Episode 267 - parkrun spirit

Welcome

00:00:23Melissa Ellis: welcome to episode 267 of the parkrun adventurers podcast this is our 52nd episode for the year but also since we took over as your hosts my name is Melissa Ellis and welcome to my co-host and the bloke who puts up with all my crazy ideas Ollie Spake

00:00:51Oliver Spake: Thank you, Mel. I wouldn't say they're all crazy. Some are quite brilliant, in fact. But, hey, that's how ideas work. You've got to have a little crazy in there too. So thank you to you as well. 52. Yes. 52.

00:01:09Melissa Ellis: Every week for this year, Ollie, we have produced a podcast.

00:01:14Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. And maybe not every week have you all listened to us, but thank you for coming on the journey with us, everyone. 52 weeks of a podcast is quite a big commitment for the listeners out there too, particularly with no parkrun to talk about sometimes, Mel.

00:01:34Melissa Ellis: Yes, we've had to be a bit creative in that respect. And we've really lent heavily on the (not)parkruns. And I know, you know, my creation of my Ellis Palace parkrun and your Bass Point parkrun. And we try to engage people in that respect over the pause as well.

00:01:54Oliver Spake: And I think what has been particularly enjoyable is, I'm not going to call them crazy ideas, some of the magnificent ideas that have come from the podcast community. Never did I think that we'd be having selfies with park benches or the many, many other examples of how we've enjoyed our time.

00:02:15Melissa Ellis: Also, in the week just gone, Ollie, we welcomed back New Zealand. And how good was that?

00:02:22Oliver Spake: That was wonderful to see some New Zealand parkrunners getting out and enjoying Christmas Day in a way that perhaps would have seemed unimaginable quite recently. Unimaginable. Unimaginable. Unimaginable. How's that for a mispronunciation? Unimaginable. And welcome back, New Zealand.

00:02:46Melissa Ellis: I believe 15 out of the 34 events returned on Christmas Day.

00:02:51Oliver Spake: Yes, including some of our own parkrun family over there. I have seen some of the photos. I have seen some of the joy and onwards and upwards. Looking forward to seeing more of the events returning, Mel, and maybe some growth.

00:03:08Melissa Ellis: Yes, I believe there were three events, Ollie, that were due to launch during the time where New Zealand was on pause. And one of those events is actually going to come back this coming Saturday on New Year's Day.

00:03:24Oliver Spake: So it finally scrapes through in 2022, eh? Yes. Otaki River?

00:03:28Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:03:33Oliver Spake: I'm going to say Otaki, yes. Yep. I haven't checked that one, so apologies once again, as always.

00:03:39Melissa Ellis: Yes, Otaki River. I think there's another one that will be coming in January and then the third is undecided yet whether it will launch January or February. But that's great news for New Zealand with three new baby events coming.

00:03:57Oliver Spake: It's really exciting. And the beginnings of Volume 2 of parkrun in New Zealand, I hope. That is to say, a second book, yes.

00:04:06Melissa Ellis: But while we're excited about New Zealand coming back, there's parts of the world going back into pause.

00:04:13Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, yeah. And our hearts go out for everyone. Our northern cousins going through a really rough time at the moment. Yeah, it seems winter has well and truly struck and a number of countries on pause there, Mel, at least through to the new year.

00:04:32Melissa Ellis: It's been a little bit hard to track, Ollie. I've been doing my best. I did see comms come through that Wales is one of the jurisdictions that will be pausing for the foreseeable future due to outdoor gathering limits. I believe the Netherlands, Canada and Norway are also going to be paused at least for a period through January. Okay.

00:04:56Oliver Spake: That's right. I think we're adding Finland to that list as well. And apologies to those that we've missed. Not that you want to be on the list, guys, but our wishes and our thoughts with you for a safe winter and to have parkrun back as soon as you can.

00:05:14Melissa Ellis: I think it's a sign of the times, Ollie. You know, this pandemic, obviously we've been going nearly two years now and the pauses are probably each time less than they previously had been. But I think we need to adjust to this is just the way of life now. You know, when cases get a bit out of control, we need to buckle down. Our society needs to reduce cases. movement and not mixing at parkrun. It's just one of those things that has to also happen.

00:05:47Oliver Spake: Well, that's right, Mel. And look, I'm sure many of us are experiencing that. I know domestically in Australia and I'm sure around the world with the restrictions in play, I know firsthand that we're seeing week to week, people have to live with a degree of uncertainty. And when I isolation is needed or when plans do change, things like volunteer rosters are certainly a good illustration of how much that's coming to play.

00:06:15Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so filling volley rosters are hard enough, but getting volunteers messaging at the last minute to say that they're close contacts and they can't attend, that's just the new normal, isn't it? I mean, we're going to have to adjust to this.

00:06:32Oliver Spake: That's right, that's right. And look, I have absolutely taken for granted maybe the experiences overseas, but I know having only seen parkrun return recently in my neck of the woods in New South Wales, in our state, yeah, it's a very recent experience here where people are, yeah, they're doing the right thing and we just need to be ready to support them.

00:06:53Melissa Ellis: But we're going to have a bit of a shorter pod, aren't we, this week, Ollie?

00:06:56Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, that's right, Mel. After the festivities of Christmas, we certainly wanted to pop back in to savour that, to say thank you to everyone again, even though we did have a bit of an opportunity to do that over the last week. And, Mel, I should say also thanks to everyone who did comment and reach out after last week's episode. I know it's a really festive and happy time leading into Christmas and we can appreciate the emotion that we shared and certainly that was present in our community is and was challenging. So thank you to everyone that did reach out and we hope that, you know, for everyone you've been able to have a safe and festive and happy time. And... Yeah, we also have relished the opportunity to be able to see your comments and to share your experiences over the last week with the festivities as well.

