Episode 260 - The Wild Card

Welcome

00:00:23Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 260 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. I'm Ollie Spake and I'm joined once again this week by someone who's taking their notties on the road. Melissa Ellis, how are you doing?

00:00:39Melissa Ellis: I'm doing really well, thank you. I had a really exciting roadie. I'm going to call it a roadie.

00:00:47Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:00:48Oliver Spake: Yeah, I would like some rhyming or some alliteration in there, but we'll put the jury out for that. A roadie.

00:00:56Melissa Ellis: Yes. So on Saturday I ditched Dazza and I took Alice Pellis on tour. I'm done with running my local streets. So with travel restrictions a thing of the past, I headed out to Albert, Melbourne for an 8am rendezvous with Brendan Peel and his lovely partner, Jodie. It was so lovely to see their smiling faces and I do believe they were just as excited as me to be at a parkrun course with friends regardless of whether we were scanning our barcodes or not. The swans were out and about with their cygnets as Brendan and I enjoyed a relaxed run chat while Jodie enjoyed a walk around the lake with a local friend. You wouldn't think that after 17 weeks so far of the current pause, we'd have anything to possibly talk about. Well, then you'd be wrong and you wouldn't know me or Brendan very well at all. LAUGHTER There was so much to share and muse about. How much longer might we be paused? Where are we heading when New South Wales returns? What event could be Victoria's 100th event and palm22, just to name a few? It was a lovely mild spring morning with patches of blue sky and reminded me just how spectacular our city of Melbourne is. We also spotted a few parkrun tops running around as well, everybody sporting big smiles and happy to say hello to fellow parkrunners. It definitely gave my spirits a lift, and this is what I plan to do now each week until I can manage to get to a real parkrun again.

00:01:47[laughter]

00:02:30Oliver Spake: Ah, there's a special sort of sound to that, Mel. LAUGHTER But I've got to ask, did you say rendezvous or rendezvous? Because I like that. Oh, a rendezvous. A rendezvous. It was, yes.

00:02:34[laughter]

00:02:46Tracey Wood: A park rendezvous, yes.

00:02:48Oliver Spake: And, yeah, how lovely and great to hear that you've been on the road with a bevy of notties by the sounds of it.

00:02:59Melissa Ellis: Yeah, yeah, no, it was very enjoyable. Lovely to see Brendan again. And what about you, Ollie? How was your parkrun morning, your (not)parkrun morning?

00:03:11Oliver Spake: Well, my (not)parkrun mornings and my, well, my mornings in general have become very repetitive. No. I've well and truly settled into the new course, to the new track, enjoying the local marina. It's just a little too comfortable to really allow my mind to wander. So I have been... Trying to notch up as many efforts as I can to take on that Strava local legend position that I'd never truly embraced until now. And suffice to say, I've managed. So, yeah, five notties this week. Nice work. Starting to catch up with what really should have been last month's efforts. I did, I must admit, I did stop home to start the week. I had to go back to Shellharbour for a nottie, but I've since been out catching up on some of my letters there and continuing the trend of a few of the alphabet letters that I would really like to do some real life official parkruns at and um Toolern Creek is still on the list to come back to Mel so uh it's good to save something till later what were the other ones ah well just a couple of them Newy, Queanbeyan, Rouse Hill um fond memories of Rouse Hill so yeah most of which I've seen before but just not in the official capacity

00:04:39Melissa Ellis: And, Ollie, with the local legend, does that mean you did create the Strava route for? You know.

00:04:47Oliver Spake: You know, I didn't actually create it. Really? Didn't create it. So someone in their ultimate wisdom had been out and created it. And being a marina, I think it's nicely named. So there's two 2.5K segments that you can trace because conveniently this is a 5K return trip. But you can pick. You can run red to green or green to red.

00:05:13Melissa Ellis: Right.

00:05:14Oliver Spake: Being the red marker and the green marker at the entrance to the marina at the break wall there. So, yeah, I've thoroughly enjoyed being able to run out to sea effectively. It's a nice experience.

00:05:30Melissa Ellis: Oh, I'm glad.

00:05:31Oliver Spake: Yeah, I think there are some real-life parkruns with probably some even better versions of that. So I'm going to have to start the Run Out to Sea Challenge and start planning some of those for my list because I'm inspired.

00:05:46Melissa Ellis: This reminds me a bit of when we started Streaky September and Pippa gave the advice to people to just set your 2K. Yes. that you can do as a minimum. And that sounds like to me, because pretty much you can do this from your front door, can't you?

00:06:04Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, it's down the road, around the corner, and I start from there. So it guarantees that once I get out to both of the turnaround points there, I've done at least 5Ks. So it's a nice accountability tracker.

00:06:22Melissa Ellis: Good work, Ollie. I'm glad you've been out.

00:06:24Oliver Spake: Oh, thank you. And, again, it's probably all down to, well, no, it's down to the excitement of having the marina now up and running here, but it's very much down to the motivation that's kept the desire alive. And, Mel, I've even signed up for a half marathon. What? A real running event.

00:06:45Melissa Ellis: Oh, tell us more.

00:06:47Oliver Spake: Well, hey, look, it's actually the next running of the event that I did earlier this year. Oh, no. No, not Husky. Not the impressive Husky.

00:06:58Melissa Ellis: Last weekend.

00:06:59Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:07:00Melissa Ellis: Weekend just gone, wasn't it? Did I not say that Karen was at Husky running?

00:07:06Oliver Spake: Absolutely. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah, fantastic run there at Husky. And it would have been a nice muggy morning for it, absolutely. But it's been kind of special to see some of those events get up and running. Yeah, the one I'm planning on is just the local, once again, our Run Shellharbour.

00:07:26Melissa Ellis: I remember now.

00:07:27Oliver Spake: Yep. And, yeah, a nice early half marathon in December, no less.

00:07:34Melissa Ellis: Goodness me. Yes, yeah. I hope it starts early.

00:07:39Oliver Spake: I'm told it does. So, yeah, there's a bit of respite in that respect at least. But, you know, it's nice to have something to aim for once again. And, Mel, just on one other thing you said, actually, you and Brendan, you were talking about Victoria's 100th parkrun.

00:07:57Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes.

00:07:58Oliver Spake: Speculating on the 100th parkrun. Yeah, okay.

00:08:01Melissa Ellis: Because we're sitting on 90 at the moment, I suppose. Which is why it's a conversation point, isn't it? And it's just guesswork.

00:08:11Oliver Spake: Oh, guesswork's half the fun. We live to speculate. That's what we do.

00:08:15Melissa Ellis: My mind's madly racing to try to remember what Brendan said that his guess was. And I can't recall what he said he thought it could be. Did you want to know what my guess was? what my prediction is.

00:08:32Oliver Spake: And we should stress that this is obviously completely independent. You're not privy to any inside knowledge, not to my. No, I'm not. Yep.

00:08:42Melissa Ellis: No, I'm not. But I am aware that there has been efforts to get a parkrun up off the ground in this particular location, which is out my way. So it would be nice if that was the 100th. Ah. Ah, yes, parkrun in Victoria, which is Werribee Mansion.

00:09:00Oliver Spake: Ah, okay.

00:09:01Melissa Ellis: Bernadette Bennett was supposed to be there for a wedding, I believe.

00:09:05Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, in some of Bernadette's nottie tributes.

00:09:11Melissa Ellis: So Bernadette might be excited to know that there is a potential for a parkrun at that location. It would be really nice if that finally gets off the ground.

00:09:21Oliver Spake: It would be. And now speaking of hundreds... I believe you've had your own 100.

00:09:28Melissa Ellis: Yes, which I wasn't really aware of until this evening.

00:09:33Oliver Spake: Yes. Happy 100th nottie, Mel.

