Episode 281 - Hoppy Easter

Welcome

00:00:23Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 281 of the parkrun adventurers podcast. I am Ollie Spake and I'm joining once again from Dharawal Country.

00:00:33Melissa Ellis: And my name is Melissa Ellis and I'm coming to you from Wurundjeri Country.

00:00:38Oliver Spake: How are you, Mel?

00:00:40Melissa Ellis: Jinx. Jinx, jinx. I'm good, Ollie. How are you? How is your recovery going?

00:00:46Oliver Spake: Do I say slow and steady? That's probably the description. I'm laying low, Mel, but I'm doing well otherwise. Thank you.

00:00:54Melissa Ellis: And you were Run Director this week back at Shellharbour.

00:00:58Oliver Spake: I was. It was good to be out. It was good to be back. And it was good to have Shellharbour parkrun back on after we've had 60% of our previous five parkrun days cancelled due to weather and treacherous conditions. So sunny skies and parkrun and even a cafe. We've been without a cafe at Shellharbour parkrun now for a couple of months. And we have a new cafe operator in there. So that was very exciting.

00:01:25Melissa Ellis: Fantastic. So some fresh beach air, that would have been good for the lungs.

00:01:31Oliver Spake: Well, that's right. That's right. Probably not great to be megaphoning and testing the lung capacity, but I'd pulled up pretty good in the week and obviously given it plenty of time. So it all seemed to go without a hitch. And then I had a nice nap that afternoon.

00:01:50Melissa Ellis: Oh, very good. So holding the fort for the team you were at Shellharbour.

00:01:55Oliver Spake: That's right, yeah, and lots of visitors. It's one of those key weekends in park-run Australia world where we have a lot of tourists. So proportionally high, numbers total-wise obviously much, much lower than times gone by pre-COVID, but still a lot of people coming from far afield to come and see the new course. And in fact, because the Shellharbour parkrun course is on a land that was once privately owned, we had visit from some of the descendants of the former landowners there. So that's always nice when they pop past and they always have a great time visiting. So it's very nice to catch up with the Fraser family. No relation, I believe, to our very own artistic director.

00:02:40Melissa Ellis: And you're very much a seaside sort of tourism destination, aren't you there? Yeah.

00:02:44Oliver Spake: Yes. Yeah, a lot of people come through, stay up and down the coast and make that trip out. I think some of our neighbouring parkruns get a lot of that visitation these days as a lot of people have come through Shellharbour already. But it was so wonderful to see tourist towns buzzing this Easter long weekend.

00:03:05Melissa Ellis: Were all the surrounding parkruns running? No.

00:03:08Oliver Spake: They were. They were pumping. Post-COVID pumping, but pumping. Excellent. Speaking of park-run tourism, Mel, did you manage some?

00:03:20Melissa Ellis: Absolutely did. Excellent. I did allude to a little bit of a mystery.

00:03:24Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:03:25Melissa Ellis: I'm not quite sure why I did that. There wasn't any real reason to be mysterious last week other than my own amusement and the ability to insert more sound effects to a podcast, which I quite like to do. But on Saturday I travelled northeast, not north, as I may have alluded to in my own comments and was corrected. I travelled northeast to Riverbank parkrun in the town of Yass in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands. Yass is on the land of the Ngunnawal people and is situated 59 kilometres from Canberra. Yass was profiled briefly by Marvellous Mark back in episode 217 and the purpose of my fleeting visit was to tick off another NENDY and my 16th event in New South Wales.

00:04:17Lisa: I was joined at Riverbank by fellow father and son Victorian adventurers Andrew and James Reynolds.