00:07:52Melissa Ellis: Yes, and to add to that, Ollie, it was a decision that we made to acknowledge the events that happened at Devonport and we didn't know how that would be received and we were concerned about bringing down, you know, the whole tone and potentially upsetting people with the news that we relayed. But it was a definite decision to mark the occasion and to pay tribute to what happened and send our thoughts to those suffering over there in Devonport. And so we are thankful that what we did was well received by those that mattered. And thank you to the community for supporting us in doing that.

00:08:40Oliver Spake: Yeah. And look, I suppose we can extend those thanks once again to everyone supporting us over the course of the year. Mel, it's been a big year and whilst the number of parkruns may not have been that high for you and I, certainly the experiences have been very rich thanks to everyone's contributions. I'm not sure as you reflect on your parkrun year for 2021, are there any highlights?

00:09:08Melissa Ellis: Well, I had a little bit of a look, which was based on Alison posting in her Facebook group for New Zealand, Runs With A Barcode.

00:09:19Oliver Spake: Yes, check it out if you haven't already, everyone.

00:09:21Melissa Ellis: Yes, just today. She's been doing the... a every day leading into Christmas, a challenge. Is it a 12 days of Christmas challenge? I feel like it's more than 12, Ollie. I feel like I might have that wrong. But in any case, today was where Alison posted her achievements for 2021. So I went back and I looked at what I had achieved and I discovered that even today, Though we have had such interruption to parkrun in Australia, I still managed 30 runs for 2021. So I thought, okay, that's not too bad. Out of those 30 runs, 20 were new events.

00:10:02Oliver Spake: Wow.

00:10:03Melissa Ellis: So not a bad batting average.

00:10:07Oliver Spake: That's impressive, Mel.

00:10:08Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:10:09Oliver Spake: That's some solid touristing.

00:10:10Melissa Ellis: Of my 30 parkruns that I did, I revisited or I duplicated those on four occasions, which means that I did 26 unique events through the year. Adding to that the 52 podcast episodes that I managed to edit, I'm quite happy with what I achieved.

00:10:33Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah.

00:10:34Melissa Ellis: And you, Ollie, you got your parkrun back.

00:10:38Oliver Spake: I did. I did. And, look, that's an easy highlight amongst a couple of highlights for sure. I know that I've certainly had a few – a few less parkruns across the year. But that hasn't taken away from the experience, not in the slightest. I don't know if I've got my maths right, Mel. I'm pretty sure I've done nine parkruns this year. And naturally, almost 50% of those are at Shellharbour. But it has been great. Look, I've nine, what is it, four of them were at new events as well. So for me, that's a pretty high proportion from my average.

00:11:17Melissa Ellis: I don't think that's representative of the amount that you give to parkrun though, Ollie. I think if you went and worked out what your volunteer days were for parkrun, that would probably be 20?

00:11:31Oliver Spake: 21, I believe.

00:11:33Melissa Ellis: Yes, there you go.

00:11:34Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:11:35Melissa Ellis: So you have been engaged for 30 weeks as well.

00:11:39Oliver Spake: That's right. And as you say, Mel, the opportunity to be a part of the podcast and to hear and to share so many parkrun experiences has really made it a year full of parkrun, unbelievably so.

00:11:52Melissa Ellis: And it's been a big year for our listeners. They've had to adjust to saying goodbye, tearfully saying goodbye to Mel.

00:11:58Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:11:59Melissa Ellis: And having to adjust to these new kids on the block, the kids in charge of the Ferrari.

00:12:04Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:12:05Melissa Ellis: Who had no clue... And brought in all these new things and changes.

00:12:10Oliver Spake: Yeah.

00:12:11Melissa Ellis: And they've come along for the ride. So for that, we're grateful.

00:12:14Oliver Spake: And likewise, we'll throw that out to everyone who's joined over the course of the year. We hope you've enjoyed what you've found on this podcast and look forward to continuing it into the New Year.

00:12:25Melissa Ellis: That's right. For all those people that didn't listen to Scott and Mel, delete all previous reference.

00:12:31Oliver Spake: No, go back and listen to the back catalogue. Enjoy, enjoy. Now's the time as well. If you get out for a run over the new year period, just tune into some of those episodes and enjoy.

00:12:43Melissa Ellis: Do you think they can listen to five years worth of back catalogue in the one week we're going to have a break?

00:12:48Oliver Spake: I'd like to hear if they do. Definitely like to hear that. And to everyone involved, to our informant, thank you. Our informants, I should say, plural, the Channel 5 News crew, of course, and all of the contributors, the roving reporters. To our arts specialist, our artistic director, Chris Fraser, thank you. And yeah, certainly to... Well, to Mel and Scotty for, you know, what role they've played as well.

00:13:18Melissa Ellis: For trusting us with the keys.

00:13:21Oliver Spake: Yes. Thank you, Mel. What if I regret that?

00:13:23Melissa Ellis: Thank you, Mel.

00:13:26Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah. But it has been a big year and really enjoyable to see it wrapped up with a Christmas Day parkrun. And I don't know if now's the time. Oh, yes. Is now the time that we should listen to some of those Christmas Day parkrun experiences?