00:09:35Melissa Ellis: Thank you. Yes. Clueless I was.

00:09:39Oliver Spake: Might I ask, where did you celebrate your 100th nottie?

00:09:42Melissa Ellis: At Toolern Creek.

00:09:43Oliver Spake: Ah, where else?

00:09:46Melissa Ellis: I did. I managed four knot parkruns this week, Ollie, and as much as I mused in the previous episode of... what challenge I might take up. I decided that I was just sticking to Toolern Creek and giving them all my love this week, which is what I have done, and I have turned my challenge sites to my weekly (not)parkrun tourism adventures. So all Notties moving forward will be at Toolern Creek.

00:10:19Oliver Spake: Excellent.

00:10:20Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:10:21Oliver Spake: Where else?

00:10:23Melissa Ellis: Yeah. I did my 200th actual parkrun at Toolern Creek as well.

00:10:29Oliver Spake: Very fitting, yeah.

00:10:32Melissa Ellis: So there's been a few celebrations that I've shared out at my new parkrun location, even though they still hardly know who I am.

00:10:41Oliver Spake: That's all right. You're celebrating all the, well, real and very arbitrary milestones there and they'll click on eventually. I'm sure the appreciation will come.

00:10:53Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, it's probably time to look at what we've got coming up in this episode. We've got two roving reports this week. We're going to hear from Tracey a little bit later on and PK. Also, we have the informant. Always a surprise as to what the informant comes up with.

00:11:15Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:11:16Melissa Ellis: And other than that, we have our usual stats for the Adventurers Club and from Dazza's. Oh, and we've got some mail.

00:11:26Oliver Spake: Yes. I understand as well there's been a bit of discussion going on in the Streak to New Year's Day group, Mel.

00:11:36Melissa Ellis: There has, yes. There's been a few things of note. The City Striders, Ollie, they're gaining popularity. Are you aware of that initiative? I'm not.

00:11:47Oliver Spake: I'm not. I was hoping you could give me an overview because I feel very much out of touch. Oh, dear.

00:11:53Melissa Ellis: Okay. Okay. So here's my basic understanding of the City Striders. It's some sort of app that you, oh my goodness, we should have got expert opinion on this, shouldn't we? It's some sort of app that you register with. Once you've registered, you must be able to identify your LGA or your suburb and it then tracks all your runs so that you can run every street in your local area. And it will give you a lovely map with all your Strava runs into the app. I think you link it to Strava. So the map comes up showing every street that you've run and you fill it in like a colouring book.

00:12:40Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:12:40Melissa Ellis: So Sam's on board. Sam's doing that for November. And I saw that Janet signed up as well. She needed a little bit of help. But the community jumped in to give her some advice. So, yeah, City Striders is a big one. And then I saw Barbara Doobie. She has decided to do the Elfanotti Challenge again. She was interested in doing it backwards from Z to A but decided that might be a little bit challenging, too challenging for a challenge. So anyway, she's going around again for A to Z. Ah, doing a talk, round two. Exactly.

00:13:24Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:13:24Melissa Ellis: Well, you know, what's not to like about following in those footsteps?

00:13:29Oliver Spake: Yes. No, good work, Barbara. Keep us posted.

00:13:33Melissa Ellis: And then we've got Patrick, say his name, Ollie.

00:13:37Oliver Spake: Shymitzek.

00:13:38Melissa Ellis: Yes. And he posted a pic of a giant Buddha that he found on a nottie in Beechworth. Yes. And that's in Victoria. So Patrick's been down here with work, far as I'm aware, but only he didn't know who Dazza was.

00:13:56Oliver Spake: He's pulling your leg. He's got to be.

00:13:58Melissa Ellis: Really? Because he's in the streaky group, so I'm thinking he's a listener, but how could he not know who Dazza was?

00:14:07Oliver Spake: Look, speaking of running every street, Patrick's done that.

00:14:12Melissa Ellis: Yes. Yes. He's a strider, a city strider, isn't he?

00:14:17Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. So really I should have known all about this. Sorry.

00:14:24Melissa Ellis: You got a few points to raise with good old Patrick when he comes back on.

00:14:29Oliver Spake: No, I'm pretty sure the error's mine, but yeah.

00:14:33Melissa Ellis: In any case, there's a giant Buddha in Beechworth that I need to go and visit now. Oh, I think so. So Beechworth needs a parkrun, potentially needs to be number 101. I hope they've got it on their list.

00:14:45Oliver Spake: And look, Mel, does Dazza travel?

00:14:48Melissa Ellis: Oh, well, he could, I guess.

00:14:51Oliver Spake: Yes. Excellent. We look forward to it.

00:14:56Melissa Ellis: It was a challenge. Oh, my goodness.

00:14:59Oliver Spake: And, look, someone else is on to the notties.

00:15:03Melissa Ellis: They are. Tracey in training has gotten on board the nottie train. She's busy visiting everybody. She put out the call, if you want me to come to your parkrun, comment. And people did. Yeah. She's got a list. It'll be interesting to follow that.

00:15:25Oliver Spake: Yep. Well done, Tracey. I'm sure we'll all be enjoying some visits over the coming weeks.

00:15:32Melissa Ellis: Yes, and I will have more to say about where Tracey's first few notties were later.

00:15:38Oliver Spake: Okay.

00:15:39Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, I think it's time now that we throw to our roving reports, Tracey in training and PK, find out more about what they've been up to.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Tracey Wood — Sandgate parkrun

00:15:57Tracey Wood: Good morning parkrunners, it's Tracey in a Tutu and I've slithered my way out to Sandgate this morning. Yes, if you're doing the snakes challenge, Sandgate is a place to go. Where else could you go to? Well, there's also Southbank, Stanthorpe, St Peter's, oh that's in New South Wales, Stone's Corner, St Lucia, South Toowoomba, Sirromet or SS Koopa up in Bribie Island. Okay, we're here nice and early. I've Just looking for the start. I think it was moved since last time I was here. Anyway, I'm going to wander along and see who I can find a chat to. Okay, I've turned up at Sandgate parkrun Start. I've found a couple of people that you may know, or one in particular. Good morning, Tim. Hi, Tracey. How are you? Good. And who have you got with you today?

00:16:46Tim Oberg: So it's Tim here from parkrun, and I've got with me my first and probably biggest inspiration of our sporting coach, Peter Thompson, a.k.a. Tomo, who taught me, coached me weightlifting back when I was at Nudgee College here in Brisbane. Tomo, welcome to your first ever parkrun.

00:17:02Peter Thomson: Yeah, thanks very much, Tim. This will be an interesting little adventure for me.

00:17:06Tim Oberg: It's going to be great. And this is my old stomping ground. So when I grew up in Boondall, so 10 minutes down the road, and when I was probably 14 or 15 and starting to get into sport, and if I wanted to go for a jog... My dad would bring me right down here to the Sandgate foreshore, and I would run, essentially, where we're doing Sandgate parkrun is where I would run as a kid. And I remember the first ever, and I'm going to say this in inverted commas, listeners can't see this, long run was when I ran from the Shorncliffe Pier to the bridge, the Hornibrook Bridge there, and back. And what is that, 12km maybe? 12km. Possibly.

00:17:43Tracey Wood: Maybe. It's four k's along the four shores and with the bridge.

00:17:46Tim Oberg: Anyway, and at the time it just blew my mind. I was like, I can't believe I ran that far. So this is very much my old stomping ground. And even behind us here, the Sandgate Pool, this is where I learned to swim when I was probably three.

00:17:59Tracey Wood: Yeah. So what brings you down to Brisbane this weekend?

