Episode 257 - Cottesloe Consults

Welcome

00:00:23Melissa Ellis: Welcome to episode 257 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. My name is Melissa Ellis and I'm joined by Bass Point parkrun's favourite son, Ollie Spake.

00:00:36Oliver Spake: Thank you, Mel. And hello, only son, but that still makes me the favourite, right?

00:00:42Melissa Ellis: Well, it is in my family. That's how I work things. I tell my son all the time he's my favourite son.

00:00:49Oliver Spake: How's your week been? It's been a crazy week. It has been a nice week, but the joys of starting a new job has really challenged me in ways I never thought imaginable. So good challenges, a lot of learning going on and not nearly enough not parkrunning, dare I say. Yeah, insert music here. Yeah.

00:01:15Melissa Ellis: We need that tragedy music next, do we?

00:01:19Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, yeah. Prepare it for next week perhaps. I think the comeback might fall a little short.

00:01:26Melissa Ellis: We might have a solution for that coming up later.

00:01:28Oliver Spake: Oh, good, good. I'm hoping so because this feels awfully like showing up on a Monday without having done the assignment. Yeah.

00:01:37Melissa Ellis: But did you parkrun? Did you nottie?

00:01:40Oliver Spake: I knotted, yes. Yeah, I got my nottie in. I was looking forward to my nottie. So that was a lot of fun. I chose to nottie. Here's the reveal as to where I'm up to. If you can do the maths, my nottie on parkrun day was at Kingston Park.

00:01:57Melissa Ellis: Ah, okay.

00:01:58Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:01:59Melissa Ellis: Where's Kingston Park? I'm not familiar with that parkrun.

00:02:02Oliver Spake: Ah, well, it's in Tasmania.

00:02:04Melissa Ellis: Oh, okay.

00:02:04Oliver Spake: Yes, just south of Hobart, near where I grew up. So, yeah, it's one for the list, but to be honest, I think every parkrun in Tasmania is on my list.

00:02:14The Informant: Mm-hmm.

00:02:16Oliver Spake: Big list. And, yeah, I look forward to visiting there one day. But nonetheless, it was an opportunity to do a nottie there, and I've done one since. So, look, I'm making my way through the alphabet, but I'm really hoping you've got a solution for me. You or our lovely listeners, our community that always seem to bail me out.

00:02:38Melissa Ellis: And it was City to Surf weekend. It was. Yes. Did you get out there, Mel? For City to Surf? Yeah. Wow. Absolutely. Absolutely did my nottie, my city to surf nottie, 14-kilometre city to surf nottie, which it was a bit crowded at the start line for me this year. I had company. Oh, wow. Wow. So the attendance at the Meltown Trail to Weir had doubled from last year.

00:03:08Oliver Spake: Wow. That event is just going from strength to strength.

00:03:12Melissa Ellis: I even remembered the chalk to mark the start line.

00:03:16Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:03:17Melissa Ellis: So that was good. Stashed the chalk in a hollow log afterwards. So I went back today to retrieve that.

00:03:25Oliver Spake: That's very organised. All there, I hope.

00:03:27Melissa Ellis: It was. Excellent. It was in a snap lock bag. Yep.

00:03:32Oliver Spake: And in marking the start line, were you organised into groups, given the crowd numbers? Was there a red group and a green group?

00:03:39Melissa Ellis: No, but I did have yellow, red and blue chalk.

00:03:43Oliver Spake: Oh, there you go. That's very much on brand.

00:03:46Melissa Ellis: I didn't think about the seating, but I... Yeah. I always get caught with that app, that City to Surf app, because I was all stressing about how I was going to press my Garmin and press the app at the same time with the one hand. I had to choose which one to do first. So I press my Garmin to start and then I press the app to start and then it does a countdown and that caught me last year too. Did that catch you?

00:04:07Oliver Spake: Yes. Yes. Although I did it in – no, I did it exactly the same as you. There we are. Yes. Yes.

00:04:15Melissa Ellis: And I remember from last year that every kilometre I had a little cheer and congratulations, and that didn't happen. I was all disappointed.

00:04:22Oliver Spake: Yeah, I was getting notifications along the way, which I thought was lovely, but I didn't hear much cheering. And I was kind of hoping for a bit of Bon Jovi. I don't know if I'm imagining Bon Jovi from last year, but at the halfway point, nice encouragement, but no Bon Jovi.

00:04:41Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I think there was a three-kilometre alert, a five-kilometre, and then a 10, and that was about it. Oh, and then you've got 100 metres to go.

00:04:48Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, the much-awaited 100 metres to go. How was your course measurement?

00:04:54Melissa Ellis: Oh, really good, yes. Yeah, yeah. I popped out exactly at the Weir, at the historic viaduct at 14 kilometres, exactly where I wanted to be. Oh, wow.

00:05:05Oliver Spake: Wow. Yeah. Look, not that I wish the trail to Weir to carry on in place of City to Surf, but hey, if you do it next year, I dare say you could probably handle some more numbers with that level of organisation.

00:05:21Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I kind of wish I had to rope some, you know, gorillas or smurfs along the way.

00:05:27Oliver Spake: That would have helped. That's right. Just get out there a bit earlier with a bit more chalk, a lot of blue chalk and a lot of brown chalk.

00:05:35Melissa Ellis: I could have drawn them on the path, couldn't I? Maybe I should have gone out the day before and done a recce and drawn my own motivational messages on the footpath.

00:05:44Oliver Spake: Well, that's right because it never rains out your way. So you do it over a couple of days.

00:05:50Melissa Ellis: But you had company on your CD2CF too.

00:05:52Oliver Spake: I did. I was fortunate enough. There were three of us at the start line. So thank you, Chris and Kerry Fraser, for joining me at the start. And I was fortunate enough to run most of the course with Chris. He sent me on ahead at one point and then probably caught up to me. But the course measurement was probably the, let's say, the less strong point for us because I think we may have taken one or skipped one turn. And as such, we had the pleasure of finishing twice.

00:06:27Melissa Ellis: How do you finish twice? Did you have to go back out to add some distance?