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:13:43Melissa Ellis: I think we should.

00:13:43Oliver Spake: Okay, let's listen to a couple of our roving reports.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

Roving report Alison King — Puaranga parkrun

00:13:53Alison Fraser (King): Good morning adventurers. It's Alison King here reporting in for the Channel 5 News crew from Puarenga parkrun in New Zealand. That's right. We're back. It's the best Christmas present ever. We've got bright blue sky. We've got sunshine and a parkrun. I'm not going to do a full report, but I'm just going to track down Neil, one of our walkers, and you can hear all about what parkrun means to him. How was your parkrun today, Neil?

00:14:23Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Very, very hot. Very hot, but enjoyable. A bit slow. But that was my 87th walk. I'd like to hit 100. And I suppose I could tell you my age. I'm 85 years of age and heading for 86.

00:14:41Alison Fraser (King): So when we went on pause and we had to stop, so our last one was August the 14th, what did you do on August the 21st?

00:14:49Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Still kept walking, walking up in the bike parks and I used to come down here on Saturday mornings and do three laps and I did it opposite to what we do our parkrun and I saw things doing an opposite walk that I've never seen before even though I've done over 50 walks.

00:15:07Alison Fraser (King): And I saw you last week and told you to bring your barcode so how did you feel then?

00:15:13Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Oh, comfortable. I've been showing the barcode in town at a couple of shops. I don't have an up-to-date telephone, so I've got to write my name down every time I go in anywhere, but I keep a record at home of what shops I went into, just in case.

00:15:28Alison Fraser (King): Oh, you mean like to see your vaccine pass?

00:15:30Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Yes, I've got the vaccine. We're due on the 6th of January to go and get our third injection. Yeah, your booster. We've had to wait six months.

00:15:41Alison Fraser (King): But when I told you to bring your parkrun barcode for real...

00:15:45Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: I did not have it. I had to go and get it.

00:15:48Alison Fraser (King): But that day, I could see that you were quite pleased to hear that we were coming back.

00:15:53Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: It was very good to know that parkrun in Rotorua was starting up again and to see all these people here, see some faces I know, there's a lot of faces missing. They'll probably be here after Christmas. I'd like to say thank you to all the staff and the volunteers for the help they do. It's awesome.

00:16:12Alison Fraser (King): What does parkrun mean to you?

00:16:16Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Getting out. No, I have to get out of bed. I've got something in the brain ticking away. I've got to get out of bed and have breakfast and get down here. That's what you have to do when you're retired. You've got to have something to do. And I look forward to parkrun. But I also do three or four walks in the bike park. And also get out on an electric bike and do bikes as well, bike trips as well.

00:16:41Alison Fraser (King): Well, good on you, Neil.

00:16:43Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Thank you, Alison, for your cooperation and the work today.

00:16:47Sam Schroder: All right. Well, Merry Christmas.

00:16:49Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Thank you.

Roving report Sam Schroder — Picton parkrun

00:16:51Sam Schroder: Hi parkrun adventurers, this is Sam Schroder. I wanted to call in today to say hello because I feel like I did something a bit special today. Today I had the privilege of being the Run Director at Picton parkrun and my beautiful husband Luke was the turnaround marshal. Together we greeted and celebrated 96 walkers, joggers and runners who came along to participate at Picton. We're a small community, we average about 50 to 60 parkrunners on a regular Saturday and none of us predicted a number that close to 100. Picton parkrun is an almost completely concrete path out and back course. It's pretty flat, little bit of undulation. It runs along a bike track, which runs at the foot of Mount Razorback and around the back behind some properties with really high hedges. So it's a nice shady course. We have fantastic cafes in Picton and we're supported by a beautiful cafe that gives our volunteers free coffee every week. And we really appreciate that. I had a fantastic time being Run Director today. We had lots of visitors from Campbelltown parkrun and Camden Cow Pasture Reserve, Camden parkrun. And lots and lots of our other event team volunteers, Run Directors, our Event Director and her husband, visitors from Canberra, lots of bark runners. It was just a really, really beautiful morning. I was especially pleased to see lots and lots of people accepting donations, the hand-painted baubles that I had made as gifts for all our parkrunners that have the parkrun logo and Picton parkrun on one side of the bauble and Christmas Day 2021 on the other side of the bauble. A special memento that they get to keep forever to commemorate the fun we had this morning. I sure do hope we see some of you at Picton sometime soon. Mel and Ollie, you guys are absolutely awesome. Thank you for a fantastic year of podcasting for us, giving us all extra reasons to keep a smile on our dial during a tough year. Merry Christmas, everybody, and Happy New Year. Here's to more parkrunning in 2022.

00:19:23Melissa Ellis: Great to hear from Alison back at Puarenga chatting to Neil and Sam dropping in with a little report from Picton. And Sam did great, Ollie.

00:19:35Oliver Spake: Yeah, it was wonderful. And look, stellar effort, bringing parkrun to the masses at Christmas. So, yeah, look, well done. Great to hear from you both. And thank you so much for your volunteering. Mel, I have to come clean. I didn't have a Christmas Day parkrun. I lived vicariously through everyone else, but unfortunately, logistics did not permit, nor did some very excited young children at that point in time. How was yours? You did make it, I understand.

00:20:06Melissa Ellis: I did, Ollie. And I don't think you should feel bad about not getting to Christmas Day parkrun because you've had a lot on your plate in recent times, getting your event back up and running. So a well-deserved break for Christmas.

