Episode 261 - Back in the ACT

Welcome

00:00:24Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 261 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. I'm Ollie Spake and I'm joined by a parkrunner, Melissa Ellis.

00:00:34Melissa Ellis: How are you? Hello, Ollie. I am a real live parkrunner this week. How are you?

00:00:41Oliver Spake: Yes, how does that feel? Look, I'm a parkrunner in waiting. Yeah, still someone that loves parkrun just as much, I'm sure, but... taken a bit of delight in seeing a few more people get out there and enjoy their parkrun. So doing pretty good. Thanks, Mel. And suffice to say, I'm also feeling pretty ugly tonight.

00:01:06Melissa Ellis: Ah, more to talk about on that later, I'm guessing.

00:01:10Oliver Spake: But importantly, you rediscovered the act of parkrunning.

00:01:17Melissa Ellis: I did. I did. I had a roadie and a rendezvous. Ha ha.

00:01:21[laughter]

00:01:23Unidentified speaker: Love it.

Roving report Melissa Ellis — Tuggeranong parkrun

00:01:24Melissa Ellis: At Tuggeranong parkrun in the ACT. So Wednesday last week, Ollie, we learnt that parkrun would be returning in the ACT on the coming Saturday, which was Saturday just gone. And as borders were open to travel into the ACT, I started to think of how I could manage to get there and run one of the three events that I haven't visited. The 700-kilometre drive was daunting. Ah. But as it had been such a long time since I'd last been able to road trip, I made the decision to do it, finding accommodation close to the event, meaning only a short walk to the start line in the morning. I chose Tuggeranong parkrun, which is an out-and-back course along Lake Tuggeranong foreshore, and it's relatively flat. Joining me on the adventure were New South Wales adventurers Sam and Luke Schroder, Chris and Kerry Fraser, fellow Victorians Nadine Crawford and Keren Tindley and local adventurer Will Barlow. The event at Tuggeranong starts and finishes at the Tuggeranong Town Park. It has parking, toilets, a playground, barbecues and a sandy beach for those warmer days. And Saturday was not one of those warmer days. LAUGHTER However, the light drizzle, it did nothing to dampen our excitement. It was event 407 and there were 136 participants, very excited participants on the day, which included seven unknowns, three first timers and two people recording their second event. Now, I think it's always relevant to mention those people doing their second event because those Canberrans, that's a long time between their first and their second.

00:02:38[laughter]

00:03:11Oliver Spake: Yeah, it really is.

00:03:12Melissa Ellis: And they've come back.

00:03:14Oliver Spake: So that's really good.

00:03:16Melissa Ellis: I was especially happy with my time of 30 minutes 36, which is the fastest time I've recorded since May when I ran a 30-33. And I haven't gone sub 30 since June last year. After the event and a quick change into dry clothes, we headed to Brew Bar Cafe for brunch and actual real park faff, which went on till midday when I had to begin my long journey home. So it was a very quick overnighter, a very long way for an overnighter, but we do what we have to do.

00:03:51Oliver Spake: Yes, absolutely.

00:03:52Melissa Ellis: The short nature of my trip meant no time for any sightseeing, but that's okay because I can cover that when I return in the near future.

00:03:59Oliver Spake: Well, Mel, it's good to hear that you factored in the sustenance for the trip back, the brunch being... I don't know, just as important as the parkrun in some cases, particularly with a 700-kilometre drive involved in getting to and from your parkrun. So very good to see. No ice cream, I trust.

00:04:18Melissa Ellis: No, no, no. Ice cream doesn't quite fit into my low-carb lifestyle. However, I have fond memories of rum and raisin in a waffle cone. I do. It's not in my current life, sadly.

00:04:35Unidentified speaker: No, no.

00:04:35Melissa Ellis: But I did have still a very nice brunch and I – I was very happy to spend those hours just sitting and chatting with my fellow adventurers and doing what we have missed, which is just talking parkrun.

00:04:50Oliver Spake: Yeah, and look, I did see that weather. Well done. I trust everyone returns safely. So it was fantastic to see all those smiling faces. I think glistening even more with the rain effect overlaid.

00:05:05Melissa Ellis: I didn't even notice the rain when I was running. It was actually quite light. It still got us wet. So we were still very, you know, squelchy. I had a bit of mud and very wet, soggy runners. Luckily, because I had my car, I had my running kit in the back of the car. So I had a spare dry runners to fish out, which was good.

00:05:24Oliver Spake: Very good.

00:05:25Melissa Ellis: Yeah, the drive home's never as fun as the drive up. The drive up's full of anticipation and excitement.

00:05:30Oliver Spake: Yep, yep.

00:05:32Melissa Ellis: Coming home's just like, oh, I'm so over this. I just need to get home.

00:05:37Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. Look, I haven't done the full drive from Melbourne to Canberra. I've certainly done parts of it, but for the uninitiated, it's a fairly, let's say, consistent drive. Oh, definitely. Would you say, Mel? Yeah, yeah.

00:05:53Melissa Ellis: So, yeah, it's a great drive. Look, I don't mind going up and down the Hume. I find it because it's a double lane the whole way. Yeah. You know, you just can set your cruise control. There was still very little traffic. I was quite surprised actually. I thought now that the borders are open it would be a little busier but I still found it really quiet on the roads.

00:06:14Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:06:15Melissa Ellis: So other than needing to stop for fuel because I can't make the whole distance without refuelling twice on the way home. Oh. Um, yeah, it was fine. It's just a little bit boring when you're on your own and you've got no one to talk to.

00:06:28Oliver Spake: Yes. I mean, it's great for the podcasts, but, um, that's a lot of podcast time.

00:06:32Melissa Ellis: Yes. Ah, yes. Listening to podcasts until you're, um, well, my new AfterShokz went flat, Ollie, cause I didn't bring the charger and I was going to mention how good they were actually.

00:06:45Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah. Well, you can still do that. I mean, I don't think it's fair to hold their battery life against them unless it's particularly atrocious. Yeah.

00:06:53Melissa Ellis: So it was only, you know, a month or so ago that I may have mentioned that I was one of those people that was running with the audio on my phone. Yes. Because I'd lost my ear pods. That's right, that fateful day. Yeah, so I'd lost one at Main Beach and then I kept dropping the other one because they just don't stay in my ears, those little ear pod things, clearly. And so the one remaining one I kept dropping and then that broke and then I had nothing. So I had no choice but... Luckily, my usual runs, I'm usually solo and there's nobody anywhere near me. So I just play my podcasts through my phone for the world to hear. But then I was recommended these AfterShokz, which they're sort of a solid band that wraps around your head and then they sit just in front of your ears.

00:07:44Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:07:45Melissa Ellis: And somehow the sound gets in.

00:07:49Oliver Spake: Yes, I've got something similar, but I've never owned any AfterShokz, yeah.

00:07:53Melissa Ellis: Oh, my God, they're perfect. Yes. They're so good for me because they don't have to sit inside my ears. They just sit in place and they're fabulous. I'm so happy with them. Recommend them to everybody. And then, of course, you know, as I'm driving, I can have my navigation system And my AfterShokz paired with my phone, so all the directions come straight and I can hear them as I drive. And then I can listen to my podcast as well and I can hear them over the road noise. So I was really happy. Except I forgot to take the charger, so halfway home they went flat. Oh. And I had to abandon everything, go back to the old...

00:08:32Oliver Spake: I would say that's a pretty good battery life if it made it halfway home. So, yeah, kudos to the AfterShokz. I think it's really good for the multitasking walker or runner as well, don't you reckon, Mel? Because you can have a conversation and have background music all at the same time. So...

00:08:49Melissa Ellis: Yeah, well, that's one of the benefits of these because they don't actually go in your ears. Somehow the sound reverberates and you can hear it, but you've still got really good sound of like cars or people that are talking to you because your ears aren't blocked.

