Episode 265 - Advance to Go

Welcome

00:00:23Melissa Ellis: Welcome to episode 265 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. My name is Melissa Ellis and I'm joined by someone spending his last (not)parkrun weekend experiencing adventuring of the camping type, Ollie Spake. Hello Mel, how are you? I'm good, I'm good. Are you refreshed and rested after your weekend of camping?

00:00:48Oliver Spake: Look, they're not the two words I'd pick. LAUGHTER I had a great time camping.

00:00:50[laughter]

00:00:56Melissa Ellis: I sense a story. Yeah, it was a little wet setting up the tent, you know, that good fun when the storms roll through.

00:01:03Oliver Spake: Fortunately, we missed the electrical storm but managed to find some non-flooded ground on the first day to set up a tent with... The discovery, you know, you really should plan these things a bit better than we have. I failed to check the tent poles.

00:01:21Melissa Ellis: Right.

00:01:22Oliver Spake: Found out that we had a broken pole.

00:01:24Melissa Ellis: Oh.

00:01:24Oliver Spake: So, yeah, there was a little bit of improvisation. We got a tent up. The rest of the weekend was lovely. And after jump-starting the car on the morning to return home, we felt that it was this nice, you know, perfect opportunity hyperbolic kind of arc of an experience. So fantastic time, complete with, I think, some of the quintessential camping moments that we all dread.

00:01:52Melissa Ellis: Sounds like a memorable camping trip.

00:01:55Oliver Spake: Oh, it was. It was. And the kids loved it. They wanted to experience camping. We wanted to give them a chance to spend the time in the tent, this tent we've had for a decade and haven't touched for a couple of years, hang out with the kangaroos. Of course, you rock up at the camping site and discover that half the school's there. So much for taking the kids out of their comfort zone. They were fine. And, yeah, just a nice chance to, believe it or not, despite what I say, relax.

00:02:23Melissa Ellis: Oh, that's good. And you got a run?

00:02:24Oliver Spake: No. No, no. With all of the excitement, unfortunately, yeah, a few too many of the clothing items were drenched. So I decided to just take it easy and enjoy the catch up on the sleep. But I have had runs, you know, either side of camping. So, you know, I've had my share.

00:02:45Melissa Ellis: Right.

00:02:45Oliver Spake: But Mel, as you said, that was my last weekend before the return of parkrun in New South Wales, in my neck of the woods. You, however, didn't spend the weekend this week in my neck of the woods and you were in real life parkrun. I was. Yeah. Yeah.

00:03:00Melissa Ellis: How was it? Oh, it was fun. Thank you. It was another little adventure. It was at the second running of the Nathalia Showgrounds parkrun, as was reported by Lynn in last week's pod. That's right.

00:03:12Oliver Spake: Yes, it was lovely to hear from Lynne at the event last week. How did you find it?

00:03:17Melissa Ellis: We had 29 participants this week after the 38 at the launch, and I was joined by fellow Victorian tourists Helen and Steve Davis, Brendan Peel and his partner Jodie, Rhianna Wick Gamble and Sam Esmore and Nathan Castle, while Zoe, who did accompany me on the overnight adventure, opted to sit and spectate. Then Helen and I were sporting our Ugly Christmas Singlets and Rhiannon was splendid in last year's version. So Ugly Christmas Singlets were well represented at Nathalia.

00:03:54Oliver Spake: That's great to hear. I did see some of the images, yeah.

00:03:57Melissa Ellis: It was perfect running conditions along the bitumen track, which comprises a H-shaped course, which we completed twice, a very pretty and flat course along the banks of the eucalypt-lined Broken Creek, which, despite its name, is more of a river. But that could be just representative of the weather that we've had recently.

00:04:19Oliver Spake: It might be a creek in flood. Yes.

00:04:22Melissa Ellis: But anyway, we enjoyed a lengthy brunch afterwards at Three Bells Cafe before reluctantly returning home. So one night in Nathalia for us, a little overnight jaunt.

00:04:35Oliver Spake: Yeah, nice to see you and Zoe get to go on a bit of parkrun adventuring and tourism together.

00:04:42Melissa Ellis: I was definitely excited to be in Nathalia because... I don't know, did I mention it last week? I had spent time there as a kid in the local caravan park holidaying, a couple of Easters probably, but a lot of my childhood memories of caravanning, fond memories of the caravan park at Nathalia, which still has its original playground. Oh, really? I was very excited to discover that. So 1970s playground equipment still in place. You don't find that in very many places.

00:05:20Oliver Spake: Well, that's incredibly rare, Mel. So might I ask, what did that feature?

00:05:24Melissa Ellis: What would you call it? Like a roundabout? You know, one of those...

00:05:30Oliver Spake: Oh, yes. I probably would have called it like a whizzy dizzy or something when I was a kid.

00:05:37Melissa Ellis: A big metal disc that you stood on and clung on to a bar for dear life and other older children would generally run around beside spinning it as fast as they could until, you know, everybody went green.

00:05:49Oliver Spake: That's right. Yes. And there were several of those bar handles around.

00:05:53Melissa Ellis: Yes, exactly.

00:05:54Oliver Spake: Around the disc, yes.

00:05:56Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Everything was sort of very plastic and cartoon-type themed. Yeah. But it was just remarkable that they were still there. There was sort of like a climbing frame in the shape of a carriage, like a royal carriage, which also had these little horses that you could also sit on that were positioned in front of the carriage. So, yeah. It was just quiet. It's like it was lost in time and there was a pool, so obviously that brought back memories. Hmm.

00:06:26Oliver Spake: Ah.

00:06:27Melissa Ellis: Very nostalgic.

00:06:28Oliver Spake: I bet. I bet. And, look, I guess I spend a bit of my time or have spent a bit of my time in parks in recent years, of course, and there are some great new park equipment features and some of them do themes all right, but, There's something to be said for some of the classic styles that really had an identity. You've taken me back, Mel, to I remember growing up in Tassie and going to a park, and I don't think it was necessarily, it might have been, at a place called the Margate Train in southern Tassie, but it had some fantastic park equipment around there. And, yeah, I'm pretty sure it had the spinny thing, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. Yeah, it's probably got a name. Yep, yep. Yeah.

00:07:14Melissa Ellis: Yeah, anyway, so very enjoyable.

00:07:17Oliver Spake: The mosquitoes were rife, though, I have to say, so I'm still itching. After all the rain, perhaps? Perhaps. Yes. Well, look, what a great turnout for the adventuring public in Victoria.

00:07:31Melissa Ellis: It was, yes. Everybody was keen to get around to the new event after its successful launch last week. Yes, it's like wacky races, all the Victorian parkrun tourists jostling to get their positions again in the results tables, you know.

00:07:51Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, I look forward to seeing some of that locally soon as well.

00:07:55Melissa Ellis: Mm.

00:07:56Oliver Spake: But, Mel, I suppose the other thing I should ask was the other parkrun day. How was Sunday? How was Juniors?