00:20:20Oliver Spake: And, look, I should say thank you to the Shellharbour team. The event team still went ahead without me. Stellar effort. It can be done. It can be done, yeah, like a breeze. So, yes, Christmas Day parkrun at Shellharbour did happen, so a huge thank you to everyone involved there. Excellent.

00:20:39Melissa Ellis: So, yes, Ollie, to answer your question, I parkrun locally. I went to the creek. The creek. I did.

00:20:49Oliver Spake: Christmas at the creek.

00:20:50Melissa Ellis: I was Tail Walker with the lovely Jodie Maisie down at the creek and Brendan Peel was also in attendance. Fantastic.

00:21:02Oliver Spake: Well, that sounds like a nice way to spend it. Mel, thank you to you and Jodie for volunteering as well.

00:21:08Melissa Ellis: That was my pleasure. Lovely to give back. It was my second visit for the year to Toolern Creek. Both occasions I actually did tail walking. So need to make a note to get there a little bit more often next year, hopefully.

00:21:25Oliver Spake: Hopefully we'll have more opportunities. Touching wood. Yeah, well, it sounds like a nice Christmas morning, Mel, and I trust the rest of your Christmas was just as nice.

00:21:36Melissa Ellis: It was, yes. Thankfully, COVID did not dampen the family occasion. I had a lovely day at my daughter's and caught up with all the park grand doggies. I shouldn't say park. Caught up with all the grand doggies. I've got a new one now.

00:21:56Alison Fraser (King): Oh.

00:21:57Melissa Ellis: I've got three. I've got Dustin, Delilah, and now I've got Spectre, the Kelpie. So Spectre's probably going to be a very good park doggie.

00:22:09Oliver Spake: Oh, that's wonderful to hear. The litter grows, hey? Yeah.

00:22:13Melissa Ellis: Yes, they all got Christmas presents too, so... What about your Christmas Day, Ollie?

00:22:19Oliver Spake: Oh, look, it was days and days of festivities and fun. Massive Christmas Eve, as is the tradition on my wife's side of the family. And then Christmas Day, yeah, again, doubly massive. I will say a parkrun highlight that I did experience was discovering that my cousin-in-law is in fact cousin. Do we go to that detail? Cousin-in-law? Yeah.

00:22:42Melissa Ellis: If they're a parkrunner, we do.

00:22:44Oliver Spake: We do. She's an Albert Melbourne parkrunner. What? So there we go. So, yeah, always nice to discover. You've got a parkrun in common. Not that I've been to Albert. It's on the list. Yes, and Christmas went on. So, yeah, many lunches, far too many. There'll be no PBs for me in 2022.

00:23:04Melissa Ellis: Are you still eating through the leftovers like we are here? I haven't had to cook for two days. It's been fabulous.

00:23:09Oliver Spake: I'm particularly enjoying the leftover desserts. Yes.

Emails

00:23:13Melissa Ellis: Excellent. But, Ollie, we had mail again this week.

00:23:17Oliver Spake: We do. And this week it's from Richard. Yes. Would you like me to read it out now?

00:23:25Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes, please.

00:23:26Oliver Spake: Okay. Hi guys, I just wanted to share this screenshot of the post put up by our RD Gordon from Pioneer Dairy parkrun. It truly sums up what parkrun is all about. Yesterday we got a visit from Helen, a first-timer at Pioneer Dairy, but determined to notch up her 265th parkrun. And determined is the word. She's struggled with a condition that affects her hips. She can't run at the moment and she knows it's important to keep herself moving. So she walked the course. It was a warm morning and it took a while, but our awesome Tail Walkers stayed with her the whole way. Then our volleys and some other parkrunners clapped her home. So if you're not sure parkrun is for you, consider this story for a moment. Everyone's welcomed and everyone's encouraged. It's a pretty cool thing. Well done, Helen. You're an inspiration.

00:24:22Melissa Ellis: And I note, Ollie, that Helen was wearing an Ugly Christmas Shirt in that photo.

00:24:28Oliver Spake: Yeah, nice work, Helen. Hopefully, it certainly sounds like it was a good parkrun. And yeah, look, well done to everyone for showing what parkrun is all about, as Richard has said.

00:24:39Melissa Ellis: Great support there from Pioneer Dairy, supporting Helen to complete her event, her first one there. And I do believe that Helen has also previously been a distance swimmer, Ollie.

00:24:50Oliver Spake: Oh, wow. That is a skill that I admire. Yeah, that would be an amazing thing to be able to do. So, yeah, well done, Helen.

00:24:59Melissa Ellis: And thank you, Richard, for sending us that.

00:25:01Oliver Spake: Yeah, lovely to hear from you. Thank you.

Dazza's

00:25:04Oliver Spake: Mel, we should also say thanks to everyone that did share some videos on the parkrun adventurers Facebook page leading into Christmas there. And, of course, not to be missed out was Dazza. But Dazza had a special guest this week.

00:25:19Melissa Ellis: Yes, I thought I would come live, well, as live as you can when you pre-record.

00:25:25Sam Schroder: Yes.

00:25:25Melissa Ellis: But a little special video Dazza's post to get in the festive spirit. I hope it was well received.

00:25:34Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:25:34Melissa Ellis: I was rocking the black shades, Ollie.

00:25:37Oliver Spake: That's right. I was impressed, Mel. I probably do wear sunglasses a little too much, but yeah.

00:25:44Melissa Ellis: I was going for the rock star Ollie look.

00:25:47Oliver Spake: The rock star. I should have lent you the rock and roll guitar sunglasses.