00:09:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, and that's exactly right. Now, as I'm reminded often by my family, particularly my oldest daughter, I've got tiny ears. So, yeah, the buds just don't stay in. They're too big for me.

00:09:22Melissa Ellis: That must be my problem. Yeah. I have no idea why they don't stay in.

00:09:25Oliver Spake: Part of the small ears club. Maybe. Yeah, the pixies. The pixies. If that works. The pixies might have pointy ears. I don't know. But the solution I've had is very similar. I bought a couple of years ago some of the Bose sunglasses that I run with that have got the little speakers, one of the very few techie gadget things that I have. Yeah. Absolutely love it because, you know, running on the road, you can hear the traffic nearby if you're about to, you know, come toward an intersection. You've got your wits about you. AfterShokz sound brilliant. Apologies to anyone if you're listening and you work for Bose. I'm on to my, huh, fourth pair, I think, because they keep breaking or failing. So there's the downside with them, but absolutely love them otherwise.

00:10:15Melissa Ellis: Okay.

00:10:15Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:10:16Melissa Ellis: And they're obviously good for sun glare as well.

00:10:18Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, exactly. So yeah, no good if you're running at night.

00:10:21Melissa Ellis: No. Okay.

00:10:23Oliver Spake: Yeah. So that's where I deal with the... the buds falling out of the ears.

00:10:28Melissa Ellis: Oh, well, you need some AfterShokz.

00:10:30Oliver Spake: Well, that's it. Then I don't have to deal with the humiliation of my eldest daughter rubbing it in every time that the earbud falls out. You're welcome. Hello, Hannah, by the way.

00:10:42Melissa Ellis: Yeah. I'm here to please. Hi, Hannah.

00:10:46Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:10:47Melissa Ellis: So, Ollie, how was your Saturday morning? Fill us in, or your Saturday and Sunday, if you so wish.

00:10:53Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, look, a little more local than yours, Mel. Surprise, surprise, Saturday morning. Yeah. how to run near the marina. But I think the highlight for me was Sunday morning. So I'm desperate to try and get a bit more, yeah, a few more Ks in the legs as the half approaches. I'm not too concerned about doing the distance, just about braking. So, yeah, trying to get a bit of discipline behind that. And thank you to Bec. So I went out and joined up with Bec. She did 10Ks and I managed a bit longer. But the highlight, Mel, was Banksia Avenue, not parkrun.

00:11:35Unidentified speaker: Uh-huh.

00:11:36Oliver Spake: So I've done parts of the (not)parkrun before. True to style, I absolutely butchered it. I mean, I did an out and back in reverse, if that makes any sense. But got the photo at the sign and enjoyed all the sights. And I think it's a really nice course, Mel. I think that the part of the course that I hadn't explored before was this beautiful sort of undulating grassy area behind the houses. And yeah, excellent course.

00:12:05Melissa Ellis: That's good, Ollie. I hope you're memorising it for when I visit.

00:12:09Oliver Spake: That's right. Yes. No, it's fully committed to memory. So yeah, we look forward to it.

00:12:15Melissa Ellis: including that, what's the bridge called?

00:12:18Oliver Spake: The Windang Bridge. The Windang Bridge.

00:12:20Melissa Ellis: Oh, how could I forget? The Windang Bridge and the morning light. If I'm coming to Wollongong, I want the whole experience. Oh, it's not Wollongong. It's Shellharbour. Oh, it's Shell. What do you call the area?

00:12:29Oliver Spake: It's Shellharbour. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And you can get away with calling it either. But the Windang Bridge is undergoing a bit of a facial uplift at the moment with some new railings. So I hope we can get across, Mel. Yeah, don't tell me yes but that was my weekend fairly low-key I'm hoping for some parkrunning before too too long but obviously as a New South Wales based parkrunner prepping for December

00:13:01Melissa Ellis: Yes. Exciting. 18th is still the date?

00:13:05Oliver Spake: Yes. Well, I mean, that's actually, that's our news, isn't it? I think so.

parkrun news bulletin

00:13:11Melissa Ellis: Would you like to share the news that we heard just this last week from parkrun Australia?

00:13:17Oliver Spake: Yes, the real HQ.

00:13:18[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:13:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, so parkrun Australia's update did, of course, advise everyone for the states that hadn't been parkrunning what was the latest status. So reading off their blog, the ACT, of course, this week we welcomed back our events in the ACT and all participants are strongly encouraged to check in via the Check In CBR or Canberra app and follow local guidelines when travelling to the event. The update goes on. New South Wales. The recent delay to the lifting of restrictions in New South Wales means we are now targeting reopening events across the state on Saturday, 18 December. As such, we will continue to work closely with event teams, ambassadors and landowners and will provide a further update to confirm the reopening nearer the time. Fingers crossed, Mel, and Victoria. Today, we wrote to the Victorian government seeking clarification of our classification, an important step that would allow us to return events across the state almost immediately. Although some restrictions mean that we are not able to be open everywhere across the country at the moment, and in some instances, we have no clarity on when it might be that we can return, we are confident that the Thank you, as always, for your continued support. And thank you to the parkrun Australia team for everything that they're doing in that respect.

00:14:58Melissa Ellis: Yes, I believe they're working very hard every day behind the scenes, parkrunners won't necessarily know that, but have no doubt that they are working really hard to get all the events back as quickly as they can.

00:15:12Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. So huge excitement for our ACT-based Canberran parkrunners and very excited, obviously, from my neck of the woods, Mel, but fingers crossed, fingers crossed for you guys over there in Victoria. Yes.

00:15:29Melissa Ellis: Just sad that I booked for the initial return to come up to New South Wales and then they put it back for two weeks. But no harm, no foul. I'll still come. I'm still going to come down and visit friends and experience some local notties.

00:15:46Oliver Spake: Yes, some of the true highlights of the area.

00:15:50Melissa Ellis: And maybe some theatre, local theatre.

00:15:53Oliver Spake: Ah, yes, yes. We have some particularly good theatre in the region.

00:15:57Melissa Ellis: But, okay, recapping a few things from last week, Ollie.

Streak to New Year's Day

00:16:04Melissa Ellis: In the Streak to New Year's Day group, we had Barbara Doby matching her shirt colour in her notties. Now, did you see any of these? Because she's doing a really good job with this.

00:16:15Unidentified speaker: Oh.

00:16:16Oliver Spake: I haven't seen all of them, and I apologise, Barbara, but what an effort.

00:16:21Melissa Ellis: So the first one I noticed was she was wearing her, I think her purple, maybe a volunteer shirt, and she was blending in with the local jacaranda trees. And then I saw her in blue blending in with some bridges and such, and then she had yellow and then lime green, I think. She's been doing a brilliant job creating her own interest for her (not)parkruns.

00:16:46Oliver Spake: Yeah, it's fantastic.

00:16:47Melissa Ellis: Then we had Alison this week, Ollie. She ran to work. Yes. She incorporated her nottie in her run to work and a beautiful photo of the view from behind her workplace as well that she posted in the group.

00:17:00Unidentified speaker: Mm, mm.

00:17:01Melissa Ellis: Another point of interest, Bruce mentioned that he received his first (not)parkrun results email. Now, this is interesting because I have received them on and off over the, I guess, the pandemic, over the time that we've had Not parkruns. But I had noticed early on that it's a bit intermittent, that I don't necessarily get the (not)parkrun results email every week.

00:17:28Unidentified speaker: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:17:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, I'd taken that to be, I suppose, reflective of my not parkrunning efforts. I try harder, I get an email. I try a bit less and, yeah.

00:17:38Melissa Ellis: Yeah, but I wonder and I did think, you know, what's the trigger to get that results email? Like is there a certain amount of notties that you have to do in a week before you receive it? Is it just if somebody at HQ decides or remembers to send them out for the week or...?

00:17:58Oliver Spake: Powered by attendance at those special Not parkrun events.

