.

00:15:33Tracey Wood: Well, good on you.

00:15:34Michael Browning: Thank you very much.

00:15:34Tracey Wood: And thank you for talking with me.

00:15:35Michael Browning: Thank you, my pleasure.

00:15:37Tracey Wood: Bye. Okay, and now I've found Natasha, who's our Run Director of the day and also awesome Event Director. How are you, Natasha?

00:15:46Natasha: Well, how are you going? I'm good. How did it all go today? It's gone quite smoothly. We're training two shadow RDs today, so we have a few examples, which has been handy. But, no, it's been a lovely morning.

00:15:59Tracey Wood: Yeah, it is. It's my first time here at Logan River. It's an absolutely beautiful course. How long has it been here?

00:16:07Natasha: I think it's eight or nine years from memory. It was first started by Sarah Logan, who was one of the founders. Yes. I think we're up to our third course. Oh, right. So, like, same location but just different routes. Yeah, yeah.

00:16:21Tracey Wood: Yeah. And can you just describe the course for the listeners? Yeah.

00:16:25Natasha: That's so funny because I never do first-timers brief, so to me the course would be.

00:16:30Tracey Wood: That's fine. For people listening at home, is it a flat course? Is it a hilly course? I've done it, but I know.

00:16:36Natasha: It's a pretty flat course. You come up to a hill just before the 1K marker and you get to go over the red bridge that's very much a Logan icon. You turn around, you come back through the park, you go up another little incline towards the end of Peacock and you basically go back down to the bridge and then you turn around and finish. So it's pretty flat. But there is definitely a few little sneaky hills.

00:16:58Tracey Wood: Awesome.

00:16:58Natasha: And how long have you been parkrunning? I think I've just gone seven and a half years from now. I just did my 300th parkrun last weekend. Oh, you too, Michael.

00:17:07Tracey Wood: I just talked to Michael a minute ago. He did too.

00:17:09Natasha: And the week before that, I did my 200th just at Logan.

00:17:12Tracey Wood: Oh, good on you.

00:17:13Natasha: It's great fun.

00:17:14Tracey Wood: And are you a tour as well?

00:17:18Natasha: Yes and no. I also, the first Saturday of every month, I take my mate Pat Kinsella that's got motor neurons disease and we go and raise awareness at different parkruns every first Saturday of the month. So we do tours that way, definitely. And I think we're going to Bribie Island next weekend. Oh, fantastic. I haven't been to that one, so that'll be lovely. It is lovely and people there are lovely too. Yeah.

00:17:40Tracey Wood: Well, it all seemed to go well today, so thank you very much for having us. Thank you for coming. I hope to see you again. Cheers. Okay, it's Tracey in training, signing off from Logan River parkrun. Not being allowed into the clubhouse yet. Still a few volley roles to tick off. But anyway, it's a beautiful day in Brisbane. I'm going to go find some coffee and breakfast. Have a good day. Toodles from Tracey. See you on the V-side. Bye.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Mark Scarborough — West Beach parkrun

00:18:07Mark Scarborough: Hello parkrun adventurers, this is Mark reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew and we've come away from the much warmer climate in northern and central Australia to the much cooler climate of Adelaide. And this week we found ourselves at West Beach parkrun, which was conveniently just a one kilometre stroll from the caravan park that we're staying at. This is quite a nice course, actually. We really enjoyed this one. Being called West Beach parkrun, you would think that you'd be running along the beach, but not so. It does start and finish at the beach, but primarily it's actually run next to the Torrens River. And it's an out-and-back course. Yeah, really nice, picturesque course, and I reckon it'd be quite a fast one too if you wanted to stretch your legs. We didn't get to talk to anybody at parkrun this week as it was rather windy and the microphone just picks all that up. But yeah, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at West Beach parkrun and had a nice breakfast down the road. So yeah, if you're in Adelaide, definitely put this one on the to-do list. Anyway, that's us, and we'll talk to you soon on the parkrun adventurers.

00:19:18Oliver Spake: And thank you to Caveman Cam, Tracey in Training and Marvellous Mark for our roving reports this week.

00:19:25Melissa Ellis: Good to hear some real live parkrunning action happening.

00:19:28Oliver Spake: It certainly was right around the country, around Australia at least. And some impressive achievements there, Mel. Not least the ultra marathon there, Birdie's Backyard. While I'd heard of that before, that's an incredible event. Incredible achievement. So congratulations there, Phil, on, what was it, 342 kilometres?