00:08:03Melissa Ellis: Oh, Juniors, yes. Yes, it was very successful. Another beautiful day. We've had some lovely weather down here this last week and especially the Sundays since we've relaunched. The weather has been very nice, so a little bit sort of warm, but we had 20 kids turn up. Yes, happy to report that the puddle is still substantial, shall we say. So the puddle duck, Jemima the puddle duck, is still required. I guess it's unseasonal weather. It's this La Nina that we're getting, although we're having some very nice warm days every year. Once in a while we get a huge downpour, so that must be enough to keep my puddle full. And I had to do warm-up later, Ollie. It's not really my favourite volunteer role. I'm usually quite happy for other people to do that role, but there wasn't any other volunteers this week, so... So I fulfilled the role, but I had a lovely assistant in summer who stood up there next to me and helped lead the troops in the warm-up.

00:09:10Oliver Spake: Oh, fantastic. Yes, I mean, obviously, having never made it to a junior parkrun yet, I'm yet to see it in action, but always heard great things, and I'm sure you both did a fantastic job.

00:09:22Melissa Ellis: So, yeah, juniors are very successful. Once again, it was our event 22, I think, or it might have been even 23, and we already had a full roster for next week, which was amazing. So we don't even have to do the call-out this week for volunteers.

00:09:40Oliver Spake: Well, that fills the bottle too. Excellent.

00:09:44Melissa Ellis: And that reminds me, I'm supposed to be looking for a Santa hat for my duck. Must do that.

00:09:50Oliver Spake: Says everyone every day. Yes.

00:09:52Melissa Ellis: Well, don't you have multiple Christmas hat sizes in your Christmas box?

00:09:58Oliver Spake: Yeah, I certainly do. I'm pretty sure I don't have duck size though. Yes. What size hat does Jemima wear?

00:10:05Melissa Ellis: I'm pretty confident that my teddy bear size hat will fit my duck.

00:10:08Oliver Spake: Okay.

00:10:09Melissa Ellis: But we should reflect back on last week's pod because we had a couple of comments, Ollie, after the pod was released. We did. First we heard from Tracey Wood who said, I am pleased to report that the SPF of Voldemort parkrun was a mega 18, nowhere near the astounding efforts of the crew on the Creek episode. So thanks for counting them, Tracey. Yeah.

00:10:36Oliver Spake: I'm astounded at your attention to detail, Tracey, because I always miss a few and I should be counting. But when we had the creek, was that 41, that magnificent episode where we featured that wonderful parkrun?

00:10:50Melissa Ellis: I can't remember.

00:10:51Oliver Spake: It was a high number.

00:10:53Melissa Ellis: I hope Tracey's keeping a record. I hope she's got a spreadsheet. I really thought that last week would have come close because there was a lot of attention for Shellharbour last week.

00:11:04Oliver Spake: What I hear, Tracey, is try harder, Ollie, and duly noted. Yeah. I shall do my best to give another update on Shellharbour, mentioning said name, Shellharbour, as much as possible. Goodness me. But, Mel, we also heard from Steve. Steve Johnston gave us a quick check-in and said, Hey, Mel, here is the burpee man doing his thing at various events, including Stadium Stomp, Run West and City to Surf. And we got to see the outfit.

00:11:34Melissa Ellis: I know, the green cape. That's right. Did he also have, what did he have on his head? He's got a headband, that's right, a headband that says Burpee Man. Yep. And the cape is green with a symbol much like a Superman symbol with a letter B on it.

00:11:52Oliver Spake: Yes. It's a fantastic outfit and, look, the challenge has been given, so I look forward to interviewing and catching up with Burpee Man somewhere not too far down the track.

00:12:08Melissa Ellis: Maybe I'll see him when I come up for City to Surf this year. Yes. I'm going to be on the lookout. I'm assuming he's a lot faster than me, though, so... Hmm, that could be a problem.

00:12:18Oliver Spake: Offset by burpees though, yes.

00:12:20Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so in stadium stomp, where do the burpees fit in?

00:12:25Oliver Spake: Well, I was told that there were some burpees down on the pitch, but I didn't check whether there were any burpees in the stands too. I mean, wherever they happened, between the stadium steps and the burpees, oh, yeah, well done.

00:12:41Melissa Ellis: And I should throw in also that we did get a comment from Chantelle Hosking who suggested that the sound for the Obi Award could be Chihuahua footsteps on the wooden floors.

00:12:56Oliver Spake: That's perfect. That's a great idea, Chantelle.

00:12:58Melissa Ellis: I need them to, yeah, but that might be a bit hard to get them to do a nice constant sound that maybe gets faster in tempo and comes to a crescendo.

00:13:09Oliver Spake: I suppose, you know, in that vein, that means the Obi Award is awarded whenever the chihuahuas decide to enter the room.

00:13:18Melissa Ellis: Oh, that could be like the octopus that picks the winner of the – what's the competition that that octopus – The World Cup.

00:13:26Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah.

00:13:28Melissa Ellis: That's right.

00:13:29Unidentified speaker: Oh.

00:13:32Melissa Ellis: There's a thought.

00:13:34Oliver Spake: Wow. Well, stay tuned, everyone. This could be an interesting episode. But thank you. Thank you for the feedback and thank you for the images. Mel, what else is happening in the parkrun world?

parkrun news bulletin

00:13:47Melissa Ellis: Well, there was a big announcement this week, Ollie. In parkrun land, Nick Pearson announced that after seven years as CEO, he is leaving parkrun, moving on. And for the next three months, Russ Jeffrey will be overseeing a transition and is expected to be appointed permanently to the role. Russ has been the head of communications since 2015. So, yes, that's big news. Nick has steered the parkrun ship through the pandemic and done a mighty fine job too.

00:14:23Oliver Spake: That's right. It wasn't an easy job and certainly having heard from Nick and the crew through the tough times, particularly bringing back parkrun in, well, in so many countries, but having heard a little more from our fellow podcasts of the experience over there in the U.K., magnificent job and we've been really fortunate to have someone like Nick driving parkrun to what it is of course part of a team but yeah well it's always fantastic to um yeah to have the the contribution of individuals like that absolutely but seven years that's a pretty decent gig too Mel I mean I was thinking seven years is pretty much my parkrun lifespan so I haven't really known any different I think it's seven and a half years since I first discovered parkrun so yeah it's changed quite a lot

00:15:17Melissa Ellis: Oh, that's true for me too, Ollie. So Nick's been at the helm for the whole time that we've been parkrunning. I hadn't thought of it that way.

00:15:25Oliver Spake: Yeah, we're very close to it. So we look forward to the future, but thank you, Nick.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:15:32Oliver Spake: A few other people to say thank you to, Mel, are our roving reporters and crew checking in for the week and I should say last week as well for one of our reports that we did have held over. So, Mel, shall we hear what the team have had to say?

Roving report Cameron Drake — South Beach Recreation Reserve

00:15:56Cameron Drake: G'day everyone it's Cam here from bright beautiful WA which has really turned it on today and today I am here visiting South Beach Recreation Reserve parkrun just a little bit south of Fremantle it is a beautiful location we're starting in a park the team have got a rotunda to set up with I can see them doing some kind of briefing or something that I'm probably missing out on and I'm back from a an involuntary break from parkrun and you know what it's like here something new and exciting and fun comes along and what time and day of the week does it come up on parkrun o'clock that's what so lately I've been supporting my son he's been getting back into t-ball and he's having an absolute ball and wouldn't you know it three quarters of his games are Saturday at eight o'clock so that's where I've been most of the time but I finally got a reprieve. I'm back. I'm checking out the third event of a new parkrun event in WA. And I'm wondering if other people have had to choose between parkrun and other things. And just for reference, I think the hardest choice I've ever had to make was when my wife said, you can either go to Universal Studios in Singapore or you can go to your silly parkrun and a divorce. Which one? I did hesitate, but let's see what other people think. Alright everyone, I'm here today with today's, I keep saying today for some reason, with today's RD, Brett. Brett, how are you going? Good, thank you. And I understand this is your first go at being a Run Director?