00:25:53Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah. Were they the ones you wore at Palm when you dressed up as like?

00:25:57Oliver Spake: I'm not sure what I dressed up as, but I was meant to be a rock star. Yeah, those ones. Yes. Yeah, we need a theme for next Palm and I can have something to wear them to.

00:26:10Melissa Ellis: Yes, we'll have to figure out how we do a poll or how we get public opinion on that theme for next year.

00:26:18Oliver Spake: That's right. That's a 2022 problem. It is, yes. And, Mel, we did have still a number of festive visitors, despite the fact that, I don't know about you, but a lot of places are closed at Christmas. So thank you to everyone who joined us at Dazza's this Christmas.

00:26:39Melissa Ellis: Definitely, Ollie, we had the diehard fans who are the Christmas Day parkrunners who popped into the cafe this week. But the first person that we have this week was none other than Dano himself, Mr Danny Norman, who just said, Merry Christmas, you lot. And Merry Christmas to you too, Danny. And thank you to our friends at With Me Now for their podding over the year and their continued support.

00:27:12Oliver Spake: Absolutely.

00:27:13Melissa Ellis: We also heard from Phil Olson. Dazza must be the only place open on Christmas Day, parkrun adventurers wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from the UK. Mine's a latte, please. Good to hear from you, Phil. And we heard from Mark Scarborough. Marvellous, Mark. Merry Christmas. Angus and I were marshals for Wagi Bridge parkrun and Mark posted a photo of himself and Angus, who is the dog.

00:27:43Oliver Spake: Thank you for volunteering. Richard popped in and said, Merry Christmas, Dazza. Went to San Remo parkrun this morning. We also heard from Bruce Purdy, Merry Christmas Adventurers. Our morning was spent with family and parkrun family and is awesome. And shared the photo complete with breakfast, brunch and a parkrun wristband, of course. Nice work, Bruce. And Peter Pohlman, Merry Christmas parkrun adventurers crew. P1 and P2 did Flaccid Balloon parkrun, also known as Main Beach parkrun. And it was our return to parkrun for the first time in 20 weeks. And Peter did share a photo that maybe goes a little way to explaining the description of Main Beach parkrun there, which is the map with the course, which does in fact look like a flaccid balloon, a sausage dog in waiting perhaps, but yeah.

00:28:42Melissa Ellis: I know we're trying not to interrupt each other, Ollie, but I did watch, I love Peter and Sonja's videos that they post, and they did put one in the parkrun tourism page, the Aussie tourism page, which also described the flaccid balloon parkrun. And I have to say, I think it's going to stick. I don't know that Main Beach is going to be awfully happy about that, but it's just another hilarious anecdote there. From P1 and P2.

00:29:12Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:29:14Melissa Ellis: And we were very glad that they did get across the border into Queensland. We all followed the journey of them going through all their testing and border passes to get across to see their family and join their family in Queensland. So it was very good to see that they made it.

00:29:31Oliver Spake: Yep, a Merry Christmas for sure.

00:29:32Melissa Ellis: And Andrew Turner, Merry Christmas from Maribyrnong parkrun where I was run directing. And Andrew shared a photo of himself in vest and hat with the volleys. And I must get out there to visit Andrew soon. We also heard from Claire Stutchbury. Merry parkrun Day. We kicked off our holidays with a very humid parkrun at Bargara parkrun, back together after Jack's escape to Adelaide to see family. So thank you, Claire, for solving the mystery from last week as to why you were in separate states. That's good to know. And for evidence, Claire posted said photo of herself and Jack at the beach. And then we heard from Suzanne Crane. Russ and I enjoyed a little parkrun tourism at Kelvin Grove parkrun. Great way to start Christmas Day. And there was a photo there of them with the parkrun flag. Got to agree. It's the best way to start Christmas Day.

00:30:34Oliver Spake: Oh, thank you. And Val Warwick popped in. Hi, Dazza. Hi, Mel. Hi, Ollie. Hi, all. We both marshalled at the two points in Devonport today, then hot-footed it to church for our Christmas service before coming home for a cuppa, morning tea of shortbread, Christmas cake, biscotti, and choc cherry slice with our presents to each other, about to leave for the drive south for a belated family Christmas on Monday. We hope you enjoyed your family Christmas, which would have happened by now. And Mel, I did notice the photo there. What a gift. Steve there with On Every Saturday. Quickly followed at Dazza's by Stephen Warwick. Hi Dazza, Mel and Ollie and all our fellow adventurers. Merry Christmas to one and all. Have a great day and see you next week for a real after parkrun coffee. Today we stayed home at Devonport where we both volunteered as Marshals, as that allowed us to get away earlier to get to our Christmas Day service at 9am, we wore our Ugly Christmas Shirts to both parkrun and church. And Mel, what a photo that was, complete with ugly shirts and ugly Christmas get up with the flag, with the water and with the spirit in the background.

00:31:48Melissa Ellis: The spirit of Tasmania.

00:31:51Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: That's right.

00:31:52Melissa Ellis: Fabulous photo.

00:31:53Oliver Spake: Yes, and we've heard from her just earlier in the roving reports, Alison King, so good to be back. We had 53 parkrunners and 12 volunteers at Puarenga parkrun today. So much Christmas cheer and it was a scorcher. I was Run Director and pleased I got out for a nottie beforehand. We're stoked to be back. and looking forward to doing it all again next week. And there was the photo with that flag at that parkrun.