00:19:53Melissa Ellis: So literally he ran for 51 hours.

00:19:55Oliver Spake: Well, he ran for 6.7 k's every hour for 51 hours. Yes. Wow. Yeah. And I didn't stop and punch that into Excel. So that's on me if I've just messed up that maths. But yeah, that's an impressive record.

00:20:11Melissa Ellis: And he's at the ED at Shipwreck Creek. Yeah.

00:20:14Oliver Spake: Yes, at Shipwreck parkrun.

00:20:16Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah, that.

00:20:17Oliver Spake: Yeah, and I believe he was first finisher as well. So, yeah.

00:20:22Melissa Ellis: Good work, Phil.

00:20:22Oliver Spake: Yeah, still got some fresh legs there.

00:20:25Melissa Ellis: And good work, Cam, for catching him.

00:20:27Oliver Spake: That's right. Yes. Yeah. And Tracey as well. Some parkrunners there with some impressive numbers behind them, to say the least. I know. We're learning all the things this week. Speaking of numbers, Mel, I'd heard a mention previously of the Fibonacci Challenge. I had no idea. Open disclosure, no idea.

00:20:47Melissa Ellis: I can't even say it, Ollie.

00:20:50Oliver Spake: And thank you, Tracey, for talking us through that because my mind was boggling as I was hearing it, but it makes sense. And as I understand it, to launch yourself into the Fibonacci challenge, you've quite literally got to launch yourself twice, two launches, two number ones before you get to event two, which is where I come unstuck once again, event two. Yeah.

00:21:13Melissa Ellis: Oh, we've got to get you to a two.

00:21:15Oliver Spake: We've got to get a parkrun first. But, yes, yeah, an event two. Would you happen to have an idea as to where you're up to, Mel? One, one, two, three, five, eight, and I could keep going to prove that I've now read up, but I think you get the gist. Absolutely no clue. Okay, all right.

00:21:34Melissa Ellis: Anybody who wants to work it out for me will be – Much appreciated.

00:21:38Oliver Spake: Yes. And good work, Tracey, continuing to, yeah, to talk up the volleys and thank, you know, everyone for volunteering, which I understand Cam was doing at the weekend.

00:21:49Melissa Ellis: Yes, because he had an event this morning. Oh, and we should say we're recording a day early this week to accommodate my work schedule. So thanks again for that, Ollie. Appreciate that.

00:21:59Oliver Spake: That's all right. Yes, yeah, that's a reminder that we do need to keep the pod relatively short for everyone so you can get to bed, Mel.

00:22:06Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah. If I nod off just where you can't really.

00:22:12Oliver Spake: Yeah, there's a little wave button. I'll press the wave button.

00:22:17Melissa Ellis: Maybe you just need a whistle.

00:22:19Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:22:19Melissa Ellis: If it goes silent, blow the whistle.

00:22:22Oliver Spake: Blow the whistle. Bambi and Chico will wake you up. And to marvellous Mark. Yes. Speaking of numbers, the Scarborough family have sure clocked up some kilometres. Thank you to Mark and Nicole for sharing the wonderful video with us last week of the base circuit around Uluru. And they made it all to West Beach.

00:22:44Melissa Ellis: I know.

00:22:45Oliver Spake: All the way, I should say. Yes.

00:22:47Melissa Ellis: Doing some driving, aren't they? But going back to Uluru, I'd love to run around that base.

00:22:54Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah. I agree with some of the comments.

00:22:56Melissa Ellis: The words aren't coming out very coherently. I do apologise. I think you know what I meant.

00:23:01Oliver Spake: You've got an excuse there. It's certainly something for the list. So, yeah, I appreciate the inspiration there.

00:23:08Melissa Ellis: As soon as I get a parkrun in Alice Springs, I'm going. Well, that's it.

00:23:13Oliver Spake: I think this has been discussed on the parkrun adventurers previously, Mel, not by us or not by me at least, but I recall listening. It's certainly I think a bucket list item for parkrun Australia is, you know, that moment we get a parkrun at, well, Alice Springs and And hopefully there's someone out there that wants to make it happen. I mean, you can build it and they will come, but I think there's no questioning the positive effects of a team that want to make it happen.

00:23:43Melissa Ellis: Was that in the time capsule? Maybe we need to make our own time capsule.