00:06:33Oliver Spake: Yeah, you get to the destination and you head back out. Like Bondi, you know, you go past the finish line and turn around. We just wanted to savour that experience.

00:06:45Melissa Ellis: Right. Okay.

00:06:47Oliver Spake: That's exactly what, that's the only reason.

00:06:49Melissa Ellis: I'm not a fan of those parkruns where you run past the finish line and you have to do that extra little bit. Funnily enough, that's how my own Alice Palace not parkrun is devised because I get back to the start point and I'm short so I have to run down to the end of the street and back again.

00:07:09Oliver Spake: Well, you see, that's why I keep changing Bass Point, not parkrun, is it finishes a kilometre from home. So sometimes I just have to, yes, adapt it to be a little more convenient. But I didn't ask about your (not)parkrun day.

00:07:23Melissa Ellis: Well, there's not much to tell. It was pretty quiet and it was uneventful and it was just me running around the block.

00:07:31Oliver Spake: Classic not parkrun. Lovely. Yes. Well done, Mel.

00:07:34Melissa Ellis: Thank you. But what have we got coming up in this episode?

00:07:39Oliver Spake: Well, yeah, look, we have some real parkrun coming up in this episode. So just to give us a bit of balance to our, I guess, our nottie experiences there. So we've got a roving report from a new voice we haven't heard from before, our informant is back, and an interview a little later on with a bit of a Western flavour, Mel.

00:08:00Melissa Ellis: Hmm. And to recap a couple of things that I've noted, Ollie, from last week, there was a positive response to the informants' Trans-Tasman Peel Club stats.

00:08:13Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:08:14Melissa Ellis: So I came to thinking that seeing as the Peel Club is named after the first person who completed all the states and territories in Australia, it probably needs a new name if there's going to be a second club that encompasses New Zealand. Yes. And am I not mistaken that the informant said Tim Oberg was the first person to have completed?

00:08:37Oliver Spake: I heard it too. Yes. You heard it too. I heard it too.

00:08:40Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so my suggestion is that this new Trans-Tasman Club should be called the Big Cheese Club.

00:08:48Oliver Spake: Yes. Well, look, it's a great achievement and maybe quite appropriate. Probably has more of a ring than the, what would that be, the TTPC. So, yeah, big cheese club.

00:09:03Melissa Ellis: Yes. Oh, and? Another thing that there was more Strava art by Patrick, say his last name, Ollie. Patrick Shymitzek. Yes. He did another Strava art, not quite to the same level as the adventuresaurus the previous week, but he did a hypnotic nottie. Yeah. So, yes, and Bruce, our ideas man, he thought that that could have been a hip nottie.

00:09:32Oliver Spake: I love it. I love it.

00:09:34Melissa Ellis: And Sam Schroder over in the streaky group, she joined the not Peel Club. I thought that was clever.

00:09:41Oliver Spake: Yes, rather than the unpeeled club. Yeah, well done, Sam. That's a fantastic achievement.

00:09:49Melissa Ellis: I thought that was a good incentive. She's obviously done a nottie in every state and territory.

00:09:55Oliver Spake: Yeah. Just as with real parkrun, I've got a long way to go. But, yeah, we can all live and dream.

Septober

00:10:01Melissa Ellis: So back to Septober, Ollie. You said you've completed two for the week.

00:10:06Oliver Spake: Yeah. My next one will be at Lake Mac.

00:10:10Unidentified speaker: Ah, okay.

00:10:11Melissa Ellis: Yes. So there was two. So we know Kay was King... Kingston Park.

00:10:17Oliver Spake: Kingston Park. That's right. And previously I'd managed Jindabyne. Yes. So by my calculations, I'm at least four parkruns behind, as in I need an extra half a week to a week to join everyone.

00:10:36Melissa Ellis: You might have to do your alphabet out of order.

00:10:39Oliver Spake: I think so.

00:10:40Melissa Ellis: Well, I didn't do quite as well this week with my septober challenge. I got five. I attended Ocean View, which I think I might have mentioned last week because I'd done that on the Monday, or the proposal venue.

00:10:54Oliver Spake: Yes, yep.

00:10:55Melissa Ellis: And then I went to Pioneer Dairy. Oh, yes. I had an idea that I might have been able to catch up with Caro at Pioneer Dairy. I think it's up her way, if I'm not mistaken.

00:11:06Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:11:07Melissa Ellis: Then for my queue, I dropped into Queen Elizabeth Casino, thinking I could do a royal wave over to Pippa. Remember when Mel did that? They both did the Queen Elizabeth parkruns and waved at each other.

00:11:21Oliver Spake: Very well coordinated.

00:11:22Melissa Ellis: Then for R, I went back to Rouse Hill, which is an event that I've done longest run.

00:11:28Oliver Spake: As a freedom.

00:11:29Melissa Ellis: Freedom run at, yeah.

00:11:31Oliver Spake: Lovely event. Beautiful course.

00:11:33Melissa Ellis: Yes, yes. And then Sirromet, I went to. I always have fond memories of Sirromet because Scott and Mel interviewed the founding Event Director, I think, in episode one.

00:11:45Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. I still remember where I heard that interview, where I was running, yeah.

00:11:51Melissa Ellis: Ah, cool. Yeah, so I even looked up if I could buy Sirromet wine at any of my local bottle shops because I just thought that would have been a nice little connection. To run with? No. No, dear me. Just as a, just, you know, refreshments.

00:12:09Unidentified speaker: Yeah, brunch, yeah.

00:12:13Melissa Ellis: Anyway, so that's where I got up to five.

00:12:16Oliver Spake: Well done, Mel. You look your streaks ahead. Yes. So does that mean that you will jumble out of order in a more advanced version of my jumbling? Or are you going to take a pause as you reach the end of the month?

00:12:31Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I think I'll pause. Well, what have we got? About 12 days left.

00:12:38Oliver Spake: I believe so. Yes.

00:12:39Melissa Ellis: And I've got six left. So every second day... Yeah, that won't be too bad. I'll just slow down.

Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"

00:12:47Melissa Ellis: And in other news around Australia, actual parkrunning news, we had three launches this last Saturday, Ollie. Three?

00:12:56Oliver Spake: That feels like a big week, Mel. Have we had three launches any time recently?