00:32:25Melissa Ellis: We also heard from Chris Fraser. I was going to record, but chickened out. It was a long, hot 5K at the world's greatest parkrun. I'd like to say my runtime was due to stopping and taking some last photos of the OG course, but the reality is I'm just not Shellharbour fit. No sausage rolls today. Bakeries are closed and I won't lower myself to a servo job. Farewell 2021 parkrun season. Looking forward to some free travel to catch up a few people on the most events list.

00:32:58Neil - Puarenga parkrun walker: Merry Christmas.

00:33:00Melissa Ellis: And Chris shared a photo of the Christmas table ready plus features of the OG course. And we heard from Abigail's mum. The cutest of volunteers helped make my RD job easy this morning at Wyndham Vale. Merry Christmas to all. Stay safe. And a lovely photo of Abigail's mum with Abigail and Hannah. And all reports are the two girls were more than happy to be volunteering on Christmas Day.

00:33:32Oliver Spake: Way to go, girls. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

00:33:34Melissa Ellis: And we heard from Nadine Crawford. With a smorgasbord of parkruns to choose from in southern Brisbane and some help from Caroline Southwell, we headed to Meadowbrook parkrun for our Christmas parkrun fix. Took the Grand Doggy Coco for her first parkrun and she was a natural. A beautiful two-lap course with a river, a lagoon, lots of fabulous Christmas outfits and lovely volunteers. That's all I need for Christmas. Thanks, Dazza. Coffee back at daughter's house today with everything shut, except servos. We opted for the homemade version. Luckily, daughter has learned her coffee appreciation from us, so it was a good standard. Merry Christmas, everyone. Now, where shall we go on New Year's Day?

00:34:19Oliver Spake: Bernadette Bennett. Lots of ugly shirts at Newy parkrun, where RD duties saw a Christmas poem, run brief, post-parkrun cake, music, including sax, guitar and boombox, from each of our three on-course Marshals and photos involving a tree decorated by an on-course neighbour. The team turned out in force to give 204 parkrunners a hot yet festive start to the year. And what a tinsel that was, Mel. The photos shared by Bernadette and lovely to see the decorations on the tree too. Well done everyone at Newy. And our Bailey shot, Mel. Firstly, Brett Bailey. And look, should just pause there and say a huge thank you to our Baileys for the lovely video. It was great to see and hear from Brett and Tanya and Brunner. But Brett did say as well, hi from the double shot of Bailey's and Brunner the Bark Runner and Bec's mum and dad and Park Dog. Great to be back parkrunning at Pegasus today. We will be MIA next week with no cell coverage on the west coast in Markaroa. Sorry, Ollie and Mel. And Brett, I'll take feedback on that pronunciation.

00:35:40Melissa Ellis: I think it's Mark Aurora.

00:35:42Oliver Spake: Mark Aurora. There we are. Yeah, yeah. I'll go and practice that one.

00:35:48Melissa Ellis: Yes, and I really loved seeing Brett and Tanya in their video.

00:35:53Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:35:53Melissa Ellis: Hearing their voices. So thank you very much for posting that. I just, it would have really topped it off if they had been sipping a shot of Bailey's, but, you know, maybe just constructive criticism for next time. Yeah.

00:36:08Oliver Spake: Fair enough. Still rates very highly though, right? Yes.

00:36:12Melissa Ellis: Absolutely. And we heard from Rebecca Bailey. Barcode scanning at Shellharbour this morning followed by a couple of hours of Christmas patrol on the beach. Beautiful day on the sand and a lovely 23 degrees in the ocean. This lonely orphan got adopted today by some good Shellharbour parkrun friends and kindly offered their place to join them for lunch. And there was a photo of some lovely looking legs on the beach, lifeguard legs, which I assume were Rebecca's, and a pav, a Kiwi pav. Yes. So there's probably a line I could take about the ownership of pavs Australia versus New Zealand, but that's probably for another day. But I'm glad Bec is back from her trip and parkrunning again at Shellharbour.

00:37:02Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:37:02Melissa Ellis: And we heard from Christine Imbert, hot chocolate and cake, please. Need to warm up after a festive Christmas Day parkrun at Tilgate. Lots of Christmas outfits on display and Christmas songs being played. Now heading home to shower before joining friends for a late lunch. Happy Christmas. And Christine was sharing a photo of herself by the water in her Ugly Christmas Shirt.

00:37:25Oliver Spake: Yeah, it did look fresh there. And last at Dazza's, but certainly not least, Pippa White. Hi all. It was a busy Christmas day. The last over 18 only for a while, we hope. So I ran out and did parkrun by the river in Evesham. And today I'm volunteering at a new juniors with tea. No more food though, please. Chamomile tea. Big tick today. No rain. And thank you, Pippa, and everyone for joining us at Dazza's for Christmas Day.

the Obi Award — Val and Steve Warwick; Brett and Tanya Bailey

00:37:57Melissa Ellis: Absolutely. So, Ollie, it's time to announce the winner of the Obi for this week.

00:38:08Oliver Spake: I'm meant to have an envelope, aren't I?

00:38:10Melissa Ellis: Maybe I've got the envelope today.

00:38:12Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:38:13Melissa Ellis: I don't know. Let me see if I've got the envelope. I do.

00:38:19Oliver Spake: Just as well because I'd misplaced it. Yes.

00:38:23Melissa Ellis: The winner this week is Split. We've got two winners, Ollie. We've got dual recipients.

00:38:33Oliver Spake: Unprecedented.