00:04:23Melissa Ellis: who were also taking advantage of the Easter holidays for a spot of touristing. And it was lovely to be there to share the celebration of 10-year-old James doing his 100th parkrun. Riverbank, as the name suggests, runs along either side of the Yass River in a two-loop course incorporating an out-and-back hill twice. Yeah. The low-lying crossings across the river mean the event is prone to cancellation from flooding after rain. However, we were blessed with perfect conditions on the day. Riverbank averages 36 participants. However, due to the Easter holidays, there were 71 runners, for event number 59, filling in a Wilson Index number, which was an added bonus. The event takes place in Riverbank Park, which has toilets, a playground and ample off-road parking and starts at the easily identifiable Yass Rotunda. I had a lovely run, although I couldn't keep up with James, and afterwards joined my friends for brunch in town and a wander around the main street. Sunday we were back at Genius with fantastic mild conditions for running and happy smiling faces from kids and volunteers alike. Zoe and I sported matching Easter onesies and enjoyed a second extended brunch at Birdie's Cafe with regular volleys and new families while the kids enjoyed a spot of beach volleyball. Mmm.

00:05:52Oliver Spake: That sounds like a lot of fun, Mel. And I did see the onesies. Good work. Good work. Didn't manage any myself.

00:05:59Melissa Ellis: That was Zoe's idea. She was all for that, which was lovely.

00:06:03Oliver Spake: Well, my apologies. Good work, Zoe.

00:06:05Melissa Ellis: It was quite warm. We had another mild morning, so not really onesie weather.

00:06:13Oliver Spake: I don't know what it is. This Melbourne weather, well, Victorian weather, in fact, has been tremendous this season.

00:06:20Melissa Ellis: Unseasonally warm. Yes. Except the weekend that you came to visit.

00:06:24Oliver Spake: Of course.

00:06:26Melissa Ellis: But, yes, it was a brilliant weekend and ready for a rest now to go back to work and have a rest after my long drive and all the excitement.

00:06:38Oliver Spake: Yeah, it makes for a great long weekend. Well done. Great effort. Congratulations, James, on the 100. And nice work on another NENDY, Mel.

00:06:47Melissa Ellis: Thank you. I've got to work out where the next one is as the chihuahuas wander around the office.

parkrun news bulletin

00:06:55Oliver Spake: I believe we have some news from parkrun World.

00:06:58Melissa Ellis: We did, Ollie, parkrun Australia has had another sponsor come on board recently. It hasn't just happened in the last week. It's happened in the last few weeks. But Polar has come on board who are challenging the market leaders in wearable fitness truckers. Have you heard of Polar before?

00:07:16Oliver Spake: Look up. I must admit, I've heard the name, had no idea, no idea whatsoever. So becoming more acquainted now with Polar, but I'll have to check it out a bit more.

00:07:27Melissa Ellis: So years ago, Ollie, one of my first wearables was a Polar heart rate monitor, where it used to be a strap that you would place around sort of your chest that had a little sensor on it.

00:07:40Unidentified speaker: Yep.

00:07:41Melissa Ellis: And it would pair with a watch that you wore on your wrist. I guess it told the time. I can't really remember. I've probably still got it somewhere. But yes, that was one of my first wearables was the Polar Heart Rate Monitor. But then I haven't heard as much about them in recent years, but it looks like they're back with new versions of activity tracking watches.

00:08:05Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:08:05Melissa Ellis: With their Polar Pacer and their Polar With their Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro.

00:08:12Unidentified speaker: I can't say it.

00:08:15Melissa Ellis: With their Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro. So more information on those new wearables at www.polar.com forward slash au, what do you say, dash en.

00:08:31Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah, I will check it out. Thank you, Mel. And welcome to the family polar. We appreciate the support over here in Australia. Well, continuing the news, this one's probably very close to your heart, Mel. 12 years this month, Junior parkrun. It is. Happy birthday.

00:08:50Melissa Ellis: It is. Happy birthday, Junior parkrun. I spent a little bit of time reading up on this today, Ollie. Junior parkrun started in the UK back in 2010. It is now across only three countries, the UK, Ireland and Australia, in over 370 locations. Wow. It started at Bushy Park, ironically. Interestingly, though, when it did start, it only operated on the first Sunday of every month. And to this day, Bushy Park still operates only on the first Sunday of every month.

00:09:26Oliver Spake: I didn't realise that.