00:13:01Melissa Ellis: It's almost a super Saturday, isn't it? Yeah. I think there has been three or four on one day from memory.

00:13:08Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right. Shortly after the relaunch, I think. Yeah. Or the unpause.

00:13:13Melissa Ellis: I think we've had three in Victoria on one day. Ah, yes, yes.

00:13:17Oliver Spake: Got a feeling. See, it's just a distant memory, clearly. But where were these launches?

00:13:22Melissa Ellis: Well, there was one over in Western Australia at Homestead. I think it's the suburb of Thornlie. We might hear about that shortly.

00:13:32Oliver Spake: Ah, yes, yep.

00:13:32Melissa Ellis: And Queensland had two, Fodder Forest and Glenoma.

00:13:38Oliver Spake: I don't know if that's how you pronounce it.

00:13:39Melissa Ellis: Hopefully somebody can let us know.

00:13:42Oliver Spake: Yeah, fantastic to see some more parkruns getting up and running. And I'm sure with the way things are moving and the summer months coming, we'll see a few more very, very soon. But congratulations to those events and all the teams and volunteers making that possible and the parkrunners, of course. It's pretty hard to have, I think, a parkrun without parkrunners, of course. But Mel, you did allude to it. And yes, we do have a roving report from someone we haven't heard from before. Sarah has given us a roving report from Homestead. So why don't we have a listen to her and catch up with the latest from the informant as well.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Sarah Jefferson — Homestead parkrun

00:14:29Sarah Jefferson: Good morning, parkrun adventurers. You haven't heard from me before. My name is Sarah Jefferson and I'm an avid parkrun adventurer and I'm recording from Western Australia. In fact, today I'm actually joining you from a new, brand new launch parkrun called Homestead parkrun, which is located in the suburb of Thornlie. It's located about 17 kilometres from the Perth CBD, and it's really exciting for me as I actually have never visited this suburb before at all. And I guess that's what I probably love about parkrun, that it enables you to explore your own backyard and places you would never go otherwise. So as I was arriving this morning, there were and there still are three busy Car Park Marshals ushering people onto the grassy oval already. So I can see that it's busy and the word actually has in fact got out that there is a new launch parkrun here in Western Australia. So I'm here nice and early as well because I've heard that there is a welcome to country at 7.45am. So I'm heading down to check that out and I'll report back to you afterwards with how I've gone. Hi everyone, it's Sarah checking back in. Yes, I'm still riding on the high of it and I have not even had my caffeine dose this morning yet. So it's an out-and-back course along the Canning River, beautiful scenery. You run under two bridges as you go out and there were lots of words of encouragement written along the path today and lots of words of encouragement spoken and shouted out as well, which I loved. For me personally, I need to make sure that I'm actually looking at and enjoying the river. I think for all its beauty next time. I was kind of quite in awe and consumed with all of the beautiful messages that had been written in chalk along the path. So for me, I'm definitely coming back and I'm going to be focusing on the river and seeing all the beauty that that has to offer as well. Loved hearing everyone thank the volleys. That makes me feel really warm and fuzzy inside. So I loved hearing that. I had a quick chat to Rodney, the Event Director and the Run Director at the end. There was 277 participants today for their first parkrun. So the word clearly got out that there was a launch. I've never ever heard the run briefing delivered in the form of poetry and a call and response format. So well done to Rodney for that. As he said, Homestead, we all needed to respond by shouting out the words parkrun. So this is one that I will surely remember and his incredible creativity is to be congratulated. And I did not realise that you could rhyme all of the things that needed to be spoken in the briefing. So I think you've just set a challenge there, Rodney. What a great event. If you're ever in Western Australia, come and check it out. I also love to say there was so many children participating, which I loved. I tried hard to get an interview with Rodney, but he was adamant that he would clap each individual across the line as they finished, which I am in awe of and I think is great. So for me, though, Saturday morning commitments and coffee were starting to call. So I'll check in and I'll visit in a few weeks' time again and have an interview and see how he went.

the Informant

00:18:02The Informant: This is the informant. These are unofficial stats. They are only current at the time they are collected and may differ from the stats you read elsewhere. It has been a blockbuster week with many global stats breaking post-COVID records. We had records in the number of events held, number of runners, number of PBs, number of 50 and 250 milestones. There were 205 runs held in Australia, down four on last week. This was out of 1,409 worldwide across 18 countries. There were six launches. Fodder Forest and Glenoma in Queensland, Homestead in the WA, and overseas, one new in Germany, two new in the UK. Aussie attendance was down about 200 to 20,842 out of 173,003 worldwide, which is up 73 on last week. Down under we had 2,026 PBs, while 799 people participated for the first time. 59 juniors reached their Junior 10 milestone, 101 people reached their 50 milestone, 52 reached their 100 milestone, and 8 people reached their 250 milestone. 12 people called bingo. David O'Brien was quickest with 159 events, while Vincent Naylor was slowest on 306 events. Just three new statespeople this week. Amanda Pernischel in Northern Territory, Anthony Patterson and Adrian Crossing in South Australia. The dual launch in Queensland, Mullen voids the three former statespeople status up there. In the top 20 most events list, we have a new entrant. Neil Scott enters at 19th, after running at the Fodder Forest launch. Otherwise, no movements in the top 20. Overall biggest mover was Martin Hawkins, who jumped 14 places to 195 at Nathan Road. Due to the previously mentioned launches, there was a hive of activity on the Wilson Index, with 423 making modest improvements. Biggest mover is Indra Siva, who went from 0 up to 6. Fun fact, 384 out of the 423 Wilson movers came from those previously on zero. Follow up question from Bruce asking where the Peel Plus members come from. Starting with the usual disclaimer that I can't be sure where people come from, other than counting where most of their runs are. It appears of the 15 runners, 12 are from Australia, one from New Zealand, one from Singapore, and one from the UK. How's that for a short, succinct, no-nonsense report? If you want to see these stats in full, you can download your own spreadsheet. Look for The Informant on Facebook or visit the blog at www.theinformant.me. That's The Informant, all one word, dot M-E. This has been the informant, and my spreadsheet is bigger than yours.