00:38:36Melissa Ellis: So for their photo on the Mersey with the spirit in the background, Val and Steve Warwick. And for their double Bailey video, Brett and Tanya Bailey.

00:38:53Oliver Spake: That's right. Congratulations. We hope you don't mind sharing the Obi and we once again appreciated everyone's contributions.

00:39:07Melissa Ellis: It was too hard to split those two this week.

00:39:09Oliver Spake: That's right.

Consolidated Club Report

00:39:11Oliver Spake: But Mel, moving along, the Adventurers Club, how are we doing?

00:39:15Melissa Ellis: Oh, well, we were up three this week, Ollie, to our grand total of 76 adventurers. Thank you to you all for sharing your allegiance with us via the official parkrun groups. We had 57 members on the Consolidated Club Report coming to us from all around the place, including the UK and New Zealand, and 29 notties were also recorded. For the adventurers.

00:39:43Oliver Spake: Well done, everyone.

00:39:45Melissa Ellis: And the (not)parkruns this week, Ollie, for New Zealand.

00:39:48Oliver Spake: Yes. So, surprise, surprise. Well done once again. Whangarei. 27 Not parkruns this week, Mel, followed by Pegasus on 19 and Hamilton Lake on 17. And thank you to Alison, as always, for those statistics. And out of those events, only one of them is back so far. I understand, Mel.

00:40:12Melissa Ellis: Yes, Pegasus is the only one of those three that actually ran this week. So still a fine effort from the crew at Pegasus to still be recording notties. And I will say, Ollie, we will continue to report the (not)parkrun stats for New Zealand until all the events are back up and running.

00:40:32Oliver Spake: That's right. So that's 2021, Mel.

00:40:35Melissa Ellis: I know. I can't say it's flown. I think it feels like two years, Ollie.

Sign-off

00:40:42Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, yeah. I don't know about you. That could be the 2020 hangover too, but yes. Yeah, it's always that difficult time now, isn't it? Do we have New Year's plans? Do we have goals for 2022? Maybe a bit simpler. Do you have New Year's Day plans, Mel?

00:40:57Melissa Ellis: Yes, I am going to head north. I'm not game to be booking flights at this point in time or trying to cross borders and get COVID tests and all that gumpf.

00:41:09Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:41:09Melissa Ellis: That just seems all too complicated for me. I'm going only where I know it's safe, where I can cross over uninhibited into New South Wales, into southern New South Wales as it is. So I'm headed for the town of Deniliquin, very well-known town for its Ute Muster. Yes.

00:41:32Oliver Spake: Yes. Yes.

00:41:33Melissa Ellis: I've never been to Deniliquin.

00:41:35Oliver Spake: Nor have I, must I say.

00:41:36Melissa Ellis: So I'm a little bit excited.

00:41:37Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah.

00:41:39Melissa Ellis: And they've got a relatively new parkrun called McLean Beach. So I'm heading there with Abby's mum. We're going to have a girls' weekend. Well, it's not a weekend, really. We're going to have two nights.

00:41:52Oliver Spake: Yep.

00:41:53Melissa Ellis: A road trip. I think it's going to be fun. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's going to be lots of laughs and I'm sure I'm going to come home with lots of stories to tell. And I do believe we're also going to be met there by the Fraser's. Excellent.

00:42:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, well, what a way to kick off the new year. Very jealous. That'll be a nice bit of tourism there, Mel.

00:42:13Melissa Ellis: You wouldn't want to come, Ollie, because they've got past event two.

00:42:18Oliver Spake: I have started looking forward in the Wilson Index, realising that I just can't keep hanging on to a number two. Yeah.

00:42:26Melissa Ellis: You've got to fill in the other numbers, Ollie, and then when the two comes up, then you can, like, you can grab it and that'll make you jump.

00:42:34Oliver Spake: That's right. Quantum leap forward.

00:42:37Melissa Ellis: What about you, Ollie? Have you got plans? Are you going to get to a parkrun? Are you RD at Shellharbour?

00:42:43Oliver Spake: No. Oh. Well, yes and no, respectively. I'm Timekeeper.

00:42:50Melissa Ellis: Bless you.

00:42:52Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. So, look, the Shellharbour parkrun will be in very capable hands for our final OG course parkrun, and I do look forward to spending the morning just cheering everyone across the line. We'll be getting to a parkrun in the weeks that follow. I may, in fact, do some tourism. I may, in fact... keep an eye out for any event twos. So we'll see. We'll see. I think it's got to be a 2022 goal to do a number two. I mean, it's kind of fitting.

00:43:25[laughter]

00:43:25Melissa Ellis: That didn't come out right.

00:43:31Oliver Spake: True that.

00:43:32Melissa Ellis: Yes. Well, it's the year of the twos.

00:43:37Oliver Spake: Oh, let's hope it's better than the other ones.

00:43:38Melissa Ellis: Will you wear a tutu at your event two?

00:43:41Oliver Spake: Oh, well, look, if I was doing it in February, that would have been highly appropriate. But, hey, that's a goal.

00:43:50Melissa Ellis: Okay, I might start a social media movement. I'm sure Tracey will be on board.

00:43:58Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:43:58Melissa Ellis: So that's your goal for 2022, to do your event two.

00:44:02Oliver Spake: Yes, and if I can cross it off early, then I'll just skate through the rest of the year. I've learned not to aim too high, Mel.