00:09:27Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Neither did I, to be honest, until I started to look into it. And actually, we had a comment on one of our Facebook posts to Well, actually, it wasn't the pod Facebook post. It was one I did for Eynesbury Heritage Trail Junior parkrun to mark the occasion of the anniversary. And it was another parent that came back and pointed out the fact that Bushy only ran on a monthly basis. So previously, I wasn't aware of that, so I think initially when junior parkrun started in the UK were on a monthly basis but at some point along their early history they decided that future events would be weekly and that was what happened and going forward yeah so in Australia we launched in April of 2018 chico is having a coughing attack oh poor chico oh He's got a heart murmur. This is what happens. He's getting old. Poor Chico.

00:09:55[other]

00:10:24Oliver Spake: But Chico's okay.

00:10:25Melissa Ellis: He is. Yeah, no, he's fine.

00:10:26Oliver Spake: Just for all the listeners. Yep, yep, good.

00:10:28Melissa Ellis: He's okay. Where was I? So, yes, Australia launched in April of 2018 with three pilot events at Southport, Westerfolds and Cannonvale. There are now five active events in Australia, Westerfolds and Eynesbury Heritage Trail in Victoria, Thorndon in South Australia, Bellevue Park and Des Connor Park in Queensland, with Cannonvale currently on hold.

00:10:53Oliver Spake: So some fantastic examples of junior parkruns still flying the flag in Australia. Obviously, much, much more established over there in the UK and Ireland. But yeah, we look forward to some more junior parkruns in Australia as the teens approach for junior parkrun.

00:11:10Melissa Ellis: But in other news, what have we got, Ollie? Rhodes parkrun had announcement this week. They are having an octogenarian celebration day on Saturday the 7th of May.

00:11:23Oliver Spake: Yes, yes. And look, we know some pretty tremendous octogenarian parkrunners out there. So, Rhodes put out the call and have added that they would love to see as many parkrunners as possible who are aged 80 and older and their friends and families for this wonderful celebration of parkrun participation. Fantastic event and... Yeah, we really do hope that a lot of our octogenarian parkrun heroes can make it and enjoy the 7th of May as a bit of a get-together.

00:11:54Melissa Ellis: Yep, so putting the word out there ahead of time so everybody can make arrangements if they can get there might inspire octogenarians in other states to hold similar events perhaps on the same day if they can't get up there.

00:12:09Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, satellite celebrations. Good idea. I mean, Rhodes is a fantastic location to go and get together and enjoy the catch up. But if you can't make it, why not start it? And I'd say get in touch with Rhodes parkrun and share the word for anyone else that might be in the same boat.

00:12:25Melissa Ellis: We'd love to know if John Taylor is going to be able to get there.

00:12:27Oliver Spake: Yeah, so if you can let us know, John or Melissa, fingers crossed. A couple of weeks away, though. But I suppose the parkrun happenings keep on. I should say that, Mel, we do have a couple of roving reports coming up in the pod, but just because – I think we have talked about a couple of these recent event returns of late. We're going to throw to one roving report first, but stay tuned. We do have a couple more later in the pod. So Mel, after we discussed recently Stones Corner almost relaunching, it's happened.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:13:06Oliver Spake: And our very own Lyndell was there from the Channel 5 News crew on scene to share the return of Stones Corner parkrun. So let's have a listen.

Roving report Lyndell Murray — Stones Corner

00:13:23Lyndell Murray: G'day parkrun adventurers, it's Lyndell and I am coming to you today from the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people. I'm in Brisbane and today I have come to check out the relaunch, the restart. I'm not quite sure what they're calling it. I'm at Stones Corner parkrun. This parkrun has not occurred for quite some time due to works in the park. I tell you what, this park is looking beautiful so clearly there has been a lot of work done. I don't know all the details. I do know that it's still called Stones Corner. They are relaunching at number 293. So they're continuing as they are, just with a new course, I believe. Let me go and find it. Look, the first time is briefing is about to happen. So I'll go and check that out and get the low down.

00:14:12Unidentified speaker: Alrighty, so I've found some local runners.

00:14:14Lyndell Murray: What's your names? Isabel. Belinda.

00:14:17Michael: Michael.

00:14:18David: David.

00:14:19Lyndell Murray: And you are Stones Corner parkrun aficionados? Yeah. Regular.

00:14:26Unidentified speaker: Regular.

00:14:28Lyndell Murray: So I know that you're back after a long pause or I don't know what the official term hiatus is.