00:21:31Melissa Ellis: Lovely to hear from Sarah for her very first roving report. You did really well, Sarah. And our informant again giving us all the stats. But, Ollie.

00:21:42[other]

Emails

00:21:42The Informant: You've got mail.

00:21:43Melissa Ellis: We've got a message from Bruce. Bruce got back in touch. Bruce the ideas man.

00:21:49Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. Bruce is absolutely just full of ideas at the moment. So I hope it's a good one.

00:21:56Melissa Ellis: So listen carefully, Oli.

00:21:59Oliver Spake: I was hoping this would be it.

00:21:59Melissa Ellis: This is some instructions for you. Septober update. When we started the Nottie Alphabet, it was meant to be a pace to October the 30th at Zillmere. Ultimately, it became a PB sprint and we arrived there early, but we'll be returning for the 30th. Have already started planning an appropriate Z costume for that day. In the meantime, Nadine and I have started the SSS Snakes, or is that supposed to be Snakes? Snakes, snakes challenge and we'll be staying alive to fill the spare days with notties ps Ollie if you don't quite make the full alphabet by then please use the old one two skip a few and we'll see you in Zillmere for the 30th so there you go it's a date it's a date thank you Bruce So they must be just doing S parkruns.

00:22:54Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:22:55Melissa Ellis: Maybe I can do that too. Well, there are some good ones. Yeah, maybe I'll do that too.

00:22:59Oliver Spake: Yeah. I wonder why they picked S. Oh, look, I think there are some great S parkruns around. I mean, certainly some local favourites here. Sandon Point and St Peter's, some of my favourites. Yes.

00:23:11Melissa Ellis: Mm-hmm. I couldn't think of many others. No. Maybe I'll just keep going as Sirromet.

00:23:19Oliver Spake: Yes. Gives you a chance to go back to the bottle up.

00:23:22Melissa Ellis: I think I've got to order online. I did mean to do that this afternoon, have a look it up. I just thought it would be nice, a little memento until I can get there in person. Hmm.

00:23:31Oliver Spake: I think we've got to do these things. Show our support. But thank you, Bruce. Thank you for your support to my cause, and I look forward to seeing you and many others at Zillmere on the 30th. I'm marking that in the calendar because I'll wind up a day late. Some things aren't as flexible, unlike the city to surf, which gives you a whole lot of time to complete your city to surf virtually.

00:23:59Melissa Ellis: We had a whole week, didn't we? We did. We did. We both got out there on day one.

00:24:03Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Look, some challenges I can manage. Other ones, other ones a bit lapse.

Dazza's

00:24:10Oliver Spake: But, Mel, as you well know, we had a City to Surf theme at Dazza's this week. And Dazza did say, of course, is it parkrun Day? We're not really sure here at Dazza's. It seems more like Groundhog Day. Please come in and tell us all your adventures. Also, it's City to Surf weekend, and Mel and Ollie will be running it virtually.

00:24:30Melissa Ellis: And fun fact, Steve Moneghetti holds the course record of 40 minutes and three seconds set in 1991. Steve is better known for his cameo with Bubble Bird this week.

00:24:44Oliver Spake: I don't know. I mean, Bubble Bird really seems to associate itself with a whole lot of characters. But yeah, well done, Steve, for getting into the club.

00:24:53Melissa Ellis: I know. I'm a little bit jealous of Bubble Bird. I would really like to meet Steve Monaghetti down at Ballarat. Yes. He volunteers regularly at Ballarat parkrun. And I've been there a couple of times and I haven't been fortunate enough to be there on a day when Steve was in attendance. But yeah.

00:25:10Oliver Spake: A great supporter. And we were full of great supporters at Dazza's too. So thank you, everyone, for joining us. We heard from a few of our parkrunners. Firstly, Trent Flesser, who reported Mudgeeraba, Mudgeeraba parkrun, living up to its reputation. Bit of a wet one, and Claire Stutchbury. The touristing continues. 200th run today at event number 101, New Farm parkrun. Sadly, the fiancé was one second off another stopwatch bingo number. There's too much lining up previously, Mel. I think the bingo number is going to have to wait.

00:25:48Melissa Ellis: How the mighty have fallen.

00:25:52Oliver Spake: Yes, and our own Lyndell Murray. I ran at Ecco Ripley this morning, now coffee courtesy of my hairdresser, who is bravely sorting out my quarantine hair. Yeah, I think the hairdressers are busy down my way too at the moment, Mel. And Janet Reid, well, Dazza, today was a good day. Alicia Hopper and I kept Jeff in our sights, making sure he continued to follow doctor's walking orders. Then it was coffee time, followed by being good SA citizens. We increased our fruit intake, rehydrated, and boosted the South Australian economy with a glass of wine, or three. Don't you love our shirts? Sending good vibes to our wonderful friends in lockdown. And thank you, Janet, for the shirts. I dare say, Mel, we're fans of the shirts with the hashtag partners in wine.

00:26:45Melissa Ellis: Yes, they're very good. And we heard from Mandy Oliver, a run walk for me for my 99th parkrun at Surfers out of 198 runs. B to GC tomorrow, so preserving the legs. So, Ollie, bridge to Gold Coast, would that be?

00:27:05Oliver Spake: Aye, off. I haven't done my research. Surely it's not Brisbane to Gold Coast, is it, Mandy? That's a big one. But the numbers are lining up there for Mandy. There's a big lining up there happening there.

00:27:16Melissa Ellis: Yep, yep.

00:27:16Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:27:17Melissa Ellis: She'll get a ton.

00:27:18Oliver Spake: B to GC, I think, is a Brisbane to Gold Coast cycle challenge.

00:27:23Melissa Ellis: Oh, right. Okay. Yep.

00:27:26Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:27:27Melissa Ellis: Phil Olson. Sausage rolls after parkrun today. So he's jumping on the sausage roll bandwagon. And Pippa White. Ah, crap, Dazza. So sorry I'm late. Five kilometre parkrun day was super fun. A big British pod meet-up at Oaklands. Then the joy that is juniors and the delight of 37 finishes. Hot chocolate, a big glass of water and a cinnamon bun, please, and Tracey Wood. Morning team already had my coffee and ready to volley as Barcode Scanner at South Bank parkrun. And as usual, I forgot the photo. Here's me with a visiting Wagi Bridge Troll. And we heard from Wagi Bridge parkrun. Wagi Bridge Troll made it to Queensland, a parkrun at South Bank parkrun, to check out the bridge over the river. They just wanted me to say Wagi all those times.