00:17:26Brett: It is, yes. I've been down here for some of the trials over the last couple of weeks and then this is our third event, so it's been really good.

00:17:34Cameron Drake: And how's run directing?

00:17:35Brett: A little bit stressful the first time, but I didn't have any reason to be. It's been really good.

00:17:42Cameron Drake: Yeah, there's no reason to stress at parkrun, ever. So how did you get started in parkrun?

00:17:47Brett: I started at Canning River probably, I don't know, when they first, there was only Canning River and Claisebrook at the time. And I did a few there and then I kind of just got stuck at Bibra Lake for many years because I live around there. And yeah, helping out down here at South Beach.

00:18:03Cameron Drake: If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say they started at Canning River, I'd have at least three dollars by now.

00:18:09Brett: It's a good parkrun, yep.

00:18:10Cameron Drake: It is. Now, I've been asking people if they've ever had to make the difficult decision between going to parkrun and some other, you know, sort of life event like birth of a child, going on holiday, stuff like that. Have you ever had to make the difficult decision? And did parkrun win?

00:18:25Brett: Well, when we were in hospital after the birth of our second daughter, I had my first daughter dropped off at the hospital at about 6am so we could drive out to Canning River and still do parkrun about two days after our second daughter's birth. So I combined the two.

00:18:46Cameron Drake: a happy event and a parkrun. Yes. Well done. That's impressive.

00:18:51Brett: It was good. Yep. It was a way to, you know, keep the first daughter involved and we still got to We left mum and the other daughter at the hospital, but still, we still got to get out for a run, so it was good.

00:19:05Cameron Drake: Oh, that is good. Well, Brett, it's been lovely talking to you. I hope you have a great many future events as Run Director, and this is such a lovely place. I'll definitely be back.

00:19:13Brett: It is. Thank you very much, and we welcome everyone down here at South Beach Recreation parkrun.

00:19:20Cameron Drake: All right, everyone, I'm here with...

00:19:22Brianna: Holly. And Brianna.

00:19:24Cameron Drake: Now, Holly and Brianna, I understand, I was asking some people if you've had to make some difficult choices between parkrun and other things, but it seems that you've managed to do both. What have we been doing lately?

00:19:36Holly: Drinking too much and still coming to parkrun as much as possible.

00:19:41Cameron Drake: Okay, so you've had it both ways, that's cool.

00:19:44Brianna: So I've got a seven month old and we try and get her to parkrun every week now in the pram but because we've got sand today my husband's at the cafe and I got to do a non-pram parkrun for once.

00:19:55Cameron Drake: Oh fantastic prams are hard work I tell you what choice between parkrun and parkrun with a pram I know which one I'd choose.

00:20:02Brianna: Definitely without a pram.

00:20:05Cameron Drake: So I've got to ask Holly was last night worth it?

00:20:08Holly: Yes, I went to see Yuck Circus. They were really awesome.

00:20:11Cameron Drake: I'm sorry, what?

00:20:12Holly: Yuck Circus.

00:20:13Cameron Drake: Was it yuck?

00:20:15Holly: Well, no, it wasn't actually. It was pretty cool. It's like a mixture of Mad Max and 80s roller skating with lots of tricks.

00:20:22Cameron Drake: That sounds so cool.

00:20:23Holly: It was very cool. Yeah, yeah.

00:20:25Cameron Drake: Well, I'm glad to see you still made it to parkrun this morning. Thanks. Well, Holly and Brianna, it's been lovely chatting to you and I hope to see you again around the traps.

00:20:33Holly: Thanks very much.

00:20:33Unidentified speaker: Thank you.

00:20:35Cameron Drake: I'm here with...

00:20:37Unidentified speaker: Amanda. Elizabeth.

00:20:41Cameron Drake: Alright ladies, now has anyone had to make a difficult choice between parkrun and something else? Anybody? A parkrun has just won out every single time?

00:20:50Unidentified speaker: Most of the time, unless we're away, but then we try and put a parkrun in as well, fit in. We did Bunbury last week, we all went down there just to do the parkrun and had an overnight stay, so that was pretty good.

00:21:05Cameron Drake: So you've organised a holiday around parkrun basically?

00:21:08Unidentified speaker: Yes, yeah, yeah. And we've done one up in Geraldton as well, exactly the same. And in February we're doing the Cape to Cape walk and so we'll organise a parkrun down in Margaret River and Busselton around our walk.

00:21:23Cameron Drake: So you've been clever and not had to choose between something and parkrun. You've gone, why not have both? Anybody else?

00:21:30Unidentified speaker: Well, the other thing I like about it, I've made a lot of wonderful friends.

00:21:34Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:21:35Unidentified speaker: Since I joined the parkrun, because I've only joined the parkrun not as much as Sue and Amanda and Pauline. I've only been, what, it's in the last six months, Pauline? Yes. And I've made such wonderful friends and they're just all, just as good. Yeah.

00:21:49Cameron Drake: Yes, well, you can come to parkrun and see your friends or you can stay at home and see your family. So I know which one I'd choose.

00:21:55Unidentified speaker: Just parkrun and friends. Or stay in bed. Yeah, and sometimes you sort of get back, you need to get home early on a Friday night. You know, you might miss out on a concert or something, so you know you've got to get up early the next day for your parkrun. So you make a compromise there.

00:22:12Cameron Drake: I was just chatting to someone who went out to the circus last night, had a few libations and then still came along to parkrun.

00:22:19Unidentified speaker: That's it. You don't have to run as long as you just get out here and struggle walking. That's the main thing, as long as you get out of bed.

00:22:26Cameron Drake: Turning up is the thing, isn't it? All right, ladies, well, thank you very much for the chat, and I think it might be time for coffee.

00:22:32Unidentified speaker: That's it. That's really what we come down here for. Thank you so much. Thanks, Cameron. Thank you.

00:22:39Cameron Drake: Well, there you have it, folks. Sounds like everyone else manages to have their cake and eat it too. I guess I've just got to get more organised. Oh, well, until next week. See you.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Tony O'Connell — Dorset Recreation Reserve

00:22:50Tony O'Connell: Howdy parkrunners, TOC reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew. Today, Jack and I have wandered up the highway and we've gone to Dorset Recreational Reserve in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. And we're sitting in the cafe, meet me in the middle, with the two Co-Event Directors. I've got Manny and Elle with me. Howdy, guys. G'day. How are you going?

00:23:10Elle: Hey, mate, nice to be on your world-famous podcast.

00:23:15Tony O'Connell: Oh, very good. So tell me, Dorset Recreational, it's a lovely little course, follows a bit of a trail line. Give us a bit of a description of the course and tell us what inspired you to start one at the Recreation Reserve.