00:14:35Unidentified speaker: How have you been feeling in your parkrun days? Well at the beginning we kind of just came in ran the normal course anyway and we've been lucky enough to have lots of local parkruns that opened back up that we were able to get around and try out different ones.

00:14:48Lyndell Murray: Excellent. So what's it been like adventuring?

00:14:50Michael: It's been good, really. Sort of not coming here has been forcing us to step out of our comfort zone and not coming back to where we used to. And David and I have made an effort to try and do like a different parkrun each week just to visit and tour us. And we've seen some really interesting ones, haven't we, Dave?

00:15:05David: Yeah, we took turns of driving and we just sort of Friday night you text, where are we going tomorrow? And we'd attack the alphabet. And I suppose the furthest we've gone is Toowoomba.

00:15:14Michael: Yeah, yeah. Toowoomba, the one up on the range there, yeah. And then we discovered that app where you can do all these challenges, where you can knock off the alphabet and do lots of different volunteering things. So that's been a bit of a motivator to knock through that as well. And we've actually, yeah, it's been good to do that, but we're glad we're back.

00:15:31Lyndell Murray: as well yeah yeah it must be nice to be home now before we get back to the home this podcast is for parkrun adventurers so I'm going to ask you guys what have been your top three parkruns that you've discovered since Stones Corner has been on a hiatus that's a hard one isn't it what was the one where we arrived and there were kangaroos

00:15:53Michael: Oh, there was the one, yeah, that was at Greenbank. It was amazing because it's dead flat and it was winter so it was quick. It almost looks like they made the course purely for two and a half K loop so there's no hairpin bends.

00:16:07David: Well, they made the park for the course. Yeah.

00:16:09Michael: And there's kangaroos and they were just bouncing along beside us as we're running through the park and the team there were really super friendly and welcoming and it was a lovely course. So that was one we remember. Definitely.

00:16:20Lyndell Murray: That sounds really special. Any others?

00:16:23David: It was really hard.

00:16:27Michael: And Ocean View through the vineyards was... That was spectacular. Yeah, being up there. It was just a shame during COVID the restaurant was closed so we couldn't stay for coffee, breakfast and afterwards. But the course was just, yeah, going through, zipping back and forth through the vineyards. You feel like, oh, we still have some bottles of wine here. You can just stop and grab and drink along the way.

00:16:47Lyndell Murray: Yes. So now you've mentioned the alphabet, and as I came up here, we're talking about the Fibonacci. Are you alphabeteers yet?

00:16:54Michael: No, not yet. We've got two left. The ones that aren't in Queensland. So you've got Q and J, and there's none of those. And I can't believe Queensland does not have a Q parkrun.

00:17:07Lyndell Murray: Yes. I still think that the one, the Toowoomba parkrun should be Queen's Park.

00:17:12Unidentified speaker: Queen's Park, yeah, yeah.

00:17:13Lyndell Murray: How about you guys?

00:17:14Unidentified speaker: What about your adventures? Have you got a top three? Well, look, Ocean View was great. I really enjoyed that one. Again, through the vineyards. We were lucky enough to do that, though, prior to COVID. So we got to go to the restaurant and highly recommend it. Yeah, Ipswich is lovely. And I'd really like to give a shout out to Minnippi, Minnippi parkrun, because we sort of use that as our home base while we're here. And we just met so many lovely people and they were so welcoming. And it's almost sad to come back here because we had... Such a lovely community out there. But, you know, it's kind of like... So I think we'll have to go and visit them on a regular basis just to say hi to all the people that we met out there. And invite them over here. Yeah, invite them to come over and run here now too. Yeah, so...

00:17:57Lyndell Murray: So you did find a bit of a home base at Minnippi? Well, we did, yeah. And you guys did and you guys just travelled all over the countryside. You're like the Leyland Brothers.

00:18:06David: Leyland Brothers of parkrun. We did go to Minnippi a little bit, but also, what was that one? Wishart a couple of times. Wishart.

00:18:14[crosstalk]

00:18:14Unidentified speaker: Oh, sorry, we were at Wishart, not Minnippi. What am I saying? I can't take that back. I'm sorry.