00:28:22Oliver Spake: Thank you, Mel. And our Bailey shot, Tanya Bailey, just a nice nottie walk down the beach in the sun with my two favourite boys. Brett Bailey, five kilometre nottie down the beach with Tanya and Brunner, then off to Surf Club opening day. And Rebecca Bailey, no nottie for me this morning, but a lovely three-kilometre walk with friends along the river. So a nice theme there for a Bailey shot this week. And my running buddy, Chris Fraser, cheated. That is not on City to Surf Day for the record, everyone. This is what he had to say. Cheated, no run completed, not planning to either, but the post-parkrun sausage roll is still in play. Mm-hmm. And Val Warwick. Hi, Dazza. A cuppa in bed at parkrun time today. Having a little lockdown here in Devonport because we came back from the deep south yesterday morning and they've joined you all in lockdown. Had to scramble last night to get someone to do our volley rolls this morning. Sending all you serious lockdowners lots of hugs. And right back at you, Val. I hope you guys have enjoyed the parkrun day rest and are back out there soon. And, Mel, we did also have one from Melissa Ellis, if I'm not mistaken, which, yeah, I don't necessarily have to read out, but our highlight was to see the budgies.

00:29:49Melissa Ellis: Yes, well, there wasn't much else to show, so I thought I would just find something that people might find interesting. The often-mentioned budgerigars.

00:30:00Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:30:01Melissa Ellis: And Peter Pohlman, we completed another suburb sign this week, Wickham, and we got to participate in a live treasure hunt. Some sticker slappers we follow on Instagram posted a sticker pack drop and we took a 600-metre diversion to get there first. And Peter shared the album that Sonja's compiled, including an array of very Newcastle-themed stickers. Hmm. Hmm. It looks like they've got a few. Well done, guys. I'm very intrigued by these sticker slappers. I wonder if we've got anything like that going around Melbourne. Or is it just a Newcastle thing? Have you ever heard of it before?

00:30:39Oliver Spake: No, never before. But it sounds like a lot of fun. And, you know, I think there's a good synergy there with the (not)parkrun that Peter is highlighting. So, yeah, hopefully we'll see more of it.

00:30:50Melissa Ellis: And Jacqui O'Connell got out for a run at Cape Not parkrun again. Yep, it felt like Groundhog Day with lots of wind along the coast today, and Bernadette Bennett. We decided midweek to return to Ash Island, our venue last Saturday, for our nottie, and now discover it is Groundhog Day. How appropriate. Very windy, but rain is gone, so all is good. And Ingrid Botha, about to go and walk the dog, keeping the streak going. And Abigail's mum. I've well and truly dragged Linley into my streak. I'm up to day 46 and we had a lovely 12-kilometre walk along the Werribee River, followed by a late lunch, panini and a coffee in the piazza. Happy parkrun Day, adventurers. Oh, got through that one. LAUGHTER And Nadine Crawford, logged my nottie at Seacliff Esplanade. Now that Bruce and I have finished our alphabet challenge, we are doing the S challenge while waiting for Septober Extravaganza on October the 30th, keeping the nottie streak alive so we will all be trained up when Real parkrun resumes.

00:31:41[laughter]

00:32:01Oliver Spake: That's a good point. Yes, I need to be back on the bandwagon. I need that training. And last but certainly not least, we heard from Michael Scott. Good morning, adventurers. Glad you had good memories of your visit to Lakeview parkrun, which, Mel, of course, we reminisced about last week, didn't we? And Michael went on to say, my update on September Challenge. Have completed notties at Frog Hollow, Ginninderra, Hamilton. Inverloch, Jubilee Way, Kirra, Launceston, and Main Beach. And that was today. Nhill, Ocean View, and Port Fairy coming up with Yowie programmed as my Why Nottie, on track for Zillmere on the 30th. And I am sorry that none of my notties are as awesome as AdventureSaurus, but it is contributing to my virtual Camino, 773 kilometres in five months. Well done, Michael.

00:32:57Melissa Ellis: Wow, that's amazing. That's a good effort.

00:33:00Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. I think a pretty cool way to do it. I mean, the actual Camino would be fantastic as well, but that's a massive, massive effort, Michael. And, yeah, love to hear where you're up to. Are you tracking where you're travelling through Spain as you go?

00:33:19Melissa Ellis: Getting the stamps. They get the stamps, don't they? Yes. And I think a few people are going to be turning up at Yowie as well. I know that's where I plan to go when I get to Wye.

00:33:29Oliver Spake: All right, that's going to have to be one of the ones I pick.

00:33:31Melissa Ellis: Yep. Okay. Thank you, everybody, for dropping in again at Dazza's.

00:33:37Oliver Spake: Yeah, lovely to hear from you all. And, Mel, it's also been lovely to hear from our next guests who you caught up with this week for a bit of a catch-up, including Sarah and Amanda from Cottesloe parkrun. So should we have a listen? Let's do that.

Interview Sarah Jefferson and Amanda Meloni — Run Director, Cottesloe parkrun (WA); WA parkrun tourist; Founding Event Director,…

00:34:01Melissa Ellis: Our guests today hail all the way from Cottesloe parkrun in Western Australia and join us to discuss their parkrun course and touristing in WA. Welcome to the podcast, Sarah Jefferson and Amanda Meloni. Thanks for having us, Mel. No worries. Hi there. Hello. So, Amanda, if I can start with you, I believe you were the founding Event Director at Cottesloe.

00:34:25Amanda Meloni: That's right. I was all the way back in 2015. So it's been going for a couple of years now.

00:34:32Melissa Ellis: And how did you become involved with starting up a parkrun course?