00:18:02Tim Oberg: Well, I had yesterday in the office with all the parkrun team on the Gold Coast, which was great. And this was actually the first time I'd been on a plane since COVID. It was weird. And so 21 months since I last was on a plane. And there's probably a lot of people listening who also haven't yet been on planes again. And it was weird. And where I live in Airlie Beach, there's no mask mandate. There hasn't been masks basically for, I think there was a two week period where we had to wear masks. And so even just wearing masks, I was a bit nervous and nervous, anxious about that but actually it was fine and had a lovely day yesterday with the all the guys on the Gold Coast and now I'm here for the weekend I actually have my high school reunion in Brisbane today so look out and I'll be back to Airlie Beach tomorrow so but it's always wonderful to come here to Sandgate parkrun.

00:18:47Tracey Wood: And Tomo, how did he manage to convince you to come to parkrun? What did he say to sweet talk you into?

00:18:53Peter Thomson: Well, I don't catch up with Tim very often. As you know, he's a very busy man. But we were trying to work out when to catch up. And I said, oh, Sunday's probably not the best for me. He said, oh, how about parkrun? I said, yeah, righto, let's go. We'll have a go. We'll see how it turns out. I'm not running. I'll be walking. Yeah, fair.

00:19:08Unidentified speaker: It's all good.

00:19:09Tim Oberg: I mean, the beauty of walking at parkrun, as everyone who walks, who's listening to this will know, is it's just, it's 50 minutes to catch up with someone. So we'll go and chat now for 50 minutes and then go and have breakfast and it'll be a great catch up. But we were just saying on the way here, I said to Tomo, when was the last time you walked 5K and what was your answer to that? The last time I went fishing.

00:19:30Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:19:31Peter Thomson: He's got a fishing spot where he has to walk 4K from the car to get to the spot, carrying all his stuff. But, yeah, it's a very good 4K. It's a lot harder than what we'll do today because it's up and down and on sand. But, yeah, it's well worth it.

00:19:45Tracey Wood: But important question, did you bring your barcode?

00:19:49Peter Thomson: No, I'm not a registered parkrunner as yet. Tim, Tim, you had one job.

00:19:56Tim Oberg: Look, I did. I was going to call him early this morning and think we need to get you registered, but my parents don't even have a printer, so I don't think so. But my dad's out there volunteering on the course. He's at the turnaround, I think, maybe. Anyway, he's somewhere out there. So we'll give him a high five. Yeah. So my dad, it's taken him 10 years to kind of discover parkrun. He would come down here to Sandgate because he's a walker, right? So he would come down here at 6 a.m., he would walk, and then he would sit on a bench and he would just watch all the parkrunners go by. And then he would call me later and he'd say, right, I think there was about... He did 375, and then I quickly checked the results, and it was like, Dad, it was 380. Well done, yeah? And he never participated, and then he's just kind of started getting into it over the last probably year and a half, and he's really loving the volunteering. I think he really loves meeting the new people and the community element of all of that, so he's out there volunteering today. I have to agree.

00:20:55Tracey Wood: Volunteering is a fantastic part.

00:20:56Tim Oberg: Yeah, had I not been walking with Tomo today, I probably would have gone out and marshalled with Dad and just hung out with him and whatnot. But, yeah, because Tomo's here, we'll get to catch up. So it's going to be a great morning. Thanks. And I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. And it's lovely to see you. And congratulations on your promotion to trainee reporter with the parkrun adventurers. It's, you know, thoroughly deserved.

00:21:21Tracey Wood: Thanks Tim and nice chatting with you as well. Have a good run this morning and please bring your barcode next time.

00:21:29Ashley: Cheers guys.

00:21:31Tracey Wood: Okay I have done Sandgate parkrun and I have found Lisa.

00:21:34Lisa: Lisa what's your job today? I am cleaning the tokens and sorting them.

00:21:38Tracey Wood: Fantastic. Have you done that job before?

00:21:40Lisa: Yes it's one of my favourite jobs so I enjoy doing it and it's something you can do at home so And now he's going away. Hello there. What other jobs do you do? Well, it's the easiest job for me to do because we've got three kids and my husband's a director. So I've done some finish tokens support and Timekeeper and pacing. But my favourite job of all time is sorting the tokens. I find it quite therapeutic. Now how many people would you get here at Sandgate? Probably on average just over 300 but we in our peak times probably up to 500 and even more.

00:22:20Tracey Wood: Wow I think Christmas was there a Christmas Day or New Year's Day one they got up to almost a thousand would that be right?

00:22:26Lisa: Yes yeah I think we may have had six or seven hundred up in that so that's a big token job so yes. Well good on you and how many volunteers then have you done so far? I've got my 25 shirt, so I think I'm up just above 30 now. So, yes. Good on you. Yeah. Well, thanks for volunteering today. Thank you very much. Cheers. Bye-bye. And I'm standing here at the finish line and I've found Linda.

00:22:50Linda: Linda, what's your job today? I'm finish token support. Right, have you done this one before? Lots of time because I love this position. Right, and what about here at Sandgate parkrun? Do you volunteer here much? Yes, we come back on a bit of a rotation. So we come here and we go to different other parkruns throughout the month. Yeah, yeah.

00:23:08Tracey Wood: Now, you're one of the awesome volunteers here. I see you volunteer regularly. How many credits have you got?

00:23:13Linda: About 70-something now. Wow. Wow.

00:23:16Tracey Wood: And you said this is your favourite, is it?

00:23:19Linda: Yeah. Why is that? Because you get to see the runners come back and you just hold the tokens and hand them over to the finished token person. But you can actually chat to the other runners as they come past. You've just got a bit more freedom.

00:23:34Tracey Wood: Awesome. Well, thank you for volunteering today.

00:23:36Linda: No, thank you. See you later.

00:23:38Tracey Wood: Bye, okay um I've finished your sangay better head off but a quick chat to Brent and his erd today Brenton how'd it go oh beautiful morning always is plenty of volunteers they're the most important thing for me yeah and everybody gets to enjoy a beautiful morning I know isn't it nice here at sangay now I've been to sangay before it's a lovely little community here um you've got a great roster full of what how many people do you have on the roster today I think

00:24:04Brenton: We normally have about nine and then we've got the PACER this morning. So probably about 15 people have volunteered this morning.

00:24:10Tracey Wood: Is it the first time PACERs are allowed back?

00:24:12Brenton: Oh, this is, yes. We've got the OK to go now. So obviously always going to be based on restrictions, COVID restrictions, but we're on today.

00:24:20Tracey Wood: And awesome news is we're also allowed high fives on the course. We can. That is awesome.

00:24:24Brenton: That's it, that's it, absolutely.

00:24:27Tracey Wood: So how long have you been doing RD here?

00:24:30Brenton: Aidan and I started together about five years ago, I think, so run directing. I started running parkrun here about six years ago myself, six or seven years, so just wanted to give it back. It's such a beautiful community.

00:24:40Tracey Wood: Yeah, I know, right? Absolutely. Okay, well, you have a good day, and thanks for chatting with me.

00:24:44Brenton: You too, Trace.

00:24:44Tracey Wood: See you later.

00:24:45Brenton: See you.