00:18:01Melissa Ellis: Maybe. Yeah, I wonder if anybody knows the answer to that that could enlighten us. Because it's not a definite thing. Now, clearly, Bruce has been doing all of Streaky September. He's been doing Not parkruns. So for him to get his first one just now, you know.

00:18:20Oliver Spake: Maybe he can't keep up with you, Bruce. I mean... It's working as fast as it can.

00:18:27Melissa Ellis: Yeah, it's not like he forgot his barcode, is it?

00:18:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, that's right.

00:18:32Melissa Ellis: So that's interesting. And we had Patrick Shymitzek. Is that right?

00:18:40Oliver Spake: Patrick Shymitzek. That's right.

00:18:41Melissa Ellis: Shymitzek. He did a nottie at the creek. And I liked how he called Toolern Creek the creek. I'm going to adopt that. Thank you, Patrick.

00:18:53Oliver Spake: The creek. Yep.

00:18:54Melissa Ellis: He was at the creek. He was at the creek with Cecil. So thank you for visiting, Patrick. And we had a bit of a go at Patrick the other day in the Facebook post. That was just good-natured. That was just an excuse to put a social media post up. Nothing mean intended there, Patrick. We just had a little dig that he was listed but hadn't attached himself to the adventurers group, which I believe he has now done. So even though it wasn't meant to, it had the desired result. And he also had some more Strava art this week. Ollie, did you see that?

00:19:31Oliver Spake: Oh, fine Strava art. It was just the mind boggles at the efforts, but the tutu was fantastic.

00:19:40Melissa Ellis: I think he tagged Tracey in that.

00:19:42Oliver Spake: Yes, aptly, yes.

00:19:44Melissa Ellis: So whether that was a direct request from Tracey, I'm not quite sure, or he just took it upon himself to create that for her.

00:19:53Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, that's right. No, well done. And well done, everyone, keeping the streak alive. I feel a long way off the pace, but it's always a motivator to see everyone's efforts. Keep up the good work.

00:20:07Melissa Ellis: I do have to say my streak ended a little while back. I didn't make it public.

00:20:14Oliver Spake: That's okay.

00:20:14Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:20:16Oliver Spake: Will you pick it up again, do you think, Mel?

00:20:17Melissa Ellis: No. It's not a priority at the moment.

00:20:22Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:20:23Melissa Ellis: I have lost a little bit of enthusiasm, I will admit, for my ultra.

00:20:28Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:20:29Melissa Ellis: But I know I've got 100 days to complete this ultra, the same one that TOC recently completed, although I'm not doing the Sydney to Melbourne like him. I'm doing Mildura to Melbourne.

00:20:39Oliver Spake: Mm-hmm.

00:20:39Melissa Ellis: I did a little bit of a calculation yesterday. I think I'm up today like, I don't know, 52 or something out of 100 days I've got. So I did the little calculation to see what I had to average per day to maintain and finish within the 100 days. I think I need to do like 3.6 or something like that.

00:20:59Oliver Spake: Okay.

00:21:00Melissa Ellis: So still within reach. Yes. I'm plugging along, but, yeah, life has got a little bit more complicated recently. So sometimes you just have to cut some things away and focus on the important stuff.

00:21:14Oliver Spake: That's right. Look forward to it re-entering when the time is right.

00:21:18Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:21:18Oliver Spake: Yeah. Exactly.

00:21:20Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I'll have to put in some big efforts on the weekend or something.

00:21:23Oliver Spake: Well, hopefully the weather's fine. It's been a bit of a shocker in our part of the world. I mean, you park ran in it, but, yeah, hopefully that weather has passed.

00:21:35Melissa Ellis: I drove to Canberra in it. It rained the whole way.

00:21:38Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. Wow.

International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day

00:21:43Melissa Ellis: But there's also been lots of pictures and posts, Ollie, of Ugly Christmas Singlet and shirts and crookbooks turning up in mailboxes.

00:21:52Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right. I've got one in front of me and one on me. Same. We're twins. Excellent.

00:22:01Melissa Ellis: My Ugly Christmas Singlet turned up today in the post and my crookbook was waiting for me when I returned from Canberra.

00:22:11Oliver Spake: Ah, that's excellent. No, I'm looking forward to a good, solid read of the Crook book, and I should say on every Saturday, the story of parkrun in Australia by David Crook, hereforth known as the Crook book. But it's a fantastic effort and well done, David. It's been just a delight to see it coming together and now to see it in print is incredible. It's very exciting. And on the singlet, Mel, I don't think my children have taken to the idea of me dropping them off at school tomorrow. I did post to Hannah that she could wear hers and we could go for coffee in the morning.

00:22:50Melissa Ellis: Come on, Hannah, get on board.

00:22:52Oliver Spake: Slightly less repulsion there. So, look, I don't think it looks ugly, but I don't know. Maybe I'm just missing the perspective. It sounds like it's tremendously ugly.

00:23:06Melissa Ellis: Well, going back to the book, Ollie, I've got to admit I just opened it up and scanned for my photo. LAUGHTER And for those who might be interested, if you turn to page 260, oh, hang on, 268.

00:23:12[laughter]

00:23:21Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:23:22Melissa Ellis: You'll find me.

00:23:23Oliver Spake: And I don't know whether your hand inside that massive high-five glove extends to page 269. It does.

00:23:31Melissa Ellis: It does, Ollie. I'm a centrefold. My life's dream is... Oh, that's a big five, isn't it? But it's very exciting. So that photo was taken when I was at Shellharbour. That's right. On the beach during the event at Shellharbour.

00:23:50Oliver Spake: Yes, with one of our lovely volunteers, Sue, there. So there are some brilliant images in there, Mel, and you're quite right, you're a feature.

00:23:57Melissa Ellis: I was a bit excited. Thanks very much to David for that.

00:24:02Oliver Spake: Yes. Ah, but it's an absolute delight to be taking in some parkrun excitement, Mel. It's filling my bucket, given I wasn't out there in the rain feeling it with parkrun and for real life. But I suppose it's time we caught up with some of our other parkrunners who've been out there getting out amongst it.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:24:23Oliver Spake: We've got some roving reports, Mel. So let's have a listen.

Roving report Tracey Wood — Zillmere

00:24:34Tracey Wood: Good morning parkrunners, it's Tracey in a Tutu and I've ditched the L plates and I've put my parkrun Podcast P plates on and headed out to Zillmere. Okay, I have done this event before but I haven't done the new course. So I'm wanting to see what's different about it. Okay, I'm here seeing the flags. Let's see who I can find. Okay, and I've found some tourists and they've travelled an awfully long way, I believe. Guy, where are you from?

00:25:04Peter: Right now I'm running at Chermside mostly. 2,000 metres down the road probably.

00:25:10Tracey Wood: Yes, I haven't been able to find any further away visitors. So what made you come to the Z this morning?

00:25:17Peter: It's time for a change and I don't have a Z and we're really lucky to have a Z in our neighbourhood.

00:25:24Tracey Wood: Awesome. Now have you been part of parkrun for a while? No.

00:25:28Peter: Yeah, so I started running in 2017, I think. So I've done about 260 odd. Awesome. Only wearing my 50s shirt because then if I'm really slow at a new park, nobody holds it against me.

00:25:46Tracey Wood: And do you volunteer as well, Peter? Awesome. What's your favourite role?

00:25:50Peter: Favourite role? I like to do photographer.

00:25:52Tracey Wood: Yes. because it's nice when everyone comes and smiles. It's the best thing.

00:25:56Peter: It is the best thing. I love it. Yeah, and also even when I'm, you know, at the end of the race, sorry, at the end of the run at Chermside, I often go and park myself down the path and clap everyone in. It is so beautiful to see the look on everyone's faces as they're getting within sight of the finish line.