00:34:36Amanda Meloni: So it all began, in fact, with a trip to Nepal, of all places. And I went to Nepal with a group of people from an organisation called Upside Nepal. So Upside Nepal is a not-for-profit organisation based in Cottesloe here in Western Australia and And we went to Nepal on a volunteering trip to help set up an apple orchard. And the way the organisation works is that people in Western Australia or other people in the country in Australia donate to Upside Nepal and those dollars are used to help Nepalese people set up apple orchards in certain places in Nepal. And those apple orchards generate an income for the villages in which they are set up and are used to fund local health posts and schools. So it's a brilliant organisation, but with every brilliant not-for-profit organisation, there needs to be funding. So we started a running club, essentially, which trained for the city to surf. And one of the issues that we faced was that we couldn't as a group find a time that suited everyone to get together and run a certain course. So we stumbled across parkrun. And we really liked the idea of parkrun because it's at a set time, it's a weekly run, and it's everyone at their own pace. So because the organisation based here in Perth was in Cottesloe, we thought, well, hey, why don't we set up our own Cottesloe parkrun? And anyone in the community can join and it might actually be a vehicle that we can use to raise awareness about Upside Nepal. And so we did. And then the process sort of became a little more arduous from there because the course was difficult to map out. And the reason is because it was close to lots of roads and we wanted to be near the ocean because of how beautiful it is in Cottesloe. Anyone that has been there will I'm sure agree. And so that's when I decided to really focus on the Cottesloe parkrun idea and not just for raising awareness about Upside Nepal but also as a community initiative and really to make the most out of that beautiful view and that beautiful path. that we can all enjoy. And so I met with John Story, who was the territory manager at the time, and we mapped out a couple of different routes. And it wasn't until very recently that that initial route actually changed very, very slightly. And that's only because the start and finish line changed. But otherwise, it's still the same beautiful route along the Cottesloe Coast. And the Run Directors that I began with were Mark Gibbs, Lyda Haywood and myself. And also my mum, Lorraine Pesce, was heavily involved. So from the very beginning, it was just a couple of men on the ground trying to do their best every week in rain, hail or shine to get the event started.

00:38:01Melissa Ellis: Oh, wow. So can you describe the course for us?

00:38:05Amanda Meloni: I can. So the course is, well, it begins, it used to begin at Cottesloe Beach, Cottesloe Main Beach, which is across the road from the restaurant strip in Cottesloe. And we run south towards Fremantle, but not quite that far. And we turn around there and head down onto the beach. So part of the course is on the sand, more or less about 800 metres to a kilometre on the sand. And then we head back to the upper wooden ramp and up to the start point, which is, again, where we start and finish. However, the course has changed in the last couple of months. So the only thing that has really changed is the start and finish line. We're just about a kilometre or two from the initial start point, point to another sort of park ground with a park bench and, again, a beautiful view of the ocean. But the actual course itself hasn't changed.

00:39:07Melissa Ellis: Okay. And as you said, Cottesloe started in 2015, in April of that year, and it's now had 293 events as of today, I believe. The attendance record is 304 set on Christmas Day in 2019. So that must have been a surprise for an event that averages 83. It looks like your numbers are higher over summer. So is Cottesloe mostly a holiday town? Yeah.

00:39:34Amanda Meloni: Yeah, you could say that. Definitely a beautiful place to holiday, so would highly recommend it. But with the Christmas Day events, we've done a couple of them. And each time there has been a great turnout, as you mentioned, the 2019 being the record attendance. And what a day it was. It was a really big surprise to see so many people turn up. And I think what really attracts everyone to that location on Christmas is the beautiful beach, the crystal clear waters at that time of year. It's usually nice and warm. And what better way to finish off a parkrun than a dip in the ocean?

00:40:13Melissa Ellis: Oh, absolutely. I also noticed that Phil Gore was the first finisher at your launch, the first finisher at your launch, and we heard from Phil on the pod recently when he spoke to Cam at Tamworth Wetlands about his Birdies Backyard Ultra. So you've got a good community out there. You've got, you know, a tight-knit parkrunning community.

00:40:35Amanda Meloni: We do, yeah. There are people that I know have met through Cottesloe parkrun and have become – really good friends and have even gone on to become running buddies. So they run during the week. They catch up on Saturdays after the run, but also outside of that. So I've been invited to birthdays of people that I've met through parkrun, which is fantastic. So it's really, yeah, it's really created a community environment. And I think we've We've been through thick and thin times to get attendance numbers up, to getting approvals from the town of Cottesloe, and I think that's actually brought us all together and has made it necessary for us to really work together as a team.

00:41:20Melissa Ellis: So is the brunch, the post-parkrun brunch, a key factor at Cottesloe?

00:41:26Amanda Meloni: It is. Yeah, it is. We've tried out a few different cafes. So we've tried out Iolito. We like the coffee there. And we also like Beaches, another cafe along the strip. And more recently, we've been trying to arrange for a coffee van to actually be located at our start and finish line. And I'm sure Sarah can give us a few updates about that if there have been any over the last few weeks.

00:41:49Sarah Jefferson: Yes, we're really hoping that that will arrive either this coming Saturday or the following week. So we're just waiting on the council permit for that.

00:41:57Melissa Ellis: Brilliant. So how has the Cottesloe parkrun community been since coming back from last year's pause? Have you noticed any significant differences?

00:42:06Amanda Meloni: I might hand over to you, Sarah.

00:42:09Sarah Jefferson: Sure. I think that everyone's really eager to get involved. And I know myself that I don't really like missing a parkrun now because we really take them for granted. So we haven't actually seen that our numbers have dropped. We've actually probably seen the opposite where maybe more people are involved. We're getting lots of first timers each and every single week, which is really great to see.

00:42:30Melissa Ellis: Sarah, you are also an RD at Cottesloe, but you are a keen West Australian tourist, having run 193 parkruns across 66 different events in six countries. And I believe you've done every event in WA, including today's launch at Homestead. Is that right?

00:42:49Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:42:49Sarah Jefferson: Very close, Mel. I've only got one more to do in Kununurra. Oh, okay. Yes. But it's proving to be quite difficult to get to. And going from last Saturday's forecast, it was 40 degrees. So, I think it might be a little too warm to head up there now. But yes. What's the distance sort of from where you are? It would be in the thousands of kilometres. I'd Don't know, maybe a couple of thousand kilometres. Just to put it this way, that it's actually Port Lincoln in South Australia is now my closest parkrun and I'm residing in Perth. So yeah, where borders allow, it will be closer for me to go to South Australia.