00:23:48Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, we'll open theirs and have a bit of a look and get some ideas.

00:23:53Melissa Ellis: Yes. And then we'll stick our own in and seal it back up.

00:23:56Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right. And, Mel, was there a sighting at West Beach?

00:24:01Melissa Ellis: Oh, of the troll type? Yes. I do believe Troll was at West Beach. I did see reference on the Wagi Bridge Facebook page that Troll liked the course at West Beach because it runs over and under a bridge twice.

00:24:20Oliver Spake: That's right. Now, I recall Palm 2020, one of those years we wouldn't have expected to have a Palm, a Friday Freedom Run at West Beach. And yeah, it was spectacular. There was even an opportunity for an afternoon light shot. It was just, it was lovely.

00:24:39Melissa Ellis: Pausing.

00:24:42Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:24:43Melissa Ellis: The chihuahua has left the building. Yes, and I missed that Freedom Run at West Beach because that was the palm where we drove overnight on the Friday night from Melbourne.

00:24:55Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right.

00:24:58Melissa Ellis: And arrived at like 4 a.m. in the morning and had two hours sleep.

00:25:04Oliver Spake: Yep. Good memories, good times. You were born for this. That's right. But thoroughly enjoyable to get to take in some parkrun experiences.

Emails

00:25:18Oliver Spake: Thank you, team. And thank you also to those – we don't per se have mail, Mel, but we have heard from a couple of our podcast family and drumroll being that we heard from Brian who was on the podcast last week after his 500 achievement and said, Thanks also to Brian for his time. He did ask us to pass on his thanks to everyone for their congratulations and their support over the last week and a bit to him for many nice comments. So thank you to everyone that's reached out to Brian or commented there. I think that's the special thing about a parkrun achievement is you get to share it. We all love our own individual achievements, but it's even more enjoyable when it brings us together.

00:26:03Melissa Ellis: Yeah, and much in the same way that we get excited when we get a new time record broken. It just gives the whole community a little bit of a lift when there's a little achievement like that. That's right. To celebrate on the weekend.

00:26:18Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:26:18Melissa Ellis: At least that's how I feel. And, Ollie, we also had some feedback from Bruce after last week's pod. He said a tip for nottie adventurers who want to change their home parkrun without the wait to update is each time you log your nottie, you then swap your home parkrun straightaway, ready for the next day. And that is a very good tip, Bruce.

00:26:42Oliver Spake: Yes, and thank you, Bruce, for the prompt. I've now updated it. I'm ready. So my next (not)parkrun, I will commence September. A little late, but hey, you know.

00:26:52Melissa Ellis: Well, we can just always continue it to September.

00:26:58Oliver Spake: It works for me. I'd love an extension.

00:27:02Melissa Ellis: We're making these things up.

00:27:05Oliver Spake: Yeah, that's right. We've got to be flexible with ourselves sometimes, don't we? Yes. Yes, speaking of which, I may need to be flexible with my bingo challenges. I've got a bit of homework to do, Mel.

00:27:17Melissa Ellis: What are you missing?

00:27:19Oliver Spake: A few things. I do need to chronicle. I've got some spelling to do and flightless bird, although I've got one up the sleeve just in case. But, yeah, still on the lookout. So by the time this pod is out, we'll know whether I succeeded or failed dismally.

Dazza's

00:27:37Melissa Ellis: But also who was adaptable this week was Dazza. Yes. We opened early this week. That's right. Because I just thought, why not?

00:27:46Oliver Spake: Was Dazza excited for the big game?

00:27:48Melissa Ellis: Yes, I think so. And he wanted to be available for all the early runners who had been out and done their notties last week before seeing the video request. So I thought, open the doors early and let everybody in and hopefully they'll join in the fun.

00:28:05Oliver Spake: And that they did. Thank you to our video contributors this week at Dazza's. We saw Bernadette Bennett, Val Warwick, William Barlow, Sonja Pohlman, Mark Scarborough and Sam Schroder.

00:28:18Melissa Ellis: And I really enjoyed seeing all those videos too. So thank you for everybody that posted them. But we also had the following posts from Christine Imbert. Mine's a hot chocolate before bed. Happy parkrun Day, everybody. Just under 11 hours to wait until the off for mine. A bit of car park marshalling first and then a new parkrun for me at Maidstone in Kent. I'll be meeting up with a friend for the first time since pre-lockdown. And from Pippa White, under 25 minutes, hillier than expected. Ran back to my friend who was recovering from COVID to try and make sure she was gentle and allow her sister to run a bit faster. Sunny and pretty fantastic. My friend was struggling two weeks ago to walk at Druridge. I have decided that American pancakes with all the maple syrup are my new favourite brunch with a black Americano, please.