00:24:46Tracey Wood: Okay, it's Tracey in a Tutu heading off to find some brekkie because there's lots of options available. I'm also here for a friend's 250. It also happens to be his birthday, so happy birthday, Ben. And anyway, see you another time. See you on the B side. Bye.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Paul Kitching — Patawalonga River parkrun

00:25:03Paul Kitching: Everybody's got stories, especially parkrun stories. G'day, it's PK here. Just checking in for the parkrun adventurers podcast. A bit of a roving report as I am actually parkrun adventuring. Something I don't get to do that often these days with teenage girls finishing off their schooling years. Anyway, enough of that. This is about parkrun and I am at the awesome Patawalonga River parkrun. Today I think is the 15th, um of its events and it's fantastic oh my gosh I mean I'll probably say that about every parkrun you may be able to hear a bit of uh traffic noise in the background that is the mighty tapley's hill road that uh we are near we are at West Beach parks Fuller disclosure there. I work for a company called Fuller and we do their marketing, which is awesome. So I'm not here. This is not a commercial advertisement. But the West Beach Parks is a fantastic area in South Australia. It used to be called Hold Fast Shores for those playing at home. It was rebranded to West Beach Parks a while ago and it is basically a whole bunch of parks, parklands, skate ramps, golf courses, water activities, baseball clubs, German Shepherd clubs. Gosh, you name it, it's here. Maybe not underwater backgammon. But anyway, it's a fantastic area and no doubt that is why... Some of the locals thought this would be a great place to do a parkrun. So we take off, I've just done the course, and we take off near what looks like some cricket nets or baseball nets maybe in a corner. And then we go down around and then we run along the Patawalonga, which is a beautiful, beautiful area of Adelaide. And it's basically near Glenelg or West Beach. So people would probably say, oh yeah, I'm going to do the Glenelg parkrun. I suppose this is it. But anyway, it's the Patawalonga River parkrun. And here I am at this awesome parkrun with today's Run Director. G'day Craig, how are you going?

00:27:00Craig: Good, thanks. How are you going?

00:27:01Paul Kitching: I'm awesome, mate. Thank you so much for, first up, for volunteering and being a Run Director. How long have you been a Run Director for parkrun?

00:27:10Craig: I think this is my 12th or 13th time. It's my sort of first time taking over the full reins at Patawalonga today.

00:27:16Paul Kitching: Yeah, well done, mate. And what a course and well done. Congrats. What inspired you to volunteer and to be a Run Director?

00:27:23Craig: Just try and give something back, I guess. And I think the more times you've sort of come out and run, you sort of want to try all the different roles. So I guess Run Director is sometimes seen as the most challenging one to do. But, you know, it's a good way of meeting lots of people and chatting with the other volunteers as well.

00:27:39Paul Kitching: Awesome. As I say, everyone's got a parkrun story. And so what's yours? What's your parkrun story? When did you start doing it and where was your first parkrun?

00:27:47Craig: uh Torrens was my first one I did in 2016 I'd never heard of it um and then after that I really enjoyed it did a few more at Torrens before I then went down to Christies Beach which was my local ah yes and then um Reynella East started up at the end of 2019 and then I became part of the the core team there so I'm sort of being borrowed over at Patawalonga

00:28:10Paul Kitching: Oh, and well done as well, mate. So why did they start the Patawalonga here? I'm assuming because, as I've noted, it's at West Beach Parks. It's a beautiful area. That's pretty much it. There was a call for it by the locals?

00:28:21Craig: Yeah, I think so. I think there's, you know, everyone likes coastal parkruns, and I think part of it was just trying to fill a gap where some of the local ones around Seacliff and West Beach were getting very big, sort of starting to push up to 250 to 300. So it just eases the load a little bit and gives...

00:28:39Paul Kitching: uh another option for people that want to go to a you know coastal um parkrun mix it up I totally agree mate well thank you I'll let you get back out there I see some other you're the uh photographer today as well which is awesome well done um but thanks again I'm going to chat to some other legends here well done thank you enjoy your day here's another legend who you know when you do that thing where you ask someone their name and then you forget it straight away uh actually actually yeah I knew that I was about to say Ashley um no hey Ashley congrats on everything you've done what's your parkrun story where did you start parkrun I started at West Beach probably two times before COVID hit oh wow so then had a big break and then when they started this one up I started volunteering here because it's quite close to home nice mate god love it can you walk here from your house yes awesome that's a massive plus we hear that a lot um what does parkrun mean to you

00:29:28Ashley: It's a good community event, getting lots of people from the local area together, and yeah, it's a lot of fun.

00:29:33Paul Kitching: I love it. Now, I was told there would be dolphins here. Have you seen a dolphin out there?

00:29:39Ashley: Not today, but quite often, yes.

00:29:41Paul Kitching: Okay, so I thought there could have been like a parkrun dolphin position, like a volunteer position. Someone could get dressed up.

00:29:48Ashley: If you went and opened the gates to let them through, they would likely come.

00:29:53Paul Kitching: So I'm just going to pause whilst Ashley does her job of timing. Well done, legends. So there are dolphins on the course, apparently.

00:30:02Ashley: There's two usually come.

00:30:03Paul Kitching: Awesome. All right. Well, that's a good reason for me to come back. Well, well done. See you next time. Yay. Well done. It's a beautiful, beautiful course. A bit sticky today. But, you know, that's just the crazy spring weather we're having. Well done, legend. Keep doing great things. Thanks. Thank you. All right, then, before I go and have some awesome breakfast and hear more stories there, I'm going to grab one more story from a local legend, I suppose. I don't know. You're a legend that I remember from coming out to Mount Barker parkrun. How are you going, Julia? I'm well. Sorry, Julia Church. Hello.

00:30:34Lisa: Hi, how are you?

00:30:35Paul Kitching: Good, mate. You're obviously volunteering today as one of the scanners. Well done. It's been a while since I've seen you. You've been doing a few different parkruns. Is this now your local?

00:30:43Julia Church: Yeah, this is my parkrun now. I'm on the event team. Oh, fantastic. Congrats.

00:30:47Paul Kitching: I didn't realise that. Oh, that's brilliant.

00:30:49Julia Church: It's a beautiful parkrun. I really enjoy it.

00:30:51Paul Kitching: Awesome. Yeah, it is a beautiful parkrun. I agree. Where were you doing parkrun before this one then?

00:30:56Julia Church: So I was Event Director down at Seacliff Esplanade for a little while. Yes, that's right. And then we moved on and this is just a beautiful parkrun. So I just moved down into this one.

00:31:06Paul Kitching: Yeah, it is a fantastic parkrun. I totally agree. What's your favourite part about this parkrun? Is it the mystery dolphins that I hear about?

00:31:14Julia Church: Yeah, they are a mystery. There's no orange shirts for them today.

00:31:18Paul Kitching: Well, I thought it should have been a parkrun position, like a volunteer position. I think so. Dolphin, you know, if someone gets stressed out, maybe you can do it next time, your daughter here. Maybe.

00:31:26Julia Church: Oh, it's just a beautiful course and a really lovely outlook and a great bunch of people.

00:31:30Paul Kitching: Yeah, I agree. You can hear them in the background, everyone encouraging people over the line. It is, and it's nice that it's, like, obviously you get quite a few of the West Beach crew come through here as well, no doubt.

00:31:31[other]

00:31:38Julia Church: Yeah, we do. It's quite a big group, really. We get the crossovers from Seacliff and we get crossovers from West Beach, so it's a nice mix of people. Yeah, it's good.

00:31:48Paul Kitching: It sure is. Well, I'm going to let you keep doing your job because there are a few people coming over the line. You've got to scan. Well done. Thank you so much.

00:31:54Julia Church: Thanks a lot. It's good to see you all.

00:31:55Paul Kitching: Good on you, mate. Thank you, Julia. Yep, that's it. That's PK checking out Patawalonga River parkrun and checking out of this report. Going to find some breakfast at their local cafe, Oceanic, I think it is. But, yeah, come and do it. Come and get your P at the Patawalonga River parkrun and party on.

00:32:22Oliver Spake: And thank you very much, PK. Lovely to hear from your latest adventure and cheers to the team at Patawalonga River. It sounds like it's a lovely new parkrun happening there, Mel.

00:32:34Melissa Ellis: It does. And dolphins, it's just gone up the list on my parkruns to visit.