00:44:11Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah. I think like I referred to last year, an uninterrupted parkrun year would be fabulous and I would be quite happy with that. Although... I'm resigned to the fact that we're going to have more interruptions, Ollie, and I think the listeners should be understanding of that too. We've had the last two years we've had pauses and I think that may continue to happen. Yep. And for the next few years that is just going to be a part of life that we have to adjust to.

00:44:40Oliver Spake: That's right. And I've had to change my line to say parkrun will always be there next week and for many, many weeks to come. Yeah. But thereabouts, thereabouts next week or weeks to follow.

00:44:53Melissa Ellis: It will be in some form, some fashion or form, Ollie. And, you know, now if it's not there next week, we just revert. You go back to Bass Point, not parkrun.

00:45:03Sam Schroder: Yep.

00:45:04Melissa Ellis: And I resurrect Ellis Pellis, not parkrun. And, you know, that's our default and that's okay.

00:45:10Oliver Spake: That's right. Yep. Yep. It's good to have the go-to.

00:45:14Melissa Ellis: But for my parkrun goals, I've been asked this a bit in the last couple of weeks and, you know, I want to continue touring. That's the thing that I get the most joy from. It's visiting the new events and meeting the new event teams and seeing the brand new events and how they're taking off and the joy of the new Event Directors and people. their baby parkruns and how much effort they've gone to to bring them to their communities. And I love that. And that gives me so much energy. So, if I can continue to do that as much as I can in the next year, it's really my goal ahead of anything else. I mean, Wilson numbers and, you know, p-indexes and all that kind of thing. Yeah, it's something I can, you know, keep myself amused with in between touring, but primarily... It's getting out to those new events and meeting all those new people what gives me the energy. And apart from that, the podcast. Yep. Taking the podcast into 2022, continuing to build on what we've done this year and what we've inherited.

00:46:18Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:46:18Melissa Ellis: Not losing listeners.

00:46:20Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:46:20Melissa Ellis: Maybe gaining a few more would be great. Getting better at what we're doing as well. Yep. There's always room for improvement, right? Always. And then my juniors event, I also need to establish we're still a really young event that we're only up to event 25. And we're not that established yet in the community or well-known because of all the interruptions we've had with parkrun, with the pause and the pandemic. So, you know, there's a lot of work still to be done to get that event established and build the team. I've got such a great team down at Eynesbury. The puddle was dry this week, Ollie, I have to report. But Jemima still sat there proudly on her rock in the middle of her dry puddle.

00:47:03Oliver Spake: Oh, dedication. Yeah.

00:47:06Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:47:07Oliver Spake: Yeah. No, I think that's a very solid set of goals, Mel. And look, there will be more. I think in the spirit of the 20s, it's the decade of adaptation. So, we will no doubt develop some new goals and who knows what challenges. And by that, I mean, nottie challenges and all those, the exciting challenges. Who knows what sort of new challenges will come our way on that front as well. So yeah, I look forward to all of that. I echo what you say in terms of supporting the new parkruns and the successful events. That said, I don't think I'll make it to quite as many parkruns as you. So my aim is to come second in the parkrun adventurers podcast co-hosting visiting events stakes next year. I should have thought carefully about that given we do have a wonderful group of Channel 5 news crew that can step in and co-host. So I might have to re-evaluate and just recalculate how far down the list I'll be. Yeah, look, I think the goals, I'm excited to do some parkruns in some new states or a new state at least. And I've also not done a parkrun in Melbourne before. So I'm going to do that. Oh.

00:48:20Melissa Ellis: Yes. Tassie, that's going to be so much fun getting down to Tassie and we're going to cross all our fingers and toes that we get through for another year as we have the last couple just in time before any border closures or pauses. So fingers crossed for that. And we hope that we can see as many listeners as possible join us down in Tassie. And we know we've got a few, we're hearing from them, booking their tickets and Making new plans. So that's exciting. We're going to have a little core team down there at least at Bellerive parkrun.

00:48:52Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:48:53Melissa Ellis: And you're going to tick off Tasmania.

00:48:55Oliver Spake: I can't wait.

00:48:57Melissa Ellis: And, yeah, I'm looking forward to you coming to Melbourne.

00:49:00Oliver Spake: Yes. There'll be some great experiences that I haven't imagined yet. But, yeah, look, I've got a number of clubs that I'm well behind on, so I need to catch up on the – yeah. Yeah. on the indexes and the clubs there as well. So I've got my research cut out for me in the break, Mel.

00:49:18Melissa Ellis: Well, we should mention that, Ollie. We're taking next week off.

00:49:20Oliver Spake: We are. So I think all the listeners deserve a bit of a break and we wouldn't mind one too. So look forward to... enjoying a bit of time and then getting back in January and hearing about your adventures in Deniliquin, Mel.

00:49:36Melissa Ellis: And to the listeners, feel free to send us emails still in the break. And we're still happy to have any roving reports. They'll just all come back for a bumper episode in two weeks' time.

00:49:49Oliver Spake: So until then, Mel, I suppose we look forward to that. A big thank you once again to everyone. Thank you to you, Mel. And hey, look, as always, everyone, you can contact us via Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. That's it for another year. And we will see you all next year for more adventures.

00:50:14Melissa Ellis: Happy New Year.

00:50:15[music]

00:50:15Oliver Spake: Happy New Year.

00:51:18guest - unnamed: Hi, Mel and Ollie. We went to Wyndham Vale parkrun for Christmas and my sister and me volunteered handing out the tokens. It was fun and we said Merry Christmas every time we gave out a token. Happy New Year, Adventurers. Stay safe.