00:29:10Oliver Spake: Oh, that's good to hear. She's on the road to recovery. It is, yeah. Yeah. Good work, Pippa. We also heard from some of our parkrunners locally as well, including Janet Reid. Hello, fellow adventurers. A panic-inducing morning aboard the mothership Lochiel today. I misplaced my phone, hence no photo or video, with my credit card and driver's licence in it. After much frantic searching, along with the help of friends, I finally found it in my pocket. Oops. I forgot that I had changed the bulky cover for the gel cover, which makes it very flat in my pocket. Talk about embarrassment. So I will now have a skinny flat white, please, Dazza. Hmm. It's all things that end well. It's good, yes. I forgot what that expression is, but glad to hear it was all okay.

00:30:00Melissa Ellis: All's well that ends well?

00:30:01Oliver Spake: That's the one, yes. And Greg Garner, off on an adventure into the western suburbs of Brisbane at Rocks Riverside parkrun this morning, set beside the Brisbane River. I do love that spot. Louise Minty took in the view of Perth Stadium from Claisebrook Cove parkrun as we celebrated Matt's 50th parkrun with a post-run coffee and cinnamon scroll. 50. Congratulations. And Val Warwick just having a coffee after a glorious day in Devonport tail walking, which we saw in the video.

00:30:34Melissa Ellis: We did. And from two of our roving reporters, Tracey Wood. Oops, sorry, did parkrun before I saw the post. Got a pic though with the iconic red bridge at Logan River parkrun. And then she added the photo saying, and then I forgot to post the pic. Sorry, I'm not the brightest sandwich in the tool shed sometimes. And Caveman Cam, another parkrun volunteer ticked off at home, had the pleasure of watching Phil Gore demolish the course in near record time before dashing home for brunch. Nothing fancy, but sometimes a good cheese toasty hits the spot just right.

00:31:15Oliver Spake: Not parkrunning at the weekend. We heard from Richard. Good morning, Dazza's. Just finished my (not)parkrun before enjoying my morning coffee. My legs are feeling it a bit this week as with the warmer weather, I'm getting back into triathlon training for Port Mac 70.3 next May. Good work. And Peter Pohlman, another suburb not parkrun. And Peter's impressed with the spelling once again. Broadmeadows Street, ticking off the suburbs I think we should have a poll as to which suburb comes next but uh we'll see we'll see uh Lynette Ann checking in for post parkrun banter and cappuccino lovely catch up with some parkrun buddies that I haven't seen for a while Lynn from Cobram and Tony O'Connell morning from virtual Rockhampton where I reached on run down under two today

00:32:09Melissa Ellis: Yes, he talks on his second lap. Did he do a nottie at Rockhampton? I suppose he did.

00:32:16Oliver Spake: I didn't check. I didn't check. Surely.

00:32:19Melissa Ellis: I don't think we – oh, hang on. I can look at the knot parkrun.

00:32:23Oliver Spake: Ah, yes, the club.

00:32:24Melissa Ellis: The club. All right. Do you have another one to read?

00:32:26Oliver Spake: I'll check. I do. Yeah, I'll carry on with business.

00:32:29Melissa Ellis: Oh, he did. I found it. Carry on.

00:32:33Oliver Spake: And Karen Hamilton ran a North Gong Freedo and logged a nottie this morning while the fine weather lasts. Added a couple of laps of the adjacent oval and free ran a mini art in the grass. Brekkie wrap and oat latte at Diggy's Cafe on the Beach. That's an impressive combo.

00:32:51Melissa Ellis: I love the Freedo.

00:32:52Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:32:53Melissa Ellis: It's so Aussie, isn't it? A Freedo and a nottie.

00:32:56Oliver Spake: That's it. That's it.