00:32:42Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah, and so close to West Beach there. I think it's sounding like they've got a pretty healthy parkrun concentration there in Adelaide.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew — Tracey Wood

00:32:54Oliver Spake: Thank you also to Tracey at Sandgate, catching up with a few of our familiar faces and the team there. Tracey, you've certainly got a knack. You've not only interviewed some more volunteers but probably, I don't know, Mel, you think maybe Tracey's, she's found the fine print in the challenge, in the Channel 5 News Crew challenge and kind of stepped up the challenge of a volunteer being an individual who in their volunteering capacity or in their parkrun capacity has done quite a lot for parkrun in Australia. Yeah.

00:33:36Melissa Ellis: The volunteer that introduced parkrun to Australia may well be the most renowned parkrun volunteer that we have, Ollie, and agree that that fine print, that Tracey might not be, well, do you think she's aware that there was a clause? Yes. That if you interview the person that brought parkrun to the country, to our fine nation, that that actually wins her a free pass into the Channel 5 news crew.

00:34:14Oliver Spake: The wild card.

00:34:15Melissa Ellis: I don't think she knew. The wild card. A draw for of parkrun. How would you say it?

00:34:25Oliver Spake: Of the parkrun. Well, yes. Yes.

00:34:28Melissa Ellis: You know what I mean.

00:34:29Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:34:31Melissa Ellis: Congratulations, Tracey. You're in. Yep.

00:34:34Oliver Spake: Yep. I think that's fair to say. And look, let's be clear about this. We have loved hearing Tracey's interviews, chats, and the stories from the many different volunteering roles. And as we've seen, yes, there are still some roles that Tracey's yet to catch up with, but pretty confident, Mel, that Tracey can do a terrific, no, a tremendous job at that as a member of the Channel 5 News crew.

00:35:02Melissa Ellis: Absolutely. I don't think Tracey will give up now. She'll continue on. She strikes me as that type of person.

00:35:09Oliver Spake: That's right. So thank you, Tracey. Lovely to hear from you once again. And I think it's back to Tracey in a Tutu.

00:35:17Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, I just want to say to all the listeners that might hear this before Tracey... Don't spoil the surprise. Don't go out onto social media and say, oh, Tracey, congratulations. No, no, no, no, no.

00:35:35Unidentified speaker: Shh.

00:35:36Melissa Ellis: We've got to be quiet and we've got to let her listen and hear it for herself.

00:35:40Oliver Spake: That's right. It's our little secret.

00:35:43Melissa Ellis: Yeah, just between us. Yes.

00:35:48Oliver Spake: Speaking of people that might have listened and heard a few things, I'm not sure if everyone's across some of the recent developments. I'm sure many have heard, many have read. But there was a mention in the roving reports of a few changes to the COVID framework, Mel.

00:36:05Melissa Ellis: I do believe so. This sent us into a bit of a spin, Ollie, because we weren't aware of it. We hadn't had official comms. Well, I hadn't seen any official comms. So it took a bit of detective work, but the COVID framework's been updated. I believe.

00:36:23Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right. And I understand it's now been distributed out to a In New South Wales, there's a bit of activity underway, obviously, to prepare for the relaunch that we've discussed in recent weeks. We're now getting the opportunity to Make sure we're across the changes. And there's a couple that I'm pretty – straight to the point – yeah, pretty excited about. So excited I want to give someone a high five.

00:36:55Melissa Ellis: I think a lot of people are going to be, Ollie, because these are things that people have really missed. Yeah. Would you like to tell us what they are?

00:37:02Oliver Spake: I'd love to. Cat out of the bag, high-fiving.

00:37:06Melissa Ellis: It's back.

00:37:07Oliver Spake: For the lovers of the out-and-back course and just – the chance to give a bit of encouragement. And look, I think, Mel, different people have different appetites for it. I know we've all been through some interesting times, but I know that there are a lot of individuals there that are really passionate Really looking forward to just having that pretty special feature of our community event back. And it's just that encouragement, that friendly g'day, that thank you that comes through a high five.

00:37:40Melissa Ellis: It's a big part of the juniors, I have to say. Mm.

00:37:43Oliver Spake: Yeah, no, I still look forward to seeing a juniors. I haven't been to a juniors, but I still look forward to seeing that because I can just picture it.

00:37:54Melissa Ellis: When you come to Eynesbury.

00:37:56Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right.

00:37:58Melissa Ellis: And pacing, Mel, paces are back. Yes, that is another key activity, a key component of a parkrun that's been very much missed.

00:38:10Oliver Spake: I will say there have been plenty of individuals that have tried to volunteer as pacers in the last 12 months, obviously when the parkruns I was involved in were operating. And it's been hard to turn them away. So again, there'll be some individuals who are very excited to have pacing back. I think it's really the jam for some parkrunners. And it's, you know, we find our encouragers, we find that the back of someone's shirt is a motivator, but to have a pacer there, to have that confidence that you're going to be supported through, yeah, I think that's pretty special.

00:38:47Melissa Ellis: Have you done a pacer role yourself, Ollie?

00:38:51Oliver Spake: Only rarely. Yeah. Not great at pacing. I tend to just, yeah, I don't have a lot of discipline, Mel. So, yeah, that coupled with the fact that it's very difficult to me at least to manage my pace to, you know, again, my regular course, Shellharbour, yeah, to manage it in a way that is even more

00:39:21Melissa Ellis: I don't think it would be easy to pace an event like Shellharbour. Your flat courses would be a lot more pacer-friendly. I've done it a few times, but only at flat courses. I've done it at my first home parkrun of Berwick Springs, and I've done it at Toolern Creek as well.

00:39:37Oliver Spake: Excellent.

00:39:37Melissa Ellis: I think I might have even done it at Frog Hollow. I can't. But another component of parkrun that's returning is the celebration of the milestones, I believe, Ollie, so long as run briefs are still kept to the brief two-minute timeframe. Yes. Is that your understanding? Yes.

00:39:58Oliver Spake: That's my understanding so far. Still doing, I suppose, reading number two and three just to make sure I'm absolutely across it. But that's my understanding. And, again, yeah, we've missed that. I know that our parkrun at Shellharbour. Like a number of others had curtailed, you know, naturally milestones quite significantly. And a lot of people really look forward to that to state the absolute obvious. So it will be lovely to acknowledge those in a way that's fitting of, you know, people's enthusiasm and how much they've put in.

00:40:33Melissa Ellis: I can tell you something else that's been sorely missed at Toolern Creek, and I'm not sure if there's been reference to this being able to return, Ollie, but it was the dress-ups, the themed apartments. What's your understanding on that? At the moment, no formal understanding at all.

00:40:55Oliver Spake: except to say I haven't read anything saying that they're not to occur. So I presume it's going to be a little more like our previous life as usual parkrun restrictions that we knew before, which, of course, had those special occasions. So, look, fingers crossed. Obviously, we've got to do the homework and event teams will reintroduce that when they can. But that'll be kind of cool.

00:41:24Melissa Ellis: So if anybody from parkrun's listening that could clarify that.

00:41:28Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:41:29Melissa Ellis: Please get in touch. We really appreciate it.

Emails

00:41:31Oliver Spake: Absolutely.

00:41:32Melissa Ellis: Speaking of getting in touch, Mel, we've got mail.