00:18:21Lyndell Murray: No, my editing skills are not very good. What would you like to say about Wishart? Sorry, Wishart. Wonderful people.

00:18:27Unidentified speaker: I'm sure Minnippi people are lovely too, but Wishart, yeah, Wishart, Wishart, Wishart. Yes, they were lovely and very welcoming.

00:18:34Lyndell Murray: And they're just down the road. They are, yes.

00:18:36Unidentified speaker: They're not very far away at all. All right.

00:18:40Lyndell Murray: Now, as I said, this podcast is for people who like to adventure. What would you like the parkrun adventurers to know about your home parkrun here at Stones Corner?

00:18:50David: It's a pretty fast course because it's reasonably flat.

00:18:53Michael: With just one hairpin bend, so yeah, that's not bad. But just the team are really friendly and welcoming. And yeah, we've always got a great bunch of volunteers and a wide range of volunteers. And yeah, it's just a nice, enjoyable group of people to run with.

00:19:07Unidentified speaker: And since it's refurbished, we've got nice wide paths as well. In touring, some of them have quite narrow paths, but ours are much wider now, so they're good.

00:19:16Lyndell Murray: And the works look like they're amazing. It's a beautiful little spot here to start and finish in.

00:19:21Unidentified speaker: Absolutely, yeah. It's quite picturesque, really. Plenty of shade too, not too much sun, just that one little strip of the sun. Yeah.

00:19:28Michael: The one thing I have noticed about Stones Corner unique that we've seen is there's more prams here than I've seen anywhere else because it's such a pram-friendly course and it's nice and wide and pram-welcoming and then there's the park for the kids to play in afterwards.

00:19:41Unidentified speaker: Yeah, exactly.

00:19:42Lyndell Murray: All right, well, thank you very much for having me here at Stones Corner and thank you so much for talking to me about your adventures and your adopted home and your new home once again. Thanks, guys. Thank you, okay I've had a tactic here at Stones Corner tracking down the Stones Corner runners singlets because I figure well they're locals they'll be able to talk to me about what it's been like during the little pause that Stones Corner has been on now I found a very special wearer of a singlet his name is banjo hello banjo hello I don't know whether you can hear that banjo's trying to lick my phone but I do have Jim banjo's human friend how are you Jim

00:20:10[other]

00:20:21Jim: I'm great. I'm great. Thanks, Lyndell. It's fantastic to be back at Stones Corner. And while your listeners can't see it, Banjo's got a massive smile ear to ear. We see him as the most enthusiastic parkrun participant, not only at Stones Corner, but in the state, probably in the country. He's a cult hero here at Stones Corner.

00:20:42Lyndell Murray: I see. And so he's here every day?

00:20:44Jim: He's here every time Stones Corner runs, basically. Except when I'm volunteering and then it's a little bit hard. Even then, he used to come along and somebody else would run him. But as he gets older, he gets more attached to me, so he won't leave my side. But yes, he loves it. The start at Stones Corner here, I need to take him away because he's so excited, not only during the briefing, but when everyone's lined up at the start line, that he barks incessantly with this very distinctive high-pitched bark. And all the parkrunners don't mind it because they just know it's Banjo, but we've got a few units nearby and he wakes up the locals. So he's got in trouble. So I take him for a little warm-up. Put it that way, yeah.

00:21:27Lyndell Murray: All right. And look, I can vouch, Banjo is clearly grinning ear to ear for Stones Corner to be back. What does it mean to be back? I don't know.

00:21:36Jim: I think it means a lot for not only the Stones Corner parkrun community but just the community itself as well because in Brisbane here it's in a sort of a pretty good geographic area where there's a lot of people and the nearest parkruns are still apart from Stones Corner a fair way away so it's been two years people have been missing it and looking forward to getting together it's been a bit of a reunion really for people who are used to seeing each other and running together and as a real you know parkrun is a community and definitely at Stones Corner it embodies that it really feels like that so how long have you been involved with parkrun here at Stones Corner um My first run at Stones Corner was 2014, which was about run number seven. And I hadn't heard of parkrun until I'd seen people, you know, me and a mate were just having a little jog ourselves one day and then saw all these other people running and he checked it out and he came back the next week and then he told me about it and I came back the next week and got hooked. Banjo has been coming since 2016. Yep. He was a rescue dog. Banjo is a cattle dog, and he loves to run. And the first time he came, he loved it, and he was hooked straight away too. So I've done about 260-odd parkruns, 270 almost. Congratulations. Yeah, thank you. And I would say he's probably done close to 200.