00:32:58Melissa Ellis: Okay, and for more not parkrunners, over the ditch to Alison King, went for a nottie in Rotorua, New Zealand, with a couple of parkrun friends, followed by coffee, and the only photo I took was this one. The course was stunning but so warm. We'll be in for a shock when we finally get restarted. We didn't run the parkrun course, but the five-kilometre course of the Lake City Athletic Club Summer Trout Fly Series. Try saying that five times fast, which includes one lap in reverse, and Chantal Hosking. Doing a longer not parkrun today, aim is 10 kilometres. Therefore, I ventured further than normal and discovered a great treasure hunt that has been installed in a local park. So that's a double nottie. It is. And Abigail's mum dropped by Dazza's this week. A late start for me this parkrun day. PM double knot parkrun, into town for coffee and streaking with a friend. And hello to Linley. And wrapping it up, we had Ingrid Botha. Just two kilometres for me today to keep the streak going. I survived the zombies last week, although there was a close call where I had to dash off down a side trail to avoid real people and zombies at the same time. I survived unbitten and then home in time for... I mean pancakes. He just loves saying that.

00:34:27Oliver Spake: I'm glad you're okay, Ingrid. Yeah, it is a bit exciting.

00:34:33Melissa Ellis: Oh, my goodness, I stumbled all through that. But never mind. Anyway, moving straight along.

00:34:37Oliver Spake: Yes. Look, thank you to everyone for joining us at Dazza's and some well-earned coffees there, especially for yous. For yous.

00:34:45Unidentified speaker: Especially for everyone.

00:34:48Oliver Spake: Especially for everyone with some great achievements and narrow escapes. Mel, look, no informant this week. So I don't know if we play some jingle music or we just kick straight along and give everyone a bit of an update on the Adventurers Club.

00:35:04Melissa Ellis: Do I need to bring back the elevator music? It kind of would go well with bass trousers, wouldn't it, elevator music?

00:35:12Oliver Spake: Oh, I think so. I think, you know, for anyone that's listening to the pod on their run, maybe not their long run this week, let's see, running to the elevator music, yeah, that'll help you keep pace, right?

00:35:24Melissa Ellis: I wonder if there's any copyright on zombie groaning. I could put that in. That might be funny. Yeah.

00:35:33Oliver Spake: If not, I'll try my best to give you some original zombie groaning. Okay.

00:35:41Melissa Ellis: Oh, gosh, we get off track.

00:35:42Oliver Spake: We do.

00:35:53Melissa Ellis: All right.

Consolidated Club Report

00:35:54Melissa Ellis: The Adventurers Club, Ollie. Yes. The Adventurers Club is up to 47 members. Yay. Up one from last week. 15 members on the Consolidated Club Report and 24 notties. Now, the (not)parkrun results for the week obviously haven't wrapped up because it's still Sunday. So it could change.

00:36:15Oliver Spake: Good point.

00:36:16Melissa Ellis: But as of a couple of hours ago when I checked, Wyndham Vale was top of the table with 57 and we had a new second place event. Campbelltown.

00:36:26Oliver Spake: Go Campbelltown.

00:36:27Melissa Ellis: Yay, 46. And Koonwarra coming in third with 40. Excellent. So it's good to see Cooney up there as well.

00:36:36Oliver Spake: That's right, sharing the love.

00:36:38Melissa Ellis: Doing our long jump down the list. We come to Shellharbour with 27. And Toolern Creek has four.

00:36:45Oliver Spake: Well done.

00:36:46Melissa Ellis: And I've got guilt because now that I've started Septober, I can't do a T because now I've got to do them in alphabetical order.

00:36:58Oliver Spake: Well, especially because you haven't been there. Even when you get to T, you can't do it.

00:37:01Melissa Ellis: Well, I know. I've ruled my own self out of it. And so I can't help them with their numbers for a month or so. Sorry, Tool and Creek.

00:37:10Oliver Spake: They'll understand. It's okay.

00:37:11Melissa Ellis: Maybe, maybe all the adventurers, if they're doing a septober too, when they get to tea, they can come to Tool and Creek.

00:37:17Oliver Spake: I think that there perhaps could be a couple of adventurers that would be keen to make it. I have seen Tool and Creek getting a bit of love here and there.

00:37:25Melissa Ellis: Yes. You visited yourself just the other week.

00:37:28Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right.

00:37:29Melissa Ellis: So thank you for that.

00:37:30Oliver Spake: My pleasure.

00:37:31Melissa Ellis: So that's all of our parkrun stats.

00:37:36Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, yeah.

International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day

00:37:38Oliver Spake: And I guess, you know, looking forward, Mel, there's a few things coming up on the horizon. We did mention last week the Ugly Christmas Singlets and we're still staying tuned for those.