00:41:35Oliver Spake: You've got mail. Oh, what a segue. And our mail comes from our very own Channel 5 News crew member, Alison, this week. So I will share it, if I may, Mel. What did she say, Ollie? She said, Hi, Mel and Ollie. I thought I'd share my (not)parkrun adventures here in New Zealand. We only have 34 operational parkruns and two ready to launch, which are available to choose as your home event. When I first heard about Septober, I thought that would be a great challenge. However, we don't have all the letters in New Zealand yet. Instead, I decided to log a nottie every day, working my way through the New Zealand events alphabetically. By a sheer twist of fate, I ended up at Whangarei, the last in the alphabet, on my birthday. Interlude, happy birthday, Alison. Back to the message. Since I've already run all the events available here, I was getting a bit stumped for what to do next other than contacting parkrun support to change countries. On November 3, I logged a nottie for Greytown Woodside Trail parkrun for their third birthday. On Saturday, I logged another at University of Waikato parkrun. I've now decided to work on my knot P-index. My real P-index is 5, so I'm going to improve on that. Current knot P-index is 2. I'll keep you posted. Alison.

00:43:04Melissa Ellis: Wow, I don't even know if I'm capable of working out what my not P index is, Ollie. Ah. How do you establish that? So it's repeat visits.

00:43:20Oliver Spake: I, dare I say, I am still on one, but with my next plan not email, I hope to move to two when I return to Toolern Creek.

00:43:29Melissa Ellis: Right.

00:43:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, so start clocking up your Toolern Creek.

00:43:33Melissa Ellis: notties uh but then you might have to I don't know head back to Berwick Springs for a few notties or something Mel or well I see I think I've probably been to Wyndham Vale a few times with my notties oh there you go yeah so that's got me thinking now is there a way that I can work out all the ones where I've been so this is the thing it's not as easy to see your history with notties

00:43:56Oliver Spake: Yeah, there's a lot of spreadsheet reliance when it comes to notties.

00:44:00Melissa Ellis: And I haven't been tracking it. Yep. I know I've done 100, but the breakup of that 100, I have not tracked.

00:44:09Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:44:10Melissa Ellis: That would be a lot of social media posts to go back through.

00:44:14Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:44:15Melissa Ellis: Oh, dear. I've failed.

00:44:18Oliver Spake: So it's more like an estimated not P index in your case, or it's an at least, it's a minimum not P index.

00:44:26Melissa Ellis: Oh, goodness.

00:44:27Oliver Spake: Yeah. But I like that one. All right.

00:44:29Melissa Ellis: Thanks, Alison.

00:44:30Oliver Spake: Well, stay tuned.

Dazza's

00:44:31Melissa Ellis: Mm-hmm. And this week, the theme at Dazza's, Ollie, Dazza was feeling left out because Mel had taken not parkrun on tour. So show him some love. Come in and share your Saturday morning. Hashtag parkrun love. Hashtag where is Mel. Hashtag Alice Pellis on tour. So that's me speaking in the third person mode.

00:45:01Oliver Spake: Naturally, poor Dazza. So fortunately, we had some parkrun adventurers keeping Dazza company, starting off with Tracey in a Tutu, Channel 5 News crew member, saying, Morning, team. I headed back to the grounds of my first parkrun where I ran into the big cheese himself, Tim Oberg, and then had a great walk and talk with Lyndell the Legendary. We also heard from Claire Stutchbury. 104th event and 99th Aussie event for me at Kelvin Grove this morning. And a volley for Jack Corkill so we can both do our 100th Aussie event next week.

00:45:39Melissa Ellis: Thank you for volunteering, Jack.

00:45:41Oliver Spake: Yes. Jess McDougall joined us. New Farm parkrun with the family, followed by a play at the park for the kids.

00:45:50Melissa Ellis: Oh, I still have to get to New Farm.

00:45:52Oliver Spake: See, I think Jess has got the ingredients that I'm aiming for. Once parkrun's back, I need to combine some parkrun tourism with some parks to get the little ones on board. And we heard from Val Warwick. Hey, Dazza. Had a wonderful walk and talk with my daughter-in-law's sister and nieces who were doing their second parkrun and wearing my new shirt. And did you see her shirt, Mel?

00:46:17Melissa Ellis: I did. Yes. She had a Volunteer 100 shirt, I believe, Ollie.

00:46:21Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right, the black V. Mm-hmm. Yeah, very special. And thank you for all of your volunteering, Val. Pippa White. Hello, Dazza. Hold tight. I have news. I'm going to try the pronunciation.

00:46:37Melissa Ellis: Glad you got this one.

00:46:41Oliver Spake: Zuiderpark parkrun today. My daughter, the tame volunteer, completed her alphabet as a voluntourist, all roles in the funnel. I finished my running parkrun alphabet and, once written, I will have completed an alphabet of run reports. Not sure if anyone else has done that. Also, for the very first time, I'm the holder of an age category record for the VW 50-54. I took a koala around with me thinking of those who can't. Got lots of fantastic compliments. Coffee and a waffle, please.

00:47:18Melissa Ellis: Oh, well done, Pippa.

00:47:21Oliver Spake: Spectacular.

00:47:22Melissa Ellis: So much to be excited about in that. I mean, Pippa got to do a big twist. I believe that parkrun, which I will not try to say, is in the Netherlands.

00:47:34Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right. Yep.

00:47:36Melissa Ellis: And so she had a tourist trip with her daughter and the tame volunteer completed an alphabet of volunteering, but Pippa also did her alphabet. But the alphabet of run reports, I'm thinking that's pretty unique. I'd be really surprised to know if anybody else has done that.

00:47:56Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:47:57Melissa Ellis: I think she's got a niche there. Yep. I mean, feel free to write in and tell us if you know of anybody else who's done that. But I'm thinking that's pretty unique. And she wore her Ugly Christmas Singlet, the koala one.

00:48:11Oliver Spake: Yes. Lovely. So, yeah, look, my understanding is that a parkrun, and again, I'm butchering it potentially, so apologies.

00:48:19Melissa Ellis: Say it really quick, Ollie. No one will know.

00:48:21Oliver Spake: Yeah, exactly. Is in the Hague. So, yeah, koala's in the Hague. Thank you, Pippa. And an age category record.

00:48:31Melissa Ellis: Wow, what a big weekend for Pip.

00:48:33Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:48:34Melissa Ellis: So happy for you, Pippa. Have you come down yet off the high? Good grief. Okay. Janet Reid. Hi, Dazza. Greetings from the Mothership Lochiel where we are celebrating Jeff's birthday. Iced coffee, chips, cinnamon scroll and wine. Wine, sending so much love and care to our friends in Victoria. So, yay, we got a mention and you didn't. No, no, no, no, no.

00:49:00[laughter]

00:49:00Oliver Spake: LAUGHTER

00:49:02Melissa Ellis: Happy birthday, Jeff.

00:49:04Oliver Spake: Oh, yes. Happy birthday, Jeff.

00:49:06Melissa Ellis: Mandy Oliver, my 199th parkrun today. And I was walking and chatting. When we finished, I let the lady I was chatting with go ahead of me. What are the odds? And there was a photo of Mandy holding a 200 token. Is that right?

00:49:24Oliver Spake: Yes. So close.

00:49:26Melissa Ellis: Dennis Peden, a late and first-time check-in to Dazza's. Happy to report that I have reached the 99th percentile on City Strides with runs yesterday and today progressing to two local-ish suburbs to 41% and 58% in my quest to run every street. Six suburbs completed already and a couple are almost done. Are there any other adventurers that are striders?

00:49:53Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:49:54Melissa Ellis: And we mentioned that earlier. We did. That it's gaining in popularity in the streaky group.

00:49:59Oliver Spake: Yeah, I'm certainly not riding the wave there, so I need to do a bit of catching up. Well done, Dennis.

00:50:05Melissa Ellis: That might be a January thing for us, Ollie, if we're still not back.

00:50:10Oliver Spake: Excellent. You've got to have a list.

00:50:13Melissa Ellis: Yeah, well, you know, plan B.

00:50:16Oliver Spake: That's right. And our Bailey shot. First up, Rebecca Bailey. Morning, Dazza's. No nottie for me this morning, but after all the soft sand running and swimming at surf lifesaving training, definitely feel like I could log a nottie. At least it still counts as a streaky streak.