00:26:12Tracey Wood: Yeah, awesome. Well, I think we're about to start in a minute, guys, so thank you for chatting with me. It's a pleasure. Okay, I'm now out on the course. I have found Cameron and Charlie. Good morning, gentlemen. Good morning. Right. Now, Cameron, you told me that you've done this course before. Yes. But how many times? I think about 60 through about over 50. Right. And you were also telling me about how the course has changed. Could you tell the viewers how that's changed?

00:26:43Cameron: Yeah. So we used to do two laps around a soccer field. and then we used to go over a bridge and do the course we're doing now. But then they decided to change it because of the soccer fields to just this two times. Right.

00:26:57Tracey Wood: So this being two laps around the oval, is it?

00:27:00Cameron: Two laps around the outer ovals. Right. Oh, okay. And do you find this is better? Um, sometimes no, sometimes yes, because we had the club to rest at after and before parkrun, so yeah, it was good. But it is a very long park, it feels longer now. And you two, do you have other parkruns at all? We've done one. We've done, I think, Sandgate before. Yes. And because it was on concrete, it really did not go good on our feet. And what about you, Charlie? How many parkruns have you done, mate?

00:27:43Tracey Wood: I think about... Five. Five, okay. And is this the one you've been coming to the most? No, this is the first time. First time is well done. Yeah. Important question, did you bring your barcode?

00:27:56Charlie: No.

00:27:57Tracey Wood: Mum's got it?

00:27:58Charlie: Yeah. No, I'm with my dad. Oh, with dad.

00:28:02Tracey Wood: That's all right. Okay, well that's great. My mum printed a barcode for me. She's a good mum. All right, well thank you gentlemen. Let's keep going. Yep. Now we're standing with Peter. I've just done the course. Peter, who's the Run Director today. Peter, how did it all go?

00:28:18Peter: Oh, it went pretty well today. I think we had about 40 runners. Yeah. Everyone seems pretty happy.

00:28:23Tracey Wood: Yeah, yeah. Beautiful day. Yeah, people were remarking it's a much nicer course, you know, because it's all on the grass and, you know, you can wander around and you see people on the other side. Would you agree with that?

00:28:34Peter: Yeah, it makes a nice change from the concrete paths. Plenty of space. It's really good for dogs as well. A bit harder work on the feet, but easier on the joints.

00:28:42Tracey Wood: Yeah. And how long have you been run directing here, Peter?

00:28:45Peter: Just since this year. So since about February.

00:28:47Tracey Wood: Yeah. Yeah. Good on you. So you'd have a few volley credits up?

00:28:51Peter: Oh, not that many. I'm only up to about 40.

00:28:53Tracey Wood: Yeah.

00:28:54Peter: Yeah. I didn't really get into this until I'd done my 250 runs regular.

00:28:58Peter: Yeah.

00:28:59Tracey Wood: Well, good on you for helping today. And thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah. My pleasure.

00:29:03Peter: It's good to give some back.

00:29:05Tracey Wood: Yeah. Good on you.

00:29:05Peter: Thank you.

00:29:07Tracey Wood: Okay, it's Tracey in a Tutu, checking out from Zillmere parkrun. Nice little community too, a great little parkrun here. I really like the new course. Anyway, I'm off in search of coffee. Have a good day, everyone. See you on the B-side. Bye.

Roving report Karen Hamilton — Burley Griffin parkrun

00:29:22Karen Hamilton: Hello parkrun adventurers, this is Karen Hamilton reporting in. I am from Shellharbour parkrun, but I am not there because, well, we're not back yet, like the rest of New South Wales. But I do have an adventure on this weekend. To tell the backstory, I have been training for the last 16 weeks for a marathon, which is not on because, of course, it isn't. But I finished the training program anyway, and I'm going to run the distance anyway because I'm not... necessarily sensible in my decisions. And yeah, we have a little bit of a story to tell with this one. Me and my boyfriend Ralph, one of our favourite places to run is Canberra. So yeah, a couple of weeks ago, we decided we were going to map a route around the lake in Canberra, which we've done before for a marathon distance. Nice place to run. And so we've just arrived at Canberra today. And wouldn't you know it, they've brought parkrun back in Canberra. just in time for us to get here. So we're modifying the course slightly and we're going to show up at Burley Griffin parkrun tomorrow, hopefully at around about kilometre 16 on our way around the lake. And we're going to throw a parkrun in just because we can. So I'll report in again tomorrow when we're on our way. It is supposed to be raining and not very warm and probably a bit windy. Check in again tomorrow.

00:30:44Tracey Wood: Good morning adventurers.

00:30:46Karen Hamilton: It is just before 6 a.m. I've just stepped outside the hotel room. It is raining and it is indeed not very warm. The weather radar shows a nice big blob over Canberra which isn't going away anytime soon so It's gonna be fun. Just gonna make a start now. As I said, we hope to get about 17 or so Ks in before we get to Burley Griffin. We'll probably run around the park a little bit before they start and yeah, get ourselves a parkrun in the wet and then finish a marathon. So yep, we're on our way now. I'll check in again once we get to Burley Griffin. Hello again, adventurers. We're just approaching 15k. We have entered the parkrun course. I've just passed the turnaround cones at the far end. And yeah, so Lake Burley Griffin parkrun, which is on Lake Burley Griffin, hence the name. I have done this one a couple of times before on visits to Canberra. I'll give a full report at the end of the run. I just thought I'd give a little bit of context as to why we're doing this. Not that it's any particularly inspiring story, it's just more that I had dialled in a training program and, you know, I hate to waste the good fitness, but the training program was supposed to be for the Carcoar Cup Marathon, which is, Carcoar is a little town kind of out in a westish fashion from Sydney, or from the coast rather, in the vicinity of Orange and Bathurst, that kind of area. They've got a lovely little marathon there. Not that I've actually had a chance to do it, because I did the same thing last year. I trained for the marathon, which then didn't happen. So this is actually round two of, damn it, let's run a marathon somewhere nice just, you know, because we can. And so this is actually the second time we've done this lap of the lake, instead of the Carcoar Cup Marathon. So we were here this time last year doing the same thing. I love Canberra. It's a really, really nice place to be a runner. The lake is a lovely place to run. There's good trails. Seven parkruns, of which I've done five. So I have hit up Burley Griffin before, as I said, Tuggeranong, Ginninderra, Coombs, and Of course the other one we've done. Anyway, we've done five of the seven and they're all lovely. The ones that I've done have all been flat. I've heard that Ainslie is not. So that's something to look forward to on a next visit. I would prefer to do Gungahlin or Ainslie today, seeing as we haven't done it yet, but doing Burley Griffin involved the least change to the marathon course we'd already picked out. So yeah, we're just approaching the start line. We're getting the experience. So yeah, where are we up to? 15 and a half. We'll be there a little bit early, so we'll just kind of run around until they start. Early is better than late. Ralph has the designated barcode holder. Can you confirm we have our barcodes? Can confirm. Barcodes are safe. We'll get a time. Righto, I will check in again after the parkrun. The fifth parkrun that we've done in Canberra was, of course, Wagi Bridge. Just mental blank there, which is annoying because that was actually probably the favourite one I've done so far. Sorry for forgetting you, Wagi Bridge. I promise we still love you. And my previous statement about the ones being flat, not entirely true. Wagi Bridge was, it wasn't brutal. it was undulating. it wasn't flat anyway, all right this time I really will check back in after the parkrun's finished. hello again parkrunners. Burley Griffin parkrun successfully completed. I'm just having a quick walk break now. I've spent most of the parkrun battling a fairly Savage stitch which is not the way I like to spend my parkruns but anyway Stitchy parkrun is better than no parkrun. Yeah so while I'm just walking that out I'll do a quick report on Burley Griffin parkrun. Burley Griffin parkrun as the name suggests is on the shore of the lake. I've been here three times now in different seasons. Once I've done it really hot. Once I've done it in July, it was two degrees. And today it's about nine or 10 degrees and brisk and rainy. So that's just a factor of being in Canberra. I guess you can get whatever as far as the climate wants to throw at you. Lovely course, not quite flat, but not exactly hilly, just gently rolling. All on bike path, really nice surface, beautiful surroundings, typical Canberra feeling of, you know, the biggest bush town in Australia. As I said in my earlier one, we've seen kangaroos. They weren't any on the Burley Griffin course before, but I have seen them there on other days. Everything's very green today because it's been raining a lot as well. So lovely, even though the weather is a little bit not quite nice. Although The forecast did actually say it was supposed to turn rubbish, proper rubbish, from 8 o'clock. So, you know, it hasn't started to belt down yet. And I'd just as soon it didn't. Because we've still got a bit to go. There is water nearby. There are toilets nearby. There's lots of parking. There's a children's playground. And some small attractions, tourist attractions nearby for kids and families. So it's a really good family-friendly parkrun. There is... the ability to bring your prams. This would be a good one for a buggy run. I really like this parkrun. As I said, I've done it three times and probably won't be the last time. Reporting on our particular race, we've now passed 25km. So as I said, still got a bit to go. Hopefully this stitch doesn't come back because, you know, I'd rather it didn't. I've just had a little bit to eat. I'll see how I feel continuing to run. I'll probably check in one more time before the end. I might not sound quite so chirpy. We'll see how I go. All right, talk soon. Hey parkrun adventurers, it's over. I'm done. 42.2 on the clock. That was pretty ugly actually. About a little bit shy of 4 hours 50 which I had to put walk breaks in, I was just not, I think I may have not eaten enough or I don't know, just not my day. Yeah, but yeah, I'm done. We've done our tourist loop of the lake. We've seen a bunch of the landmarks. Where are we now? Outside the Australian Federal Police, there we go. There's nothing to see here, officers. That's so stupid. I don't even like marathons. How far have we got to go back to the hotel?