00:37:50Melissa Ellis: Mm-hmm. Yes, the elves are being very busy on that design. So there should be an announcement imminent.

00:37:58Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right. So keep checking out the International Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day page for that announcement. We'll be sure to share anything we see as soon as the elves are ready.

00:38:12Melissa Ellis: And coming up in this next week, Ollie, well, actually, this is awkward. It will have happened by the time the pod comes out. International Podcast Day.

00:38:23Oliver Spake: Yes, and look, you know, this very podcast has celebrated that previously. We certainly are big fans of the power of a podcast and, you know, getting the opportunity to share a bit of time and a bit of parkrun love and community support with the podcast medium. So I don't know, Mel.

00:38:43Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so it's this Thursday, Ollie. The 30th of September. So how about I might just make sure I get the pod out on Thursday. I'll give it a big try.

00:38:51Oliver Spake: We'll do our best. At the very least, we'll have a coffee to celebrate. Yes. Each have a coffee to celebrate. Yes.

00:38:58Melissa Ellis: But there's another milestone that's coming up as well, a big one.

00:39:01Oliver Spake: Yes, parkrun's turning 17.

00:39:04Melissa Ellis: It is. This Saturday, Ollie, this coming Saturday, and I do believe that it falls on the 2nd of October, which was possibly the same date of the original launch at Bushy parkrun, the 2nd of October.

00:39:21Oliver Spake: Yeah, all those years ago.

00:39:23Melissa Ellis: Feel free to write in if I've got that wrong.

00:39:26[laughter]

Sign-off

00:39:26Unidentified speaker: LAUGHTER

00:39:27Oliver Spake: No, pretty confident. So, yes, happy birthday, parkrun. Yes. Mel, any other events coming up or not parkrun events in your case?

00:39:40Melissa Ellis: No, but if anybody has suggestions, I will willingly accept suggestions for my theme next week. It's getting hard to come up with them.

00:39:51Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. Well, look, I suppose you could always celebrate International parkrun Day by having a parkrun themed, not parkrun.

00:39:59Melissa Ellis: Right. Suggestions on how to do that?

00:40:04Oliver Spake: Good point, yeah.

00:40:05Melissa Ellis: Wear my milestone top.

00:40:07Oliver Spake: Yep. Make sure you remember your barcode.

00:40:11Melissa Ellis: Oh, yep. Do you know, this might sound a bit sad. I haven't taken it off, Ollie. I'm still wearing it, my wristband.

00:40:18Oliver Spake: Oh, good, good, good, good. Well, you've got to keep it ready, Mel.

00:40:21Melissa Ellis: It goes to work. It goes everywhere with me. I don't take it off. It's like I can't. It's like if I take it off, I feel like parkrun will never come back. I have to leave it on.

00:40:31Oliver Spake: Keeping it close by, yeah. I can appreciate that, Mel. Mine has left the wrist, but it is in pride of place. It's right there on the bedside, ready to go. So, yeah, look, when the calling comes, when the bat signal lights up, yeah, I look forward to donning the barcode once again.

00:40:52Melissa Ellis: Wouldn't that be cool? Great big spotlight, Ollie, with the parkrun symbol in the sky calling us all back. Yeah.

00:40:59Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, surely there's a way to do that, right? Well, look, I suppose on that note then, Mel, there's an opportunity to give you a chance for a bit of a rest and...

00:41:11Melissa Ellis: Finish up.

00:41:12Oliver Spake: Yeah, give our listeners a chance to finish off their long run with a bit of music or something different, or maybe a zombie run.

00:41:20Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I've got to get on to my missions. I'm actually really enjoying it. Even... I just like the story. They are very good writers.

00:41:28Tracey Wood: Yes.

00:41:28Melissa Ellis: There's a lot over there at six to start.

00:41:31Oliver Spake: That's right, yeah.

00:41:32Melissa Ellis: But, yes, I need to go to bed, Ollie, and you need to start thinking up some bingo challenge strategies. So we shall sign out. As always, you can contact us via Facebook or on our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. That's it for another week. We'll see you all next week for more adventures.

00:41:53[music]

00:43:02Unidentified speaker: Hi, Mel and Ollie. I went for a walk to the river and I took my awesome friends. Alicia. Hello. Summer. Hello. Eva. DJ Gatnip. Hannah. Hasta la vista, baby. Bye. Stay safe. [Spanish: "See you later, baby."]