00:43:31Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Yeah, I understand that. So how many events are there now in WA? 43 is what I've got written down.

00:43:40Sarah Jefferson: 43 as of this morning. I did attend the Homestead launch this morning, which was really a really great event and nice that it was only, you know, a half an hour drive from home. rather than a plane flight. So that was really great to go to and great to see that lots of people got on board and supported that event as well.

00:44:01Melissa Ellis: And thank you very much for your audio, your debut audio. You're welcome. Now, I saw your first event was Curl Curl. That's in New South Wales. So maybe we should take it back a step and ask how did you get started with parkrun back in 2013?

00:44:19Sarah Jefferson: Yes, so my parkrun journey did start back in Sydney on the northern beaches. I was living there, the time and I had some friends who for weeks were encouraging me to come along, come along. And just like I see now with my friends, I encouraged them and encouraged them for weeks. I eventually went along and from then I just love the community feel, realised that I wouldn't be coming last ever because there is always a Tail Walker. And I just made some amazing friends who I'm still friends with today. And I loved the fact that I'd get up nice and early, get a run in, go and have breakfast and coffee and start my morning off all before 8am. Well, Curl Curl runs at 7am because of the netball courts there. But you know, all before 8am or 9am.

00:45:09Melissa Ellis: So how did you get hooked on touristing?

00:45:12Sarah Jefferson: Well, I guess when I moved to Perth in 2016, this is when I actually met Amanda. I started going down to Cottesloe quite regularly and my partner is flying fly out in the mines. So I would often be going down there by myself. I did love the Cottesloe course because I'd do my run and then I'd jump in the ocean. Often I would never get changed. I would just run straight down into the Indian Ocean. So beautiful. And then I thought, actually, I don't really know much about Perth and I haven't really been anywhere. So I kind of used it as an excuse every time my partner was home to check out different locations. And then we'd pick a cafe close to that and explore there as well. And then I guess the touristing for us really kicked off when we went to Europe and we thought, oh, my goodness, let's plan our holiday around, you know, checking out different places, parkrun's in France, the UK, Italy. When we were in Italy for parkrun, we actually had already done 15 kilometres before parkrun started because we actually went to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and no one was there. So kind of crazy. But, yeah, we then had to stop after parkrun and thought we've actually done a half marathon and it's literally 9 a.m.,

00:46:29Melissa Ellis: Wow. So I was going to ask you because I saw that you've parkrun all around the world and I wanted to know, you know, if you had any interesting experiences at parkrun overseas as in finding the locations or language barriers. How has that all worked for you?

00:46:46Sarah Jefferson: Well, I guess I'm quite fortunate that my partner is very good with directions and things like that. So he managed to get us to the place in Italy, but we have absolutely no idea what they were saying. We sort of knew the rundown with parkrun. We just basically would follow everyone when they started running and had no idea where we were running. But our most interesting story was probably actually in Australia when we travelled up to Port Hedland this year to complete parkrun and We literally went up for the night for the parkrun, not realising, I think it's above the Tropic of Capricorn, that the parkruns actually start at 7am. So we rocked up a little bit late going, oh, my goodness, I think they're finishing. And fortunately, we just sprinted and said, please wait. And we managed to catch up to the Tail Walker just in time. Wow. So that was a big lesson and could have been a very expensive lesson for us. So if anyone out there is parkrun touristing, make sure you double check the start time. Very important, particularly if you're going north.

00:47:46Melissa Ellis: Now, I noticed you've got quite a few Victorian events too in your bag. Do you have family over here?

00:47:52Sarah Jefferson: I do have family in Victoria. So I do feel very fortunate at the quite freely in Western Australia. So every time I go to Victoria to visit family, I make sure that, sorry, mum, we're getting up nice and early and we're checking out a different parkrun. Unfortunately for my family, it means that the start times are getting a bit earlier because I've kind of done all of the close ones now to her house.

00:48:21Melissa Ellis: I saw that you've even done a Christmas day at Frog Hollow. That was previously my Christmas day destination of choice.

00:48:30Sarah Jefferson: Ah, there you go. There you go. Yeah, I've loved all of the events that I have done over in Victoria. It's great.

00:48:36Melissa Ellis: Very good. So not including your home parkrun, this is the question that we like to ask our guests, can you tell us your top three parkruns and why?

00:48:46Sarah Jefferson: This is a very hard question, Mel. I feel like this is ask, I'm a teacher, you feel like you're asking me to pick my favourite student, which I would never say that I have. So I'm going to start in Western Australia with my third one, Margaret River. So it's basically a trail run beside Margaret River, beautiful trail. It's actually not on a path at all or concrete path. So I feel like I get lots of the dose of nature, I guess, and quite relaxing when I was finishing that one. Number two would probably be Bibra Lake, also in Western Australia. I guess Cottesloe is, you know, we go on the beach, the sand can be soft at times and it can be quite challenging in the heat of summer. I guess Bibra Lake is flat, so I always feel like I can do it quite a speedy time. And my favourite First, or my favourite parkrun I would have to say would be Queenstown in New Zealand. You just cannot beat the scenery there. You're running through the Queenstown gardens beside the lake and the mountains are just absolutely stunning. So I actually was forgetting that I was running. So, but that was a tough question.

00:49:56Melissa Ellis: I know. So it is subjective and we know that. And it can be just where you've had your best experiences. It doesn't have to, you know, your favourite parkrun doesn't have to be the prettiest or the fastest or, you know, it can just be wherever you had the warmest welcome or the best sausage roll or, you know. Warmest coffee. Yeah, exactly. Well, Sarah and Amanda, thank you very much for chatting to us today. We wish you all the very best with Cottesloe and touristing and look forward to hearing from you again.

00:50:33Sarah Jefferson: Thanks for having us, Mel, and we hope to see you and welcome you or anybody over in Cottesloe parkrun sometime soon. Thanks very much, Mel. A pleasure.