00:50:35Melissa Ellis: So this surf life-saving thing runs in the family because wasn't Tanya doing that last week?

00:50:40Oliver Spake: Yes, and guess what? Brett Bailey. Hi, Dazza. Tanya, Brunner and I did a five-kilometre walk on the beach. Tide had just turned, so soft sand. Then off to help out with nippers at the surf club. Oh, excellent. Yes, absolutely. There are a bunch. You want to go to the beach with the Baileys? Yes. We also heard from Alison King. Hey, Dazza. I was out early this morning as our shower was getting taken out. It was raining when I left, but I could see blue sky, so only a passing shower. Wore my apricot, plus my new parkrun pink socks. Saw barely a soul. Flat white for me, please, and maybe a slice of carrot cake on the side. And Bernadette Bennett, a nottie this morning at an actual course as we are in Foster. Ran three laps past Foster Spoonville and enjoyed the ocean views. See two photos. And Mel, I don't know if that's a Spoonville or a Spoon metropolis.

00:51:43Melissa Ellis: No, it was a big one, wasn't it?

00:51:45Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. So photo number one, yeah, Spoonville on steroids.

00:51:50Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:51:50Oliver Spake: That was an impressive Spoonville. And photo number two, the Foster parkrun course. What a good place to visit.

00:51:57Melissa Ellis: Good to see the Spoonvilles are still going strong.

00:51:59Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:52:00Melissa Ellis: Peter Pohlman, we got out and about this morning to chase new stickers in Mayfield. And there was an asterisk after Mayfield to say, yes, the street sign is Carrington.

00:52:16Oliver Spake: That's another suburb. Yep.

00:52:18Melissa Ellis: Nadine Crawford, ran my nottie at home at Rosebud parkrun this morning, took a break from nottie tourism and logged my nottie at Rosebud too. Enjoyed coffee with friends out of a real mug, which is still a novelty. One week closer to real parkrun, keeping the faith. Thank you, Nadine, and I'm glad that you got to enjoy your parkrun morning with a real coffee.

00:52:43Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:52:44Melissa Ellis: Lynette Anne, running late to get here but was enjoying the perfect weather doing two not parkruns, enjoying friendship coffee and walks in our bush surrounds in northern Victoria. And there goes the trip trap.

00:53:00Oliver Spake: Tap, tap, tap. We also heard from Jodie. Jodie Mosey had a lovely morning with Melissa Ellis and Brendan Peel in the sun at Albert parkrun with a latte to follow. Walking parkrun with Lisa Gutcher, who did not Albert parkrun for the first time.

00:53:18Melissa Ellis: And it was lovely to meet Lisa as well on Saturday morning.

00:53:23Oliver Spake: And Michelle Carlos, non-parkrun at Marriott Waters, followed by brunch with a coffee crew. And, Mel, we also heard from Ingrid Botha. Cancelled plans for Sunday means I could sleep in this morning and carbo-load for tomorrow's run. So I did.

00:53:39Melissa Ellis: There's a bit of a theme happening here with Ingrid. She likes to carbo-load. Oh.

00:53:45Oliver Spake: Ingrid's weekends sound perfect.

00:53:47Melissa Ellis: Absolutely. Yep. Lee Cabarita, a nottie walk to coffee along the Parramatta parkrun course with adventurers Sally and Bianca. Such a top morning for it too. Sam Schroder, Dazza, hi, sorry we're late. We had a delayed start today so we could combine a freedom run and a nottie at Barrel parkrun with big hugs from my aunt and uncle who we haven't been able to visit throughout lockdown. Coffee, cake and conversation was the perfect afternoon tea. And Parth Bommakanti. Proud to say I've now completed my 565-kilometre half Sydney to Melbourne Ultra on Saturday. I had Tailing TOC as my support crew at the MCG and included a nottie around the G. I walked over to Gordon's Cafe and Bar in the city and had breakfast and some iced lattes. I had eggs Florentine with a hash brown on the side while Tailing TOC had a toasted focaccia with pesto and feta. Yum. By the way, the cafe is in a quiet little lane and has its third owner, who we call Gordon III, been there 29 years. Wow. Has the cafe been there 29 years or has Gordon been there 29 years?

00:55:05Oliver Spake: Yeah. It's a nice stint regardless.

00:55:08Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah, Parth, you better let me know. Yeah. Jacqui O'Connell, a hot chocolate please, Dazza. Sorry to have a special someone worried at our late Saturday notties. We were up early but spent Saturday moving our son closer to Parkville parkrun. I also look forward to getting back to adventuring and seeing friends at parkrun, but until they return, I will continue with daily notties. And glad to know that Dan has got closer to parkrun.

00:55:36Oliver Spake: That sounds like some planning foresight. Good work, team. But thank you, everyone. It was lovely to have everyone at Dazza's. And Mel, I think some of the comments there had a nice spin and something that I have been trying to lean on a little bit this month has been a little bit of a wellness calendar. So true to style, I'm skipping days left, right and centre, nonetheless, taking some of the positive vibes. So it's basically a calendar of things you can do to explore new ways. However, the one for tomorrow, time of recording, tomorrow is the 9th. It's my sister's birthday. But it feels like it's kind of apt. It says, when you feel you can't do something, add the word yet. So, yes, it just came to mind when we were talking about the parkrun.

00:56:29Melissa Ellis: What's your sister's name, Ollie?

00:56:32Oliver Spake: Oh, my sister, a Melbourne local, is Lily. So that's my little sister.

00:56:37Melissa Ellis: Oh, happy birthday, Lily.

00:56:39Oliver Spake: Yeah, and I do look forward to coming down and visiting her, hopefully, in the new year.

00:56:44Melissa Ellis: It's my auntie's birthday tomorrow too, so they share a birthday. Ah. Yes.

00:56:49Oliver Spake: Fantastic. Well, happy birthday to your auntie.

00:56:52Melissa Ellis: Thank you. Now, Ollie... I can hear something. Can you hear something? There's something in the background.

00:56:56[other]

00:57:01Oliver Spake: I think I can, yeah. Yes, yes.

00:57:05Melissa Ellis: Okay, well, I think it's time to throw to the informant.

the Informant

00:57:10the Informant: This is the informant, coming to you live from Level 2 of The View. This week's view is of an old man wearing beige trousers running down the stairs and chasing a Mr. Whippy man down the street. You don't want to get between that man and his soft serve. Since he is otherwise disposed and we have a deadline approaching, I'm jumping into the seat. So with the usual disclaimer, strap yourself in for a gripping report. These are unofficial stats. They're only current at the time they are collected and may differ from the stats you read elsewhere. We have post-COVID records for the number of global runners, global junior 10 milestones and 100 milestones. There were 210 runs held in Australia, down four on last week. This was out of 1,414 worldwide across 18 countries. There were five launches, one in Canada, one in South Africa and three in the United Kingdom. Aussie attendance was down by 1,383 to 19,883, out of 177,000 worldwide, which is up 24,500 on last week. Down under we had 2,171 PBs, while 622 people participated for the first time. 53 juniors reached the Junior 10 milestone, 103 people reached their 50 milestone,

00:58:30[18 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:58:48the Informant: 59 people reached their 100 milestone, and 12 people reached their 250 milestone. 10 people called bingo. Matthew Road Knight was the quickest with 143 events, while Martin Stacey was slowest on 308 events. In hot news, there were no new statespeople this week, not a single one, and nobody around here can remember that happening before. In the top 20 events list, Aeropool moves up 1 to be equal 7th after running at Redland Bay. Kevin Muller drops back 1 to 16 after Tony Jennings ran at Potter Forest. On the overall biggest mover chart, we had 3 people moving up 13 places to 190. Matthew Allen, Pascal Petit and Jane Blakey. On the biggest Windexes, we had 83 people increase their scores. Mance and Robert Plant are the biggest movers, jumping from 5 up to 25. Well Parkies, I'd like to hang around and chat, but I can see Captain Thunderpants on his way back, so I gotta get out of here. If you want to see these stats in full, you can download it from the blog, www.theinformant.me, or look for The Informant on Facebook. This has been the informant and my spreadsheet is like a death by chocolate sundae with strawberries and wafers. See ya.