00:38:38Unidentified speaker: Uh, three or four K?

00:38:40Karen Hamilton: Three?

00:38:41Unidentified speaker: No. It's like 500 metres. Okay.

00:38:46Karen Hamilton: It's a short walk back to the hotel. But everything actually went quite well in the end. We got our parkrun in. It was all TML came in a short while ago. So yay, parkrun. We've missed you. Got me marathon. Even if it was a bit of an ugly one, it's done. And it actually didn't even rain on us, parkrun weather fairies, or just whatever good fortune. In the end, good conditions, good course. I'll be all right in a minute. Just gotta recover first. All right, that's me signing off for today. Have a good weekend parkrunners. Those of you who got to parkrun, hope you had a good time. Those of you who didn't, hope you had a good time anyway. We'll see you all back really soon. Thank you. Bye-bye.

00:39:48Oliver Spake: And thank you to Tracy from Zillmere Take 2, well, aka the new Zillmere course, one that I haven't been to yet, only old Zillmere. And Karen, well done. So Mel, Karen there was running the virtual alternative, self-created, of what would have been, I believe, the Carcoar Cup, which is a running event once again cancelled due to COVID. And how's about that, timing it in with parkrun in the ACT?

00:40:20Melissa Ellis: I know. Well done, Karen. And I did comment on her post. I love running around Burley Griffin. I've been up there around the September time of year for a couple of years ago and have incorporated a lap of Burley Griffin as my own marathon training. So I can fully understand why she chose to run there because it's a beautiful run. I'm very fond of Canberra, I have to say.

00:40:45Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah. So many parkruns I haven't tried there.

00:40:48Melissa Ellis: And the fact that parkrun came back and that fell into place for Karen, I mean, that's perfect. Very excited about that.

00:40:57Oliver Spake: Some epic planning involved in that marathon and, yeah, amazing to see that it was just a tiny tweak, if anything, that was needed to time that in. So, yes, those guys don't miss a beat and what a run. I'm sure they're already planning for Carcoar's running festival next year, which I believe is in the last weekend of October for anyone that's planning it.

00:41:21Melissa Ellis: She's a true adventurer.

00:41:22Oliver Spake: Well and truly, Mel.

Emails

00:41:24Oliver Spake: But I believe, speaking of adventurers, we've got some mail from some of our other adventurers. You've got mail.

00:41:30Melissa Ellis: We do, Ollie. We heard from Peter Pohlman. He said, so I wonder how many people have accessed citystriders.com after your mention last week. And Peter shared with us a photo showing that he has completed 100% of Waratah and 100% of Georgetown in New South Wales. So I thought it's probably best after we fumbled through explaining City Strides last week. It's actually City Strides, not City Striders, which I probably said incorrectly. The website is www.citystrides.com. It can connect to your Strava or your Garmin or a couple of other platforms, I do believe, to update a history of all the streets I think you've ever run that those platforms contain.

00:42:25Oliver Spake: Oh, bonus.

00:42:26Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so I actually, I think I've signed up to it previously, Ollie, but I jumped back into it again to check out, you know, what my percentages were for my current area and my previous area over on the other side of town. So, yeah, I'll be one of those people that has access City Strides. What about you? Did you check it out?

00:42:48Oliver Spake: I have not checked it out. So I'm, yeah, I'm rather excited about this. I'm especially excited by the fact that it recognises prior running, prior learning.

00:43:02Melissa Ellis: Won't help you for the marina.

00:43:04Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, that's right. I wonder what it recognises there.

00:43:09Melissa Ellis: Get on to it, Ollie.

00:43:10Oliver Spake: All right. Noted. I'll have to get back to you, Mel.

00:43:13Melissa Ellis: But I think there's definitely evidence in the Streak to New Year's Day group that everybody is getting on board with this platform as another way to distract ourselves while we've got no parkruns.

00:43:26Oliver Spake: So you think the concentration is particularly in those states and, well, you know, other nations potentially that are not enjoying their parkrun right now?

00:43:36Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I'm guessing.

00:43:38Oliver Spake: Okay. We'll see. I look forward to hearing. Speaking of someone who was looking forward to hearing.

Dazza's

00:43:43Oliver Spake: Dazza. Dazza didn't go on tour, but still got in a bit of fun. So Hokey Pokey Ice Cream, that's Dazza's flavour of choice. And as Dazza's post shared, Mel had promised or has promised to bring him home some Ben and Jerry's to cover her guilt at abandoning him again this week. But when there's a whiff of a road trip in the air... What adventures did you get up to this weekend? And do you have a strange urge for a walk along the pier with two scoops of rum and raisin in a waffle cone?

00:44:19Melissa Ellis: And we heard, firstly, from Alison King. I will run for ice cream. Mine's a double scoop boysenberry ripple with cookies and cream, please, does her. Ran a nottie Freedo on the Paringa course today. Was wet, but warm. It's been 13 weeks without parkrun in New Zealand and Alison shared a lovely photo of the beach where somebody had created a smile. Yes. And we heard from Tracey Wood. I'll have a lemon sorbet gelato, please, Dazza. I was out tail walking with a trolley and a troll at Zillmere parkrun this morning. Tracey in a Tutu with a trolley and a troll. There's an alliteration.

00:45:03Oliver Spake: Tail walking.

00:45:04Melissa Ellis: Yes. Good grief, and Grette Wilkinson, definitely hokey pokey, in a cup please Dazza, tail walking at the beautiful Avenues parkrun this morning. And the light shot Mel. Yes, I know and I did note when I saw that photo that Greta posted that the Avenues is very reminiscent of one of the Victorian parkruns that we have and I'll be interested for TOC to confirm this, that Bannockburn Bush looks very similar to the avenues. But in saying that, Bannockburn is a flat course. So if you want all the beauty of the avenues and not the elevation, come to Victoria. Yeah. We also heard from Ingrid Botha. Vanilla ice cream for me, Dazza, with Nutella. And pancakes, of course. Logged a (not)parkrun for Toolern Creek. And it looks like I was in good company with a few names I recognised. And we might have more to say about that later. And Sam Schroder, sorry you had to stay home, Dazza. I hope Mel brought you home some cookies and cream. I'm a peppermint choc chip girl and Luke will have Jaffa, please. We had the best adventure in Tuggeranong, a real parkrun.