00:50:41Melissa Ellis: Definitely. We'll put it on the ever-growing list. Thank you. Thank you. And I really enjoyed talking to Sarah and Amanda and learning more about Cottesloe parkrun. And I really was surprised that there was a coincidental link to City to Surf, Ollie. How appropriate. I know. I know. It was. So thank you, ladies. And I hope I can get to West Australia one day. That would be good.

00:51:15Oliver Spake: It'll happen.

Consolidated Club Report

00:51:16Melissa Ellis: But our Adventurers Club, I've got some stats for you.

00:51:19Oliver Spake: Excellent.

00:51:19Melissa Ellis: Our numbers haven't changed from last week. Ah, okay. Yeah, we're still on 56 members.

00:51:24Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:51:25Melissa Ellis: There was 19 members on the Consolidated Club Report and 29 people recorded notties. So that was up slightly from the week before. Yes. Yes, the Adventurers Club is obviously, I guess it's official. It's an official parkrun-affiliated club that you can join on your parkrun profile. So feel welcome, everybody out there. You can add it as one of your five affiliated clubs on your parkrun profile. And join us.

00:51:55Oliver Spake: That's right. And look, I was late to the club membership game. If anyone does need a pointer, just send us a message and we'll let you know how to change your club. I'm sure most, if not all of our listeners are across that. But just in case anyone's like me.

00:52:09Melissa Ellis: You don't even have to change it. You mean add one.

00:52:12Oliver Spake: Add one. Yes.

00:52:13Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Because you can have five.

00:52:14Oliver Spake: Yes.

Not parkrun results

00:52:15Oliver Spake: Hmm.

00:52:16Melissa Ellis: And our (not)parkrun results this week. Saw Wyndham Vale once again topping the charts at 53. Well done. Koonwarra in second place with 42. And Campbelltown just below Cooney on 41.

00:52:33Oliver Spake: Very close, yes.

00:52:34Melissa Ellis: Long jumping down the list, Shellharbour, they were down a few from the previous week at 15. Yep. And Toolern Creek had four.

00:52:42Oliver Spake: Well, hey, for anyone that's doing the S challenges. Or T. Or T, absolutely, yes.

00:52:53Melissa Ellis: Maybe you can read out the edition this week of the New Zealand Not parkruns Oli. I can.

00:53:00Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:53:01Oliver Spake: And, Mel, those Australian Not parkrun results are impressive, but thanks to Alison, we can share the New Zealand Not parkrun results, which have given them a bit of a run for their money. So coming in at top of the New Zealand parkruns...

00:53:20Melissa Ellis: This is why I asked you to do it.

00:53:26Oliver Spake: Can I record it five times and just... Yeah, coming in top of the New Zealand parkruns, Whangarei.

00:53:40Melissa Ellis: Oh, very good.

00:53:44Oliver Spake: I'm still going to give my apologies, as I always do to our New Zealand listeners, and I would happily take a bit more education on my pronunciation. Second, Hamilton Lake. Oh, I should have mentioned Whangarei. 57 not parkruns, which... Yeah, actually puts them ahead on the combined Australia and New Zealand listings. Well done. In the trans-Tasman listings. That's right. Yeah, the big cheese. No, no. Okay, the trans-Tasman listings, yes. Yes. Hamilton Lake, it's coming in second, a close second on 55. And Millwater, a very strong 35 in third. So well done to our New Zealand not parkrunners. Absolutely, yeah, showing up the numbers. Mel, I do hope to continue boosting the numbers around the traps across the course of the next week. But yes, dare I say, what do you have planned coming up next week?

Sign-off

00:54:48Melissa Ellis: Oh, I might run around the block a few times. Oh, yeah?

00:54:53Oliver Spake: What about you, Ollie? I will, well, let's be honest, I'm going to beat myself up for not running around the block a few times. Hopefully I will make it out there. It's supposed to rain, so that sounds fun.

00:55:09[laughter]

00:55:09Melissa Ellis: Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Oh, dear. Yes. But we are inching closer and closer in our respective states to coming out of lockdown.

00:55:21Oliver Spake: Oh, you heard. Yes.

00:55:30Melissa Ellis: But, yes, we also had some exciting news on Sunday in Victoria. You did. We are fast approaching our 80% double vax number that will give us more freedoms, as are you. Oh, yeah. So that's hoping that we will both be parkrunning for real again by Christmas. And if we aren't here in Victoria, I'm coming to visit.

00:56:00Oliver Spake: Now, I've heard a little thing about a little trend here, but I look forward to that, Mel, absolutely. It will be exciting and I look forward to everyone having their parkrun back. Obviously, hopefully it's been short-lived for the southeast of Tasmania, but likewise for our Victorian New South Wales and ACT listeners and our New Zealand listeners who were so close to returning as well.

00:56:28Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Yes, yes. We wish you all the best over there too with a speedy return to real parkrun.

00:56:36Oliver Spake: That's right. And look, this is not intended to be a whinge mail because I think everyone's been in this boat, especially you at times. But I dare say I won't be going to Tassie for a parkrun next month but it hasn't been cancelled. I won't be going to Queensland for one the month after. But... Should it happen, should things change, I'll certainly reach out. We just have to stay on our toes and keep looking forward to things improving.

00:57:05Melissa Ellis: Yes, and there's still plenty of Real parkrun happening around the country. So we are thankful to everybody who's bringing us all the updates and all the news and keep doing that.

00:57:16Oliver Spake: Yeah. But Mel... Until the next virtual event and the next catch-up, as always, you can contact us via Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. But I think that's it for another week. So we'll see you all next week for more adventures.

00:58:43Unidentified speaker: Nah, he says I can't come back until I breed myself, whatever that means. I know, right? Yeah, and he's like all red in the face and I go, your face colour is clashing with your pants. Yeah, really? And he just went off, totally cracked it. It was so funny. You know how I said he puts like a thick layer of butter on his arrowroot? Yeah, so he like chucked it at me and it missed and it stuck to the window. It was hilarious! Yeah. Yes, I'm like stuck doing admin work until he gets over it, I reckon. Yeah. Yeah, I know.