01:00:13Oliver Spake: And thank you to our informant. Mel. I guess let's keep the stats going. How are the Adventurers Clubs looking?

Consolidated Club Report

01:00:23Melissa Ellis: Oh, Ollie, this week we climbed up with two more adventurers joining the Adventurers Club. We're up to 59 now.

01:00:31Oliver Spake: Oh, welcome.

01:00:33Melissa Ellis: I know. Welcome, whoever you are. And we had 19 on our Consolidated Club Report and 27 Notties logged live. In the last week, which was up four from the previous week, we had in the (not)parkrun table, Kunwara, they came out of nowhere with 82 Not parkruns. Yes. Which was up 48 from the previous week. So, Kuni. Well done. Go you. Yes. Yes. Coming in second was Port Macquarie on 48 and Wyndham Vale on a not too shabby 41. Then we had the long jump to Shellharbour with 14. And Toolern Creek, drumroll, Toolern Creek bounce back with five.

01:01:30Oliver Spake: Well done, Toolern Creek.

01:01:32Melissa Ellis: And I'd like to personally thank Tracey, TOC and Irene for coming to visit me at Toolern Creek.

01:01:39Oliver Spake: Excellent.

01:01:40Melissa Ellis: How did we go in New Zealand, Ollie?

01:01:42Oliver Spake: Some big numbers there. And look, strong as always over in New Zealand, the (not)parkruns Whangarei. Once again, quite high, 56. Hamilton Lake, very close on 53. And Pegasus, 36. With also the notable mention for the University of Waikato, which celebrated its first birthday this weekend with 24 parkrunners recording 49 notties. And Mel, I understand in normal times they average 58 finishes. So very strong showing there for the celebration. Well done, team.

01:02:19Melissa Ellis: Very good. Well done, New Zealand.

01:02:22Oliver Spake: Yes.

01:02:23Melissa Ellis: And what have we got to look forward to, Ollie? What is coming up for the adventurers to be embracing?

International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day

01:02:33Melissa Ellis: Ugly Christmas Singlets?

01:02:36Oliver Spake: Ugly Christmas Singlets, you say?

01:02:38Melissa Ellis: I do. I believe some have already started landing in mailboxes.

01:02:44Oliver Spake: Oh, wow. Excellent. I'm very excited about that. Mel?

01:02:50Melissa Ellis: Me too. Now I'm going to be camping out in my front yard waiting for my postman or my post lady.

01:02:57Oliver Spake: That'll certainly be well and truly worn out by the time International Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day rolls around. I'm looking forward to wearing that one.

01:03:05Melissa Ellis: But there's more exciting news, Ollie, because there's a second chance to order. So if you missed out, if you didn't get in quick enough to order in the first round, you've got a second chance.

01:03:20Unidentified speaker: Oh.

01:03:23Oliver Spake: It's true. And as I understand, by the time this pod is out, orders are open.

01:03:30Melissa Ellis: Yes, orders will be opening on the 10th, which is Wednesday the 10th of November, and they will be staying open through to the 28th of November. Now, we do have to say get in early with this second round to ensure that you will get them or for your best chance of getting them before International Ugly Christmas or Singlet Shirt Day because there's no guarantees with this second round. But definitely the quicker that you get your order in, the higher your chance of getting your shirt in time.

01:04:03Oliver Spake: Look, that's fantastic news, Mel.

01:04:05Melissa Ellis: It's exciting. It's something to look forward to when we don't have a lot to look forward to.

01:04:10Oliver Spake: It's very exciting. I will be looking out for the postie myself. Another reason to be looking out for the postie, the Crookbook's coming. Sorry, David. On every Saturday, on every Saturday, the story of parkrun in Australia. Hashtag Crookbook. Hashtag Crookbook. That's right. So we've talked about this on the podcast this year. We were fortunate to speak with David and now the emails are coming. The deliveries are on their way, Mel.

01:04:43Melissa Ellis: Yes, I did get a notification from Booktopia today to say that my order was shipped. So I'm very excited. I can't wait for it to arrive. And just another reason to be stalking my post person.

01:04:56Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right. I'm so excited here. Even Siri's joined in the fun. I'm not sure if you heard that in the background. I did.

01:04:58[other]

01:05:03Melissa Ellis: Was that Siri?

01:05:04Oliver Spake: That was Siri. Yeah, yeah, I've got Google and Siri here, so the whole gang, just as well Sphinxie is in here. I'd never be able to hear you. But needless to say, it's been a pretty good year for books. You know, we were only just talking in recent weeks. Richard was talking about his book, you know, You're a Runner. We've, of course, had the unofficial parkrun guide New Zealand from Alison, and you spoke to Eileen earlier in the year.

01:05:32Melissa Ellis: I did, yes.

01:05:33Oliver Spake: So, guys, Christmas shopping is sorted.

01:05:36Melissa Ellis: That's right. And, Ollie, what a year we've had. We were also discussing this earlier. We've profiled three books.

01:05:43Oliver Spake: Yes.

01:05:44Melissa Ellis: Well, potentially four if we count last week.

01:05:48Oliver Spake: That's right.

01:05:49Melissa Ellis: And the records that have been broke. Yeah.

01:05:52Oliver Spake: The fastest time, the female fastest time twice, just like that.

01:05:56Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I know.

01:05:57Oliver Spake: Can't claim a lot of credit for that effort, nor the books, but it's just for a year where we have obviously, between you and I, been a little lighter on the actual parkrun stakes. Some pretty solid efforts from the parkrun community to help us savour it in many other ways.

01:06:14Melissa Ellis: Yeah, we appreciate them supporting us and picking up the slack.

Sign-off

01:06:18Unidentified speaker: Yes.

01:06:19Oliver Spake: And speaking of picking up the slack, our Channel 5 News crew, thanks again to look to the whole crew, but a welcome once again to Tracey. She's well and truly shared parkrun from so many different angles with us this year in particular. So we hope everyone's enjoyed it just as much as we have.

01:06:39Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, I think, again, that's it for another week. As always, you can contact us via Facebook or on our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. But that's it for another week. We'll see you all next week for more adventures.

Level 2 with a view

01:08:04the Informant: Hey, did you get us some?

01:08:05Unidentified speaker: Nope.

01:08:06the Informant: You didn't even ask. You just took off.

01:08:08Unidentified speaker: There was no time.

01:08:10the Informant: I've never seen you move so fast.

01:08:12Unidentified speaker: I didn't see you move at all. What was I going to do? Wait 10 minutes for you to decide what you wanted?

01:08:18the Informant: You should have just got four of what you were having.

01:08:20Unidentified speaker: I'm not shouting ice cream for the whole office.

01:08:23the Informant: God, it's only four ice creams. You're so tight. What did you get anyway?

01:08:28Unidentified speaker: What do you mean, what did I get? I got an ice cream cone.

01:08:32the Informant: Just a plain one?

01:08:33Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

01:08:34the Informant: Oh my God, that is so beige of you. No choc chip?

01:08:37Unidentified speaker: No.

01:08:38the Informant: No flake? Tim Tam?

01:08:40Unidentified speaker: No.

01:08:40the Informant: Milo?

01:08:41Unidentified speaker: No.

01:08:41the Informant: Not even sprinkles? Oh my God.