00:46:24Oliver Spake: Sounds like it was a good day. Christine Imbert, just about to get an ice cream. It's obligatory when one goes to the beach, isn't it? Tail walked at Seaford Beach parkrun and then walked the course again. Freedom Run and nottie combined. And thank you for the photos there, Christine. That looked delicious. Beach and ice cream. Janet Reid also checked in. Hi, Dazza. Salted caramel ice cream for me, please. Today, we celebrated Jeff's 250th parkrun aboard the mothership Lochiel. Lots of laughter, coffee, chips and wine. Today, my heart overflowed with gratitude and love to have him reach this milestone. Looking forward to this week's pod to hear about Melissa's adventure. And where was Ollie? Was he at the parkrun that shall not be mentioned? Or was he at Bass Point or the marina? Hope Paul and Zoe took good care of you, Dazza.

00:47:26Melissa Ellis: Oh, and congratulations, Geoff, on your 250th. I'm loving hearing everybody's ice cream preferences, Ollie.

00:47:35Oliver Spake: Yes, I think Dazza certainly struck a chord. Speaking of whom, the Bailey shop weighed in. Rebecca Bailey, Hokey Pokey, the Kiwi specialty. Yum. Good choice, Dazza. Spent the whole morning starting to pack for the next month at work that I forgot about the notties. Waited for a break in the rain and headed out to... for an afternoon streak to the bridge I'm glad that the New Zealand hokey pokey ice cream was appreciated yeah they don't miss a trick Tanya Bailey walked the lookout at white's bay in marlborough bit of a hike but worth it for the view and our final Bailey shot for the week Brett Bailey gold rush for me that's chocolate covered hokey pokey in caramel ice cream that's an aside yum um

00:48:24Melissa Ellis: We're learning a lot about ice cream, aren't we?

00:48:26Oliver Spake: Yes. Did my nottie at Pocketeer, aka White's Bay, near Rarangi Beach. Steep bush track with views out to Cook Strait and Wellington on a good day. Track was muddy after heavy overnight rain.

00:48:42Melissa Ellis: Good pronunciation, Ollie.

00:48:44Oliver Spake: I may have had training, so apologies to my trainer if I've messed that up.

00:48:48Melissa Ellis: Claire Stutchbury, 100th Aussie event, the Aussie Cowell. At Cleveland this morning, yay, William Barlow. It's Mel who's watching the Palace. Will shared a video of me at Tuggeranong crossing the finish line with Chris Fraser. And, yes, Paul and Zoe were at home with Dazza taking good care of the Palace. Mandy Oliver. A friend and I were both doing our 200th parkrun, our 100th at Surfers Paradise parkrun. There were also another two people doing their 200th, so I guess that makes it a double, double, double ton. Our theme was pairs, doubles, twos, and... The photo was of Mandy and her friend dressed as shoes. Spectacular. Above and beyond. Bruce Purdy. I said, show me your uglies. And there was every single year, 2018 until now. So great to catch up with other adventurers today at the (not)parkrun with the coolest name. Hashtag Wallaby Track parkrun. And the photo was of a tinsel.

00:50:07Oliver Spake: Yes. What an effort. You looked horrendously beautiful, everyone. I love seeing those. It never gets old, the Christmas singlet.

00:50:15Melissa Ellis: And I noticed that photo was also shared on the International Ugly Christmas Singlet and Shirt Day Facebook page.

00:50:21Oliver Spake: It's getting closer, Mel. It's getting closer. Also at a real-life parkrun, Nadine Crawford. Oozed excitement all over Tuggeranong parkrun today. A Friday road trip with my adventurer buddy, Karen, to pick up my first parkrun in ACT. My best time in five years. A Wilson Index number. A top 10 female finish. Wow. And most importantly, my first parkrun since early July. Almost got the drum roll there.

00:50:50[other]

00:50:53Melissa Ellis: That's Chico. I'll have to leave that in now.

00:50:57Oliver Spake: Thanks, Chico. We'll work on that for next week. So great to be among it and to meet some adventurers in the flesh and to finally get a scan. Best morning in ages.

00:51:09Melissa Ellis: And I just say, Nadine, she is looking fabulous and is one of those people that's got fitter over lockdown, unlike me. And she's running amazing times and looking fabulous. And it was great to catch up with you, Nadine.

00:51:23Oliver Spake: Yes. Thanks for all the motivation out there and great to see you enjoying it again. Val Warwick also checked in late into Dazza's today because Steve and I have had the most wonderful morning catching up with Andrew and Cassie, who are visiting from WA. Fairly new Tasmanians and former Sand Gropers, Daniel and Peter, also came to Kate Reed parkrun. So the walking and talking was extra enjoyable. After parkrun, we had our coffee, et cetera, at the markets where we met up with Teresa from Champion Lakes, who as ED, when we were tourists there, remembered me. Got to love the parkrun community. By the way, Dazza, you can't beat the ice cream from Timboon when you parkrun there. And their blue cheese ice cream is the best.

00:52:11Melissa Ellis: Timboon is very well known for their ice cream. When we went there, it actually wasn't open, so we need to go back. But also, Ollie, just to note, Andrew and Cassie, who Val refers to.

00:52:25Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:52:25Melissa Ellis: Cassie is a dirty cheater. Excellent. The connections continue. Visiting from WA, yes.

00:52:32Oliver Spake: No, Tassie's the place to be, as well as the ACT, I suppose. And Zillmere. But I digress. Look, someone who wasn't missing a beat, Chris Fraser. I didn't wait for the Saturday post. Hopefully Friday night still counts. And he went on to add, exactly five months since my last post parkrun sausage roll. Way too long.

00:52:55Melissa Ellis: Yes. So there was a photo of the sausage roll, but there was also a photo of like an ice cream sundae, which I think was purchased en route to Tuggeranong on the Friday night.

00:53:07Oliver Spake: Mixing it up. But, Chris, I think you're out of practice. We don't have a rating.

00:53:16Melissa Ellis: One job.

00:53:19Oliver Spake: Greg Garner volunteered for the 50th time and completed 50 Victory Heights trail parkruns this morning at its third birthday. And congratulations and a big thank you, Greg, for all of your volunteering. Well done. It's all lining up for Greg. Yes. That's a mighty effort. Well and truly. There's a couple of red shirts there. Bernadette Bennett crossed over to the dark side and gate crashed the Pohlman Detour 2298. Salted caramel, please, Dazza.

00:53:52Melissa Ellis: I love seeing when our parkrun adventurers interact. Yes. So that was pretty cool.

00:53:58Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:53:59Melissa Ellis: Jodie Maisie, lovely morning doing a (not)parkrun at Wallaby Track and lovely breakfast with Bruce, Brendan, Dawn, Irene, Parth and Chantel. Tony O'Connell, another lap of the coast. Soon, Vic, soon. I wish Toc could have joined us on our trip too. Maybe next time. Parth Bomber Canty, one day late but here it is. Had an amazing not parkrun with friends at Wallaby Track parkrun Course on Saturday. Here we are at In Exterior Cafe, the traditional Ballarat hangout, enjoying a well-earned coffee and brunch. Oh, and Melissa, in answer to your question on the pod, Gordon's Cafe had been around for longer than 29 years in a little laneway off Bourke Street in the CBD, but the current owner has been the owner-manager for 29 years.

00:54:54Oliver Spake: Wow. That's fantastic. That is really good. I'll have to go and check it out.

00:54:59Melissa Ellis: Oh, okay. We can do that. Sounds like a plan, Ollie. Yes. Sounds like I need to go there in exterior. Yeah. Pippa White. Hey, Dazza, much less travelling this week and three times as exhausted. Beacon parkrun meeting other book run runners. The launch event of Eileen Jones' book from the northwest of the UK and Fellfoot parkrun to Bushy. Also met Paul Sinton-Hewitt for the first time. Coffee and cake, please. Oh, my goodness, Pippa, you met PSH. Yes. She just dropped that in there. By the way. Oh, wow.