00:23:33Elle: No worries mate, well it's an out and back course, 5k, we actually had a PB out on course today in our fifth event which is sub 16 so it's a very flat fast course. Me and Manny are locals of this area, we're about 2k from home, we're sitting in our local cafe at the moment actually so It's a very cool event for us being so close by. Manny's a long-time parkrunner that visited many, many locations and we both know the benefits of parkrun and what it does to communities. I've been at Lilydale before this for a while and we just thought, why not, let's give it a crack, starting a new one near our area and it's been really good so far.

00:24:14Tony O'Connell: Yeah, today was event five. I think you're averaging 99 finishes each week, which is a great little number for an event kicking off. And it's got a real little community feel around it. At the finish line there, it was great to see groups of people just stopping and talking. People weren't scanning and taking off. They were actually stopping and you're building that little community. So it's a really good feel to it there.

00:24:38Manny: That's right, yeah. The community side of it's always been a big plus for me. parkrun brings out... You know, all sorts of people, fast runners, slow runners, walkers, joggers, you name it. Just being out and about and enjoying a nice day makes it all worthwhile.

00:24:54Tony O'Connell: And, Manny, I see you brought that community spirit into the cafe as well. You've been writing down the orders. You've been taking the cups across to the sink, doing a bit of everything. You don't see many EDs at events out serving the coffees as well.

00:25:09Manny: Well, you've got to look after the local community. It extends beyond the running, or to support the businesses that obviously have been hit hard with all the COVID palaver. So it's good to be able to give back if I can. And yeah.

00:25:23Elle: I call Manny, he's the hype man. Everyone needs a hype man, right? So, you know. Whenever you get to parkrun, you know, the vibe might be a little over. I'm just waking up and then Manny turns up with his booming voice and it's like, oh, we're all ready to go. And that's Manny. He brings a lot to our community, not just at parkrun, but in general. He's a good fellow and it's very, very much a privilege to serve alongside him in this one. So, yeah, very, very kind.

00:25:50Tony O'Connell: You know, guys, you've got a great little event here. It was really great to come down and do it. The sun was shining. It's always shining at parkrun time. And, yeah, wish you well with it all. Thanks, mate. Appreciate it. Thanks for having us and thanks for coming out this way. Beautiful. Love to come back. Cheers. See you. Bye.

Roving report Alison King

00:26:07Alison Fraser (King): Hello parkrun adventurers, it's Alison King here from across the ditch in New Zealand reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew. Now I have been absent of late and with very good reason. Now the last time I did a report I was coming to you from Sherwood Reserve parkrun, the newest parkrun to start in New Zealand and that one finished off my Countryman Challenge and the week after that I returned home to Puarenga parkrun to have a bit of a break from all the travel. And sadly that was my very last parkrun. We've been on pause ever since. I think it's been 18 Saturdays now without a parkrun and I have absolutely no idea when we're going to come back. So fingers crossed it will be soon. We're in a new traffic light system. Some of you may have seen some areas are in red, which is absolutely no way for parkrun. Some parts are in orange, which I think there could be a chance for parkrun to come back, but we wait to hear from headquarters. So for now, we're just not parkrunning, doing the park faff, or I should say not park faff. Quite a lot of us are meeting up at the cafe around nine o'clock on a Saturday morning. Some people may have run first, others have just rolled out of bed, but we're still able to get together and have that, you know, the chatty side, of the parkrun but um yes so hopefully we'll be back soon I really enjoy seeing all the different adventures that are happening in Australia and hoping that I'll be able to get over and do my own adventuring so that's all from me merry Christmas everyone and happy international ugly Christmas singletour t-shirt day I'll be wearing mine at a (not)parkrun somewhere near me so see ya

00:28:05Melissa Ellis: Thank you very much to our roving reporters this week. Caveman Cam coming to us from South Beach Recreation Reserve parkrun in WA. Cam has been busy, as he said, Ollie, on his Saturday mornings at T-Ball. And he posed the question to people that he spoke to, have you had to make a difficult choice between parkrun and something else? Have you had that situation, Ollie? No.

00:28:32Oliver Spake: I think I've been pretty fortunate so far. It's been a family holiday or something like that that's taken me out of a parkrun country, a cruise or a time in Fiji I remember back in parkrun year number one for me that took me away. I think... Yeah, the last trip overseas, much the same. So pretty fortunate. Kids sport, kids activity hasn't yet impacted. We had a close call with some dancing, but we'll see next year. So yeah, I might be in Cam's bucket now and then. What about you, Mel?

00:29:07Melissa Ellis: I remember when I first started parkrunning, Zoe was in ballet on a Saturday morning. It allowed me time to do parkrun, but I had to race off. So she swiftly got moved to midweek ballet lessons. And then there was another year where Madeline had, she was learning French and she couldn't do it at school. So she was in a language school. That was a Saturday morning. And I would have her sitting in the car waiting while I did my parkrun so that I could run, jump in and drive her to her lesson place.

00:29:44Unidentified speaker: Yeah, yeah.

00:29:45Melissa Ellis: But we had another roving report from TOC, which was Dorset Recreation Reserve. So these parkruns, they were similar names. Yes. Both named Recreation Reserve. That's right. So TOC was out there touring and notching up another new event to regain his statesmanship.

00:30:03Oliver Spake: Yep, on the trail. Not too far, I understand. Still a couple of events to go.

00:30:08Melissa Ellis: And we heard from Alison giving us an update from across the ditch. Not the update we were hoping for, Ollie.

00:30:16Oliver Spake: No, no. We desperately want to see a green light for our Kiwi parkrunners, our family over there. We'll keep hoping. Hang in there, guys. Always spectacular efforts in your (not)parkruns. But, yeah, we look forward to seeing you back out there.

00:30:34Melissa Ellis: Because even just a date and having some hope.

00:30:37Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:30:38Melissa Ellis: I know, and you know very well that that's just so important, not like just this not knowing, which is painful.

00:30:46Oliver Spake: Hopefully we'll see some developments not too far down the track. I don't believe we've got any mail this week, Mel.

Dazza's

00:30:54Oliver Spake: So it's probably time to check in at Dazza's.

00:30:57Melissa Ellis: What did Dazza have to say this week, Ollie?

00:31:00Oliver Spake: Well, I think a timely message resonates with me. Dazza, you can always read my mind. At this busy time of the year, it's easy to be overwhelmed with a long to-do list. But don't put yourself last. You can't pour from an empty cup. Come in and tell us how you spent your time this morning at parkrun. Consider it recharging your batteries.

00:31:24Melissa Ellis: Yes, that's a good message. We have to look after ourselves and if it even means taking half an hour to an hour out of our busy schedule to make sure we don't sacrifice our parkrun morning because it would be easy when you're busy to go, oh, I just don't have time for it. But we have to make time. It's nourishment for us, nourishment for our soul.

00:31:48Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah. It gives us a nice array of social contact as well as the fitness side of things and the rhythm. I really look forward to the rhythm. Yeah. Wise words, Dazza, and I'll keep them in mind.

00:32:02Unidentified speaker: Mm-hmm.

00:32:03Oliver Spake: But, Mel, particularly excited by some of the crew at Dazza's this week. I was curious after hearing last week of some of the plans afoot to return to parkrun, and the first report we have from Dazza's here is indeed from Richard, who had to say, Hi, Dazza. Finally get to do a real parkrun. Heading to Ginninderra parkrun shortly. I also get to wear my new T-shirt. And yes, Pioneer Dairy parkrun represented there in the apricot tee. So that's great to hear you made it, Richard. We also heard from Michael Scott, also checking in in the ACT. First post-lockdown parkrun for me at Coombs parkrun in Canberra. And another Fibonacci number, 144. So a few Fibonacci's being achieved in recent weeks.