00:55:37Oliver Spake: Yes. Pippa, I don't think there's any such thing as a quiet week for you this week. Well done. That's some fantastic tourism.

00:55:45Melissa Ellis: Wow. She's had a big couple of weeks. Yes.

00:55:49Oliver Spake: Yes. Well-earned coffee and cake.

00:55:51Melissa Ellis: I'm so jealous.

00:55:54Oliver Spake: Yes. And also checking into Dazza's, our own Lyndell Murray. My parkrun this week. Static, I failed to check the event page for cancellations and turned up to Nathan Road to find it cancelled due to the wet weather we'd had during the week. Definitely need a double scoop to make up for that.

00:56:17Melissa Ellis: Oh, Lyndell. Ouch. That's the worst.

00:56:21Oliver Spake: Sorry, Lyndell.

00:56:23Melissa Ellis: Hashtag not so legendary. Oh, no, that's a bit mean. I take that back.

00:56:29Oliver Spake: That's not a reference to Lyndell. That's just the situation. Yeah, that's got to hurt. But look, I'd say a double scoop is usually something that brings a smile back to my face. So hopefully it worked, Lyndell.

00:56:44Karen Hamilton: Triple.

00:56:45Oliver Spake: Yep, triple. I'm going a triple. I'm all for a triple. Though I never know what to make the third flavour. I don't think, have I asked you what your flavour of choice is, Mel, or have I just completely missed it?

00:56:55Melissa Ellis: Oh, well, see, here's the thing. So back in my pre-low-carb days, I was a rum and raisin girl.

00:57:03Oliver Spake: Okay, yes.

00:57:04Melissa Ellis: Rum and raisin in a waffle cone, hence Dazza's reference in this week's post.

00:57:09Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah.

00:57:11Melissa Ellis: If I was to fall off the low-carb wagon.

00:57:14Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:57:15Melissa Ellis: And be tempted by an ice cream, 100% rub and raisin.

00:57:18Oliver Spake: Not wishing that upon you or anything. No, no. 100% rub and raisin.

00:57:22Melissa Ellis: What about you?

00:57:24Oliver Spake: I've always gone the gelato. I don't know whether that was because I just enjoyed it several times a day when we were honeymooning in Europe way back when. Oh, okay. Steady on. But, yeah, chunkiest possible chocolate with coconut.

00:57:43Melissa Ellis: Ah, okay. Yes. Very good. Is there a nice ice creamery in the new marina?

00:57:50Oliver Spake: I'm glad you asked.

00:57:53Melissa Ellis: And I didn't even set that up. Please tell.

00:57:55Oliver Spake: Yeah, look, it's aptly named Bliss. And it's been far too long for me. So now that you mention it, I know where I'm going tomorrow afternoon.

00:58:05Melissa Ellis: Okay. So when I visit, can we add that to the calendar? I need to go and fall off the low-carb wagon, have rum and raisin at Bliss.

00:58:14Oliver Spake: Throw in a sausage roll as well.

00:58:16Melissa Ellis: Oh, steady on.

00:58:20Oliver Spake: Yes. No, plans are afoot. Excellent.

00:58:23Melissa Ellis: Excellent. It's sounding like fun.

Weekly awardunnamed — listener naming suggestions sought

00:58:25Melissa Ellis: Something else I wanted to bring up with you, Ollie, and we haven't discussed this previously, so I'm throwing this in there. Okay. After last week's pod when we had some, like, really top-notch posts at Dazza's about some amazing adventures, I thought we need to have an award. We need to – You know, have some kind of weekly award for the best parkrun experience.

00:58:53Oliver Spake: I was going to say what? Yeah, yeah.

00:58:55Melissa Ellis: You know how we have the Logies in Australia? We have the Logies. My local radio station, once a week they will award a Melby Award for somebody – who's done something quite amazing in Melbourne, hence it's called a Melby. I thought we need that for the pod.

00:59:15Oliver Spake: I think that's a great idea. The challenge is my decision-making capabilities, being that I've got none. So what are you thinking? Something like the Dazzler? Oh, yeah. Being linked to Dazza? Yeah.

00:59:29Melissa Ellis: I don't know.

00:59:30Oliver Spake: What have we got? There's nothing we can really give, mind you.

00:59:34Melissa Ellis: Oh, no, it's all just status. It's just the prestige of winning it, Ollie. Yes. It's not an actual, you know, monetary or any kind of official statuette. It's just the privilege of being awarded for the week.

00:59:51Oliver Spake: Free entry to your next parkrun.

00:59:53Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:59:55Melissa Ellis: I mean, it could be the Parky Award. Yes. It could be the Abbey Award. Yep, yep. I don't know. Maybe people could offer suggestions of what we could name it. Excellent. Please feel free to message us or comment in one of our posts and offer a suggestion as what our weekly award could be called.

01:00:18Oliver Spake: Okay.

01:00:19Melissa Ellis: All right. If you were to award one this week, Ollie.

01:00:27Oliver Spake: If I were to award one this week, well, that's a really tricky one, Mel. I mean, we've got 200s. We've got, what was it, double, double, double? I think that's all the tons. We've got the 250 from Jeff. We've got a quiet little catch-up with PSH from Pippa. And we've got Chris Fraser having sausage rolls again. just to name a few.

01:00:50Melissa Ellis: Perhaps this is something we need to discuss prior to recording next week. Maybe we'll refrain from awarding it this week. We'll wait and get some feedback on what we might name our weekly award. And then we can make a decision prior to our recording each week as to who's the winner.

01:01:10Oliver Spake: That's right. And if we can't decide, we'll ask Daryl.

01:01:13Melissa Ellis: Okay, yeah, he could be the third umpire.

01:01:16Oliver Spake: That's right.

01:01:16Melissa Ellis: We can definitely dress. I can dress him up in a cricket theme to be a third umpire, no problem.

01:01:21Oliver Spake: Excellent.

01:01:22Melissa Ellis: All righty.

the Informant

01:01:23Melissa Ellis: So that leads us now, Ollie, to throw to the informant. I believe this week we have the OG, Bass Trousers himself, informant. Let's see what he has to say this week.

01:01:45The 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. More international post-Covid records this week for total number of runs held, number of participants, junior 10 milestones and 50 milestones. There were 213 runs held in Australia, up three on last week, helped out by the return of the ACT. This was out of 1,508 worldwide across 18 countries. There were six launches, one in Canada, one in Germany, one in Japan, and three in the United Kingdom. Aussie attendance was up by 2,581 to 21,147, out of 185,385 worldwide, which is up 8,366 on last week. Down under we had 2,316 PBs, while 728 people participated for the first time. 46 juniors reached the Junior 10 milestone, 87 people reached their 50 milestone, 70 reached their 100 milestone, and 13 people reached their 250 milestone.