00:32:55Melissa Ellis: It's gaining in popularity.

00:32:57Oliver Spake: It is, it is. I'm going to have to research my own position. I'm pretty sure I'm pretty low, but hey, it's nice to have a long list. Alison King, who we just heard from, also checked in. It was a nottie today yet again. Snagged start, i.e. whenever you arrived, and then coffee afterwards. Was a lot hotter this week, so no PBs, but everyone agreed it was nice to see familiar faces. Pick from the finish, featuring Wilson the dog, who is not named for the Wilson Index.

00:33:31Melissa Ellis: But a handy name for a parkrun dog nonetheless. That's right. And good to hear that the weather's improving over there.

00:33:37Oliver Spake: Yeah, summer's coming, that's for sure. And, yeah, Alison did share the picture of the group, of the runners, and indeed Wilson, not the index but the dog.

00:33:47Melissa Ellis: And Patrick Shymitzek. Hi Dazza, another Saturday of staying local, so no official parkrun for me. However, I set out to do some Strava art, which failed. So then I went to Port Kembla Harbour to notch up another nottie. Not the most notable of venues, you might think, but not bad for a scene in a James Bond movie. I notched this one up for Cow Pasture Road Camden parkrun. nearly at the end of my reverse alphabet. And Patrick shared a photo of the port at Kembla, I assume.

00:34:23Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right. Yeah, some of the features around the port there, familiar to a few of us. I used to work quite near there. Hmm.

00:34:32Melissa Ellis: Bernadette Bennett. Morning all. As a last nottie this morning, before parkrun returned next week, our running group organised a monopoly run around Newcastle to collect the highest value of properties in one hour. A great way to explore the area and share some Christmas spirit. Now, I was really intrigued with this one. Ollie, what a great concept. And Bernadette also shared a photo which had the Wooters that she was obviously partaking in her nottie with, but also the Monopoly game sheet. So that was interesting to see.

00:35:10Oliver Spake: It was fantastic, wasn't it?

00:35:12Melissa Ellis: An explanation of the said properties that need to be discovered.

00:35:19Oliver Spake: Just the creativity. Yeah, huge fan. Would love to give that a go.

00:35:23Melissa Ellis: Simon Mackley, a redemption run at Manly after missing my normal Friday constitutional. Very happy with my time and then dropped by the Mosman parkrun course on the way home. Looks ready for next Saturday. Should I be saying Mossman?

00:35:39[laughter]

00:35:39Unidentified speaker: LAUGHTER

00:35:42Oliver Spake: Look, I would say Mossman, but tomatoes, tomatoes.

00:35:47Melissa Ellis: There'll be some very happy cheaters next week, Ollie.

00:35:49Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah, yeah. I think we're pretty excited to hear that Mosman is on the cards for a quick return there. But, Mel, we did have an apology for Sam Schroder, or I should say Dazza did, who had to say apologies for being so late, Dazza, and thank you for the important reminder for self-care. I had grandma duties all day yesterday, so my nottie slash Freedo was at twilight. After a really beautiful run-walk, hitting my training plan goals, and a chat with a duck in our new start-finish puddle, I went home to an amazing dinner of bacon and leek risotto made by Luke, the kindest man alive.

00:36:34Melissa Ellis: Aww. And Sam had a photo of the puddle with the said duck. Yes. So they're vibing Eynesbury Heritage Trail.

00:36:43Oliver Spake: Very much so.

00:36:44Melissa Ellis: They're going to need a puddle marshal.

00:36:46Oliver Spake: I think so. There's a few parkruns that need a bit of a puddle marshal, aren't there?

00:36:53Melissa Ellis: Good time to bring up Jindabyne. Yeah.

00:36:56Oliver Spake: Yes, well, and look, I was just contemplating, haven't done my homework once again, but yeah, there's a bit of wet going around. Goulburn had a bit of water, but yeah, Jindabyne, gee. Yeah, look, best wishes to you guys to be able to get your parkrun course back sometime in the not too distant future.

00:37:16Melissa Ellis: Yes, entire course underwater as far as I understand. And on pause until the water subsides.

00:37:25Oliver Spake: Ah, we have all kinds of weather conditions, don't we, in this wonderful country? But I should go on. Ingrid Botha also checked in. A long run on Sunday morning. Cut a fraction short because, as Dazza said, it is definitely the time for being kind to yourself. Now I'm sitting with a cup of tea and working out which parkrun to go to next week. Hooray! Hooray indeed. Very exciting. And Chris Fraser. Crowded Sandon Point Freedo for me. There was a surf carnival on. Picked up new toys on way home. And, yeah, the picture there, Chris shared car and kayaks. So looks like he's headed for Jindabyne.

00:38:07Melissa Ellis: Yep. Yeah, that would be handy.

00:38:10Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:38:11Melissa Ellis: Mark Scarborough, happy birthday to me. And Mark shared a picture of himself with his crook book.

00:38:18Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:38:19Melissa Ellis: Which is, of course, on every Saturday. And happy birthday, Mark. I hope you had a wonderful parkrun weekend.

00:38:27Oliver Spake: Likewise.

00:38:28Melissa Ellis: Claire Stutchbury, our 108th event at Victory Heights Trail this morning, bringing us to a whole year of tourist streaking. Well, 52 events anyway, 43 new events, 44 for Jack, bringing us to 45 and 46 in Queensland. How are they up to 52 events this year, Ollie? And we're only up to 50.

00:38:51Oliver Spake: Ah, yes. Diverse country. Sorry, you're referring to the maths. I was just merely looking on with envy at Queensland.

00:38:59Melissa Ellis: Maybe they're thinking ahead that they will complete 52 for the year.

00:39:04Oliver Spake: Maybe. Yeah.

00:39:06Melissa Ellis: Anyway, we also heard from Jack Corkill. Moving to a new state can be hard, but parkrun helps. 52 different events in a row after completing Victory Heights Trail parkrun this morning and getting to explore all around Queensland in the process. Lots more adventures to come as well. Abigail's mum, a lovely walk at Wyndham Vale parkrun for me this morning. So nice to be back. Happy parkrun day to all.

00:39:35Oliver Spake: And, Mel, we heard from Val and Stephen Warwick, and the update is, hello, Dazza. Another morning late in, but again, what a morning. We left Devonport early enough to pick up Leonie in Lonnie and head across the Tamar to Windsor Precinct parkrun after an absence of three years. where we were both volunteering on their fourth anniversary. The theme was odd socks and bright colours, and this was embraced by all. Bubbly, RD, Glenn Thomas, gave Leonie a right royal Tassie welcome. Val was behind her camera while Stephen was on finish tokens and camera until the first finishers ran through the finishing tunnel. Afterwards, we enjoyed coffee at Gorilla, set up in a container on a disused service station site. No sausage rolls or vanilla slices available, so Stephen opted for a wagon wheel. A beautiful sunny day once again. Definitely a necessary morning before we head to Lonnie again tomorrow afternoon as Steve is having a full thyroidectomy first thing Monday morning. See you next week, Dazza, and sending hugs to all who are still in New Zealand lockdown or rained out. And thank you both. Sending you guys hugs too. It's wonderful to hear another fantastic morning.

00:40:55Melissa Ellis: And all the best for Steve for his thyroidectomy.

00:40:59Oliver Spake: Yes, we hope it's recovering comfortably now, Steve.

00:41:02Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:41:03Oliver Spake: Tracey Wood also checked in. Morning, team. It was a hot one in Kedron this morning. I didn't get a selfie, but would a pic of Kedron parkrun course over the bridge do? Picture of the bridge. Yeah, that's a pretty nice bridge. Janet Reid also checked in. Hey Dazza, how are you? Thanks for advising us all in. I was aboard the mothership Lochiel today. No surprises there. Started nearly 10 minutes late as I decided to park Faf first. Caught up with the Tail Walkers, more park faffing en route. Jeff and I passed each other at the 2K and 4K marker. Ever the gentleman, he sat on a bench and waited for me to catch up. Back at the golf club, we enjoyed an iced coffee, hot chocolate, chips, and a little later... Wine with lots more park faffing. All in all, a fabulous morning. Sending out good vibes to all our friends still in limbo. Just a thought. I hope someone helps you with the dishes, Dazza.

00:42:09Melissa Ellis: And Rebecca Scott. We wore our high viz as turnaround marshals at Mount Gambier. Rebecca sent us a lovely photo of herself complete with baby.

00:42:23Oliver Spake: In a slightly different kind of high-vis, if I'm not mistaken, but looking very festive.

00:42:27Melissa Ellis: I know.

00:42:27Oliver Spake: A very cute baby.

00:42:29Melissa Ellis: And our Bailey shot, Brett Bailey. A delayed afternoon nottie out and back on the forest track after a busy morning officiating at a surf life-saving competition today. How about sending us over some nice weather, Dazza? We are sick of the rubbish that's been coming over the ditch so far this month. Oh, dear. Must have been nicer where Alison was than when Brett was.

00:42:52Oliver Spake: Yeah, I think so. But look, sorry, Brett, I've got no nice weather to share at the moment. They haven't given us any yet.

00:42:58Melissa Ellis: Oh, so it's all coming from New South Wales.

00:43:02Oliver Spake: Yes, that's right.

00:43:03Melissa Ellis: Tanya Bailey, a bit cold at the surf comp this morning, had to go for an afternoon nottie to thaw out the toes. And that was it for our Bailey shot. Yes. Bec Bailey missing in action. But we did hear from Lynette. Hi, Dezza. Euroa parkrun for me. Towel walking, chatting to new friends. Lovely event at Euroa and met some legendary volunteers that make the event happen each week.

00:43:28Oliver Spake: And we heard from Grette Wilkinson, Timekeeper at Mount Barker today, my favourite role, for a beautiful sunny day to celebrate a mass of milestones, a 10, a 50, 400s, including octogenarian Dawn, who was presented with a gift by little friend Angus. Aww. And... Yes, there was a lovely picture of the little one with flowers. So, yeah, it sounds like a pretty nice morning there. And thank you for volunteering, Greta. Nadine Crawford interrupted a girls' camper van weekend at Wilson's Prom to travel to Grand Ridge Rail Trail parkrun this morning. On the early morning drive there, we saw some very still warm bats, swerved to miss a kangaroo, slowed to let a koala cross the road and didn't knock over the cyclists. It all added to the adventure of our weekend and we enjoyed it Gert, being the Grand Ridge Rail Trail. I was going to call it break, but it's synonymous, I'm sure. And it's friendly locals, volunteers, and, of course, coffee.

00:44:40Melissa Ellis: She does love her coffee, that lady. And Nadine shared a selfie of herself and the lovely Kim at Gert.

00:44:50Oliver Spake: And Jeff Whiffen. Relz and I ventured to one of our local events this morning, Torquay. We are so lucky to have six parkruns within 30 minutes from home. Torquay really turned on perfect conditions this morning. And there was the picture of Jeff running around the coast trail there. And Brett, there's your weather.

00:45:12Melissa Ellis: hmm and Jodie Maisie hi Dazza I completed my 25th parkrun today at Nathalia Showgrounds to my surprise I finished at token 25 and at 49.25 in my time was a lovely day spent with Brendan Peel lovely breakfast with Melissa Ellis Helen Davis and the great man Brendan Peel And Nathan. Happy 25. Joe Richards. Got to be a responsible adult this morning and RD at Envy. Well done, Joe. Thank you for volunteering. Yes. Bruce Purdy. Stayed sort of local, well, a 45-minute drive this week and visited Peppertree parkrun. After our first attempt today, the ED Adrian and I are planning to enter the 2024 Olympic Games in the sport of synchronised park jumping. And Bruce shared his photo of his and Adrian's jump shot and very impressive indeed.

00:46:14Oliver Spake: I don't think I'd qualify for that event.

00:46:16Melissa Ellis: You're in the aeroplane zoomy Olympics, that's why. Yes. You should have seen me and Helen. We did zoom zooms. Oh, fantastic. Yes, we had a good photo. Anyway, I digress. Pippa White. Hey, Dazza. A little late, but best parkrun day. I ran slowly with post-COVID friend. I chatted with lots of friends. Then I came home and went for a serene run, which my father had led me to believe was short. Stopped at the cafe after lots of kilometres for a perfect sausage roll in the rain. Now I'm in to see you. May I have a hot chocolate, please?

00:46:53Oliver Spake: Nice one, Pippa. I like it. And, Mel, on the festive side of things, we heard from Natasha Littler, family parkrun at Christies Beach. And, yes, the picture shared was the family looking very tinsel-y. A tinsel. A Littler tinsel. I bet they're just warming up. It's great to see. Good work, family.

00:47:16Melissa Ellis: I can't believe it, Ollie. When I went to Christies Beach, Natasha was the Tail Walker pushing a pram, I think, at the time with like a three-week-old baby. And that must be the little one in that photo. So, yeah, time flies.

00:47:31Oliver Spake: Oh, wow, sure does. Already in an Ugly Christmas Singlet or shirt in that case too. So what a good start. And, look, last but certainly not least, bringing the tinsel home, Melissa Taylor, getting beaten by octos and nonos at Wynnum parkrun. Shirt doesn't make me run faster.

00:47:53Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Is that a nono or a nono? I think it's a nono, Ollie, like a nonogenarian. It would be a nono, yes, yes, yeah. But that's a part of a tinsel.

00:48:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, so they're certainly making the appearances, Mel.

00:48:10Melissa Ellis: They are. They're being spotted everywhere and they're flooding my Facebook feed, even all around the place.

00:48:16Unidentified speaker: Yeah, yeah.

00:48:17Melissa Ellis: We're there, least expected.

the Obi Award — Bernadette Bennett

00:48:20Melissa Ellis: We've got a – do I need to bring the dogs in to choose the Obi Award recipient?

00:48:28Oliver Spake: I think so. Yeah, we're going to have to.

00:48:31Melissa Ellis: Did you hear my sound effects last week? Did you listen that far? Yes, yes.

00:48:37Oliver Spake: I did indeed. I did indeed. They were, I think, a little clearer than my own envelope sound effects. So I think we go with yours unless, of course, the dogs want to give us an improvement.