01:02:53[18 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

01:03:10The Informant: 11 people called bingo. Samantha Wem was quickest with 168 events, while Jim Butler was slowest on 324 events. There were seven new statespeople this week. In the ACT, Brian Senegar, Robert Clarke, Stefan Brindle and Marcus Kershaw became Territorians. In South Australia, we had Tracey McColl, Jackie O'Brien and Jane Luke. In the top 20 most events list, Neil Scott moves up one to be equal 19th after running at Marina. Kathleen Wallington and Aaron Hardy drop one on account of being stranded in New South Wales without parkruns. On the overall biggest mover chart, Nadine Crawford was at the top of the rankings moving up 10 to 240 after running a tuggeranong. Craig White was the biggest mover on the Wilson Index, jumping up 8 from 14 to 22. There was a fair amount of chat on the socials last week of the impending ACT return and the potential swamping impact NSW tourists would have on local event numbers. I can't see why. I mean some people might have a crack at me for being beige, but crikey, Canberra is the most dull city in Australia. It's not all grey though, some of it is off grey. There's a bit of moonlight grey, dove grey, shadow grey, slate grey, a veritable rainbow of grey. Yes, parkrun or no parkrun, I can't see people trudging the Hume. But I digress, let's have a look at the numbers. On the 19th of June, 1,124 people ran across the seven events. Of these, 948 were ACT runners and 45, or 4%, were from New South Wales, the rest being from random states and a couple of internationals. This weekend, perhaps because of the drizzly weather, only 612 runners took part. 489 were from the ACT, 56, or 9%, were from New South Wales. On the face of it, it looks like there was a 5% jump in tourism from the blues. However, all is not what it seems. There wasn't so much a jump in tourists, but a slump in locals. See, they preferred to stay in bed, peeping out from under their grey doonas at the grey skies. If you want to see a full breakdown of the weekly stats and these ACT stats, download from the blog at www.theinformant.me or Just look for The Informant on Facebook. This has been The Informant, and my spreadsheet is bigger than yours.

01:05:49Oliver Spake: And thank you to our informant, Mel. I never know quite what to expect. So another insightful one, let's just say. Absolutely.

Consolidated Club Report

01:06:00Oliver Spake: Moving along, our Adventurers Club, what's happening?

01:06:04Melissa Ellis: Our Adventurers Club, Ollie, we are up to 61 members. We are up two from last week. We had 32 members on the Consolidated Club Report. That's 13 more. Wow. Wow. This included Seaford Beach, Crystal Palace and Beacon parkrun in the UK, Obotsi and Matlazana Bird in South Africa, and apologies if I've pronounced that wrong, and five adventurers who were at Tuggeranong on the weekend. Whew. We also had 29 notties last week, which was up two from the previous week.

01:06:47Oliver Spake: Go team. I know. That's not too shabby. So well done, everyone.

01:06:52Melissa Ellis: And our (not)parkrun results, Ollie, Kunwara topped the charts this week with 39. Then Wyndham Vale coming in second on 34 and Campbelltown rounding out the top three with 30. Jumping, skipping.

01:07:12Oliver Spake: Long jump.

01:07:13Melissa Ellis: That, exactly. Shellharbour, 12. But, hey.

01:07:18Oliver Spake: Yeah.

01:07:19Melissa Ellis: Hey, team Toolern Creek, 13 this week.

01:07:24Oliver Spake: Jeez, the cheek.

01:07:26Melissa Ellis: Thank you to all the adventurers.

01:07:29Oliver Spake: The cheek of the creek.

01:07:30Melissa Ellis: The creek. Thank you to all the adventurers that came to the creek and got the numbers up which is pretty much wasn't a PB for Toolern Creek not parkruns, but probably a close second, I would say. Interesting to note, I don't actually think there was any Toolern Creek locals apart from myself. They were all adventurers. So that's pretty good.

01:07:54Oliver Spake: Warms the heart, doesn't it?

01:07:55Melissa Ellis: Oh, I'm so proud. Thank you to everybody for sharing the love with Toolern Creek this week. The Creek. How did we go in New Zealand, Ollie?

01:08:03Oliver Spake: Well, yes. So thank you to Alison for our New Zealand stats once again. In New Zealand, top of the pops, Whangarei once again, 49. So magnificent effort once again there. Just inching out. So one adventurer had they chosen differently perhaps. Hamilton Lake on 48 could have swung things the other way. And then coming in third, Anderson on 36. So once again, very strong numbers from our Kiwis.

01:08:36Melissa Ellis: Yes. And if you compiled them with Australia, the Kiwis would have came out on top. They would have swept the – what's that term?

01:08:48Oliver Spake: The board?

01:08:48Melissa Ellis: Clean sweep. Clean sweep. Well, yes.

01:08:52Oliver Spake: Well, apart from Kunwara.

01:08:53Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah, true.

01:08:54Oliver Spake: Yes. True.

01:08:54Melissa Ellis: Kuni would have been third.

01:08:56Oliver Spake: Some consolation for the Kiwis after their loss in the T20 Cricket World Cup, I believe. Oh, I didn't hear that. Sorry, guys.

01:09:05Melissa Ellis: That was Australia's first win, I believe. In that form. In that format.

01:09:12Oliver Spake: Yeah, hooray.

01:09:16Melissa Ellis: Oh, dear. Yes. So we had... Another point of interest this week that was raised by one of our adventurers, Ollie. I don't know if you heard this or you are aware of the parkrun discussion group.

01:09:33Oliver Spake: I've drifted in and out, Mel. I'm currently out.

01:09:37Melissa Ellis: I'm not a part of that group, actually, but our friend Janet Reid had the following post. Random fact. The registration plate on James Bond's Aston Martin in No Time to Die is a barcode number.

01:09:54Unidentified speaker: Oh, wow.

01:09:55Melissa Ellis: It belongs to a parkrunner from Tooting Common parkrun. And Janet shared a photo, which is obviously taken from like a screenshot from the movie, of the Aston Martin with the number plate showing A426900. So how's that? What a good pick up, Janet. I'm very impressed.

01:10:20Oliver Spake: Yes, very sharp.

01:10:22Melissa Ellis: So does that mean James Bond's a parkrunner?

01:10:24Oliver Spake: Clearly.

01:10:25Melissa Ellis: That's his alias.

01:10:26Oliver Spake: Yeah.

01:10:27Melissa Ellis: A tooting common parkrunner is James Bond.

01:10:30Oliver Spake: Wow. Do you think... I was going to try and make the obvious joke around what position number James Bond might be aiming for, but... 007.

01:10:39Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

01:10:43Oliver Spake: I'm a bit too warm with the dad jokes right now. Not as good as some, I must say, but, yeah, nonetheless.

01:10:49Melissa Ellis: Well, Tootin' Common is a nice kind of reference for a barcode that's on a car. Yes. Toot, toot. Or am I getting my Wiggles references crossed over with my 007 references?

01:11:02Oliver Spake: Quite possibly. Yeah. I'm not sure the cars in Bond movies generally go toot-toot, but yeah.

01:11:10Melissa Ellis: I wonder if a James Bond's ever done a parkrun or a wiggle.

01:11:14Oliver Spake: Or a wiggle. Is that a question for our informant?

01:11:18Melissa Ellis: If he's not too busy. He's a busy man or woman.

01:11:24Oliver Spake: That's right. We'll have to put it on the list and see if the informant or someone else can help us with that one.

01:11:31Melissa Ellis: Hmm.

Sign-off

01:11:32Oliver Spake: What else is news, Mel? Anything else on the horizon for you?

01:11:35Melissa Ellis: I think a couple of weeks just being at home. Zoe's got some appointments on Saturdays going forward. So I'm not going to have the opportunity to travel very far. I don't even know what my ability to catch up with local friends will be. I think it's pretty close to home for me, Ollie, for the next couple of weeks. What about you?

01:11:59Oliver Spake: Safe to say, very likely the same. We'll see. Never rule out a spur-of-the-moment decision, but right now it seems like Christmas is upon us and it's not too far for our local parkrun to hopefully get back underway when New South Wales resumes. So, yeah, all eyes on that. In the meantime, I will keep looking forward to seeing everyone else's experiences and take a bit of motivation to keep me honest with my running.

01:12:32Melissa Ellis: Excellent, yes. But am I signing off? I think so.

01:12:38Unidentified speaker: Okay.

01:12:40Melissa Ellis: As always, you can contact us via Facebook or on our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. That's it for another week. We'll see you all next week for more adventures.

01:14:01Zoe: Hi, Mum and Ollie. I did not do my parkrun this week. Instead, Mum took me and my friends to the trampoline place. It was so great. We jumped a lot and I did a cannon bomb into the foam pit. Bye, everyone. Stay safe.