00:48:49Melissa Ellis: Well, okay. I am going to play the drum roll. Do you have the envelope, Ollie?

00:48:51[music]

00:49:03Oliver Spake: I do. Okay. Given the dogs aren't nearby, I will go straight to opening the envelope, Mel. This week's Obi goes to, I'll give you the chance to read it, but given the envelopes in front of me, I guess it's up to me. For festive cheer, some wooters, and a whole lot of board game fun on the run, Bernadette Bennett. Congratulations. Congratulations.

00:49:36Melissa Ellis: Well done, Bernadette. And that was a lovely twist on a nottie playing a round of Monopoly. And where were they pictured in front of, did you say, Ollie?

00:49:50Oliver Spake: The Newcastle Art Gallery, a.k.a. Trafalgar Square, if you check out the board there.

00:49:56Melissa Ellis: You know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking parkrun needs their own Monopoly version. We have multiple versions of Monopoly in this house. We must have, I don't know, four or five different editions of Monopoly because, as we know, it's a popular way to recreate all your favourite things in a Monopoly version.

00:50:16Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:50:16Melissa Ellis: There's a merch idea.

00:50:18Unidentified speaker: Oh.

00:50:19Oliver Spake: I reckon. I mean, think of the debates, whether you would find some linkages to the names, and already I'm probably projecting my own local area to this and thinking Australian parkruns, but hey, it doesn't have to be Australian. We can go much, much broader than that. It's a big parkrun world. But think of the debates.

00:50:40Melissa Ellis: I'm thinking of the little tokens, Ollie. I used to always want to be the dog. That was my, you know, did you always just have the same little piece that you always chose?

00:50:50Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, there's the shoe, of course. I remember being a ship steering wheel.

00:50:55Melissa Ellis: Really? I don't remember that one.

00:50:58Oliver Spake: We had a version with that, yeah.

00:50:59Melissa Ellis: I remember the top hat.

00:51:00Oliver Spake: Yep, and a car.

00:51:01Melissa Ellis: So what could we have for parkrun? We could have a tree.

00:51:04Oliver Spake: We could have a tree. Yep, we could absolutely have a tree. You could have a- A token. A token. Ooh. Would you have a watch for us?

00:51:13Melissa Ellis: Oh, a little cone.

00:51:14Oliver Spake: A cone. Yeah, that'd be perfect. A parkrun flag.

00:51:19Melissa Ellis: You could have a dog.

00:51:20Oliver Spake: Yep. I could still have my dog. Yep, absolutely. What are they called? I just keep thinking they're a token. I'd call it a token.

00:51:28Melissa Ellis: But anyway, they could represent like you could have the Crissy Fields, like you could have the Golden Gate Bridge.

00:51:34Oliver Spake: Yes. Well, I think, you know, you would assume that Bushy is Mayfair and the rest is up for grabs. So let the debates begin.

00:51:42Melissa Ellis: What would be jail? No barcode, no result.

00:51:47Oliver Spake: Well, I mean, we do have prison parkruns.

00:51:50Melissa Ellis: Oh, true that.

00:51:51Oliver Spake: But, yeah, no barcode, no result. Or maybe that's just free parking.

00:51:56Melissa Ellis: Oh, now my mind's going. Anyway, well done, Bernadette. Thank you for... Thank you for all the ideas.

00:52:05Oliver Spake: That's right. That's right. I look forward to trying that. Look, speaking of ideas, Mel, someone who's never short on ideas and never short on information is our informant, and it's time we caught up. So let's have a listen.

the Informant

00:52:27The 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. This week we see post-COVID records for global number of runs held, global 100 milestones and global 250 milestones. There were 308 runs held in Australia, up 5 on last week. This was out of 1,574 worldwide, which is up by 2. There were 3 launches, 1 in Germany and 2 in Russia. Aussie attendance was down by 862 to 25,640, out of 150,158 worldwide, which is down around 1,100. Down under we had 2,534 PBs, while 735 people participated for the first time. 55 juniors reached their Junior 10 milestone, 129 people reached their 50 milestone, 96 reached their 100 milestone, and 16 people reached their 250 milestone. 17 people called bingo. Julian Robbins was the quickest with 194 runs, while Aaron Mitchell was the slowest on 306 runs. There were seven new statespeople this week. In the ACT, we had Trent Freeman and Anton Steeptee. In the Northern Territory, we had Kate Nyland. And in South Australia, we had Michael Ost, Mary Karsena, Alex Shepard, and Brogan Baraklia. In the top 20 most events list, we had two people drop places. However, the big news is that we have a new entrant to the list. Brian Hardy debuts at equal 20th after running his 139 different event at Murray Bridge. On the overall biggest movers list, Anne Rayner topped the list moving up 9 rankings to 204. On the Wilson Index we had two people lifting their index 20. Jane Luke moved up to 38 and Sue Wilkes moved up to 28. Jane's effort also lifts her into the top 10 South Australians at 6th. Honourable mention to Wendy Compton, who moved up 18 to 26. If you want to see a full breakdown of the weekly stats, you can download them from the blog at theinformant.me. That's www.theinformant.me. Or look for The Informant on Facebook. This has been The Informant, and my spreadsheet is bigger than yours.

00:55:23Melissa Ellis: Thank you very much to our informant. I am wondering to myself how our informant is going to spend his Christmas. I wonder what beige food will be on the Christmas table.

00:55:35Oliver Spake: I wonder if there'll ever be a beige on Ugly Christmas Singlet.

00:55:40Melissa Ellis: Oh, that would be very ugly. Maybe we should commission a special one.

00:55:47Oliver Spake: Oh, the sepia-toned one. Yeah.

Consolidated Club Report

00:55:53Melissa Ellis: Anyway, we probably should refresh our Adventurers Club stats. Yeah, where are we up to? Well, thank you for asking. This week we're sitting on 72 still. We've had no change to our members. So anybody out there? Just a reminder, if you want to join our club, even if you're affiliated with somebody else, you can have five clubs that you're affiliated with, five favourites, and we can be one. And it's really easy to join. You just change it on your parkrun profile. Anyway, no change, 72, same as last week. We had 44 members on the Consolidated Club Report. That was up four from the previous week. And we had 19 notties, which is down by six. Okay. So all those adventurers getting ready, steeling themselves, saving the legs for parkrun to return in New South Wales, I'm thinking.

00:56:54Oliver Spake: I think so. Okay.

00:56:55Melissa Ellis: Even the (not)parkrun results were down this week, Ollie, and probably the last week we'll give the stats for the Victorian not parkruns. Oh, sorry, the Australian not parkruns. I said Victoria.

00:57:10Oliver Spake: Victoria has had a great showing in the (not)parkruns, so I understand your confusion.

00:57:15Melissa Ellis: Slip of the tongue, it's late. But, yeah, because as of next week, our country will once again all be back bar the events that are awaiting permissions or have other reasons to be cancelled such as floods. Nevertheless, this week we had Campbelltown coming in top of the table with 23. We had Elbow. Albert Melbourne with 12. Kaki Paki came in with 10. Shallow had six. And Toolern Creek had one, which was not me. I actually did not log a nottie this week for the first time. Part of the minus six. Yep. I was feeling a bit guilty to log a knot parkrun because I feel like I'm double dipping.

00:58:14Oliver Spake: Ah, yeah.

00:58:16Melissa Ellis: You're not.

00:58:17Oliver Spake: It's okay. But it's understandable.

00:58:20Melissa Ellis: Yeah, I might have to retire the notties, I think. Anyway, how did our New Zealand friends go across the ditch?

00:58:29Oliver Spake: Yes, well, strong once again. Whangarei, or the Whang. The Whang. 45. 45 not parkruns this week. Anderson, 40. And Pegasus on 38. So once again, three very strong showings from three of our New Zealand not parkruns.

00:58:49Melissa Ellis: Very good, Ollie. I am just really quickly looking. Sorry for the interruption. It's not working for me. I am trying to switch to my own Facebook profile so I can look up a message that I got from Alison this week, who also noted the amount of runners that did not parkruns at her home parkrun of Puarenga. And it was eight.

00:59:15Oliver Spake: Eight. Well done, Team Puarenga.

00:59:17Melissa Ellis: But what are we looking forward to next week, Ollie?

International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day

00:59:22Melissa Ellis: Ugly Christmas Singlet and Shirt Day. That's right. It's here, Mel.

00:59:28Oliver Spake: It's actually happening. And, look, I've still been seeing right to this day news of the Ugly Christmas Singlets and shirts arriving. So for those that have been receiving them, whew, Just in time for the rest of us, here's that chance, if we haven't worn them out already, to throw it on and enjoy International Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day.

00:59:52Melissa Ellis: Going to make Christmas Day a non-event, Ollie. Yeah.

00:59:55Oliver Spake: Yeah, I tend to notice the odd confused parkrunner or two when there's a Christmas event that follows and we're dressing up in our festive gear the week before. But, hey, you just do it both weeks. It's perfectly simple.

01:00:10Melissa Ellis: So do you have an update for us for Shellharbour?

01:00:15Oliver Spake: Oh, yeah, that's right. So, yeah, look, following last week's update update, I can confirm that Shellharbour parkrun is returning. We are returning on the 18th of December with a number of New South Wales parkruns following the changes to the COVID restrictions. So we were fortunate in that we secured permission to return the event, but we are also quite sad to see that the course will be different. So Shellharbour will, for the 18th of December, Mel, not be running its traditional anti-clockwise lap of the lagoon. It will be debuting the new Killalea course, Killalea being the park that we operate in. Just to confuse people, we're also throwing on Christmas Day and New Year's Day events where we will be back on the old course before we make the switch and we continue the new course forever. for the future.

01:01:09Melissa Ellis: Right. Would you like to describe the new course for us?

01:01:13Oliver Spake: Well, the new course is, it's still located within the park. It makes use of the shared pathways within the park. It includes about a K and a half of the original track. For anyone that's been to the parkrun there, the track included is the last track K and a half of the course. But after a bit of an out and back leg there, we'll take in a new part of the track, get some views and head out basically to, I think we'll have to call it the point break turnaround because it overlooks the surfing beach, the renowned farm beach, which is a feature of the reserve before returning. So good news, it's a high five course. But sad news is that we won't be on the beach anymore and we won't be lapping the lagoon. We've made the change based on the need to not operate in a space that could be of a safety concern to our parkrunners. So because there is the likelihood of there being some vehicles on course, And the park have confirmed that that's the case. We've had to make the change. So in order to ensure the event can continue, we'll take in this new course and the views that comes with it.

01:02:28Melissa Ellis: But due to the Christmas period, the Christmas Day and the New Year's Day parkrun will be safe to run the original course. So if anybody wants to come along and farewell the original Shellharbour course, now's your chance. You've got two opportunities. If you haven't already experienced that beautiful original course, make your way down there and do it. Tick it off because you may not get to do it again.

01:02:57Oliver Spake: Not the easiest dates to make it out there, acknowledge that, but, hey, you know, we're just happy to have the opportunity. I will be very excited, though, Mel, to have my Ugly Christmas Singlet and to answer a question that was raised in a poll a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I will be volunteering at Shellharbour.

01:03:16Melissa Ellis: Oh, I don't remember that poll.

01:03:19Oliver Spake: That's all right.

01:03:20Melissa Ellis: Was that me?

01:03:20Oliver Spake: Those that have seen it will have the context. That's quite okay. What about you, Mel?

01:03:26Melissa Ellis: You're not allowed to have secrets from me. Okay, you can tell me about that off air. What about me? Family weekend away, Ollie. Fantastic. Yes, absolutely fantastic. Having a farm stay. So no new event for me. Going to venture to an event within reach of said farm stay and pick up a Wilson number, I think.

01:03:50Unidentified speaker: Oh.

01:03:52Oliver Spake: Brilliant.

01:03:53Melissa Ellis: Which is my default if I can't get to a new event. I'll look around and see if I can fill in some gaps in that Wilson challenge. So, yeah, so a little bit of family time with Paul and Zoe for me.

01:04:08Oliver Spake: Fantastic. Well, I hope it's festive. I hope it's ugly. And we look forward to hearing about it. And Mel, look, I understand in the weeks that follow, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, the Christmas compendium, there have been some updates in that space. There was a slightly extended timeframe for events to declare. When I've checked it, there's still a little over a quarter of events that haven't confirmed. But the good news is we're close to 50% of events having confirmed that they are operating on Christmas Day and 60% on New Year's Day. So check out the compendium. It has been updated and I'm sure it's been updated again by the time this pod is out. and stay tuned to local guides.

01:04:55Melissa Ellis: Yes, and all you Wilson Index chasers, make sure when you are calculating the events you're going to visit that you take into consideration whether or not those events have cancelled on one of those two dates because that's going to muck up your numbers. I'm looking at you, Geoff Wiffen.

01:05:16Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, that's right. He's got the Whiffen Index.

01:05:22Unidentified speaker: Yes.

01:05:22Melissa Ellis: I'm sure he's all over it, but that's what I've been doing anyway. I've been mindful. I've been trying to work out what number I'm missing and whether I can fill a gap in January, but then having to go back and reference the compendium to make sure I don't miscalculate.

01:05:37Oliver Spake: I look forward to that. I look forward to that, Mel.

01:05:40Melissa Ellis: What, filling in your number two?

01:05:43Oliver Spake: Exactly.

01:05:46Melissa Ellis: That might be a bit easier to calculate.

01:05:48Oliver Spake: I should have embraced the floating Wilson well before now. Yes. Yeah, I think so.

01:05:53Manny: But Mel, I think that's it.

Sign-off

01:05:55Oliver Spake: That's it for this week. So as always, everyone, you can contact us via Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. Reminder, please don't forget to share your international Ugly Christmas Singlet or shirt pictures on the Facebook page for the International Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day, the event. Share it on Facebook. Share the spirit. That's it for another week. We wish you the most festive and ugly. International Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day. And we'll see you all next week for more adventures.

01:07:38Alison Fraser (King): Hi Mel and Olly, it's Alison here in New Zealand and guess what? parkrun Santa has already been. Some of us get to have parkrun on Christmas Day. It's so exciting. We've had news that parkrun is going to come back across the whole of New Zealand. Some might have to wait just a little bit longer and some might be able to start this coming weekend. How exciting is that? I'm not sure what I'll be doing this Saturday. It might be a test run or it might just be, hopefully it'll be a real parkrun. I'm going to be taking my barcode just in case. See you soon.