00:22:52Lyndell Murray: And it sounds like your volunteer ratio might be pretty good as well.

00:22:55Jim: Yeah, I think we do pretty well. Stones Corner really encourages volunteering. Most people give back, and yeah, I think I've done just sort of 27 or 28, so yeah. But we'll be doing a bit more as a new Run Director, so that'll be fun.

00:23:10Lyndell Murray: Yeah, that's a very exciting adventure for you. Are you looking forward to that?

00:23:14Jim: Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. I'm looking forward to learning what I need to do. Next week's my first sort of dummy run as an L-plater. It'll be just good to be more involved. Our parkrun directors here are wonderful people, so it'll be good to join them and help them out.

00:23:29Lyndell Murray: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for telling me about your parkrun journey and banjos. Good on you, mate. I don't know whether you could hear, he was getting a bit excited while we were talking.

00:23:37Jim: Yeah, that's his very low volume excitement, but his high volume excitement. Maybe next time you come along, Lyndell, you can run your audio and you can hear him at the briefing.

00:23:49Lyndell Murray: And all the best for your first run directing gig next week. I'm sure it will go swimmingly. Cheers.

00:23:55Jim: We'll look forward to it. Thanks.

00:23:57Lyndell Murray: Alrighty, I have tracked down Lisa and Jim, the new co-EDs. And Lisa, you were also today's Run Director. How did it go? You said that it had been 700 and how many days?

00:24:08Lisa: 57, 757 days since our last event. So we were all very, very rusty. And there's also a whole bunch of new procedures and new kit, new gear that Jim and I have been wrangling in the lead up. So it's been a fun challenge getting this back on track.

00:24:26Lyndell Murray: Well, from what I can see, you've done a spectacular job, if that's anything to go by.

00:24:31Lisa: Thank you. Jim and I have stressed enough about this. I'm glad it's all come together. But I'll feel a lot better once I've actually processed the results. I don't think we're on a 59-59 week yet. But who knows?

00:24:46Lyndell Murray: Anything could happen. But you know what? It's still a great day at parkrun, even with a 59.59. Now, you guys have been on a bit of a journey here, haven't you? You've had close downs, not just because of COVID, but because of other works and other things. Can you tell us a little bit about what that was like during that pause? What are you calling it? Is it a pause?

00:25:05Jim: It's an interregnum, I suppose. So, yeah, we were closed initially for COVID and then they completely redeveloped the park that we started finishing, Hanlon Park, which is... a thousand times better now than it was so that was really good and then they widened our path up towards our turnaround which has been really good as well because that was always very tight with a lot of runners. So we had some sort of informal Facebook groups where we all sort of stayed in touch or a bunch of our regular runners while we were touristing around so we would be in touch with each other during the week to work out where we're going this week but everyone was super happy when we were able to tell them that we had all our approvals and the course was ready to go to open again.

00:25:43Lyndell Murray: So you've kept connected through the time. Has there been a change in Run Directors? Have you got new Run Directors? You guys are new EDs?

00:25:50Lisa: Yeah, correct. Our outgoing Event Directors, Ian and Cass, we thank them very much for all their work. Ian's been there since the start and Cass not long after. Ian's got... Much bigger family these days, and Cass has moved up the coast. So, yeah, we did have two EDs and RDs out. Thankfully, we've managed to rope in a couple extras, so we're still running on a six RD roster, which just makes it a little more manageable. Are we on seven? Ah, the extra extra, yes. We have extras in the works as well. It's been a bit of a challenging time.

00:26:27Lyndell Murray: It sounds like it's come together really well, though. Now, this parkrun podcast is for people who adventure, and with the break that you've been on, you will have been doing some adventuring, I'd imagine. Do you have a top three parkruns, not including your home parkrun, or any memorable stories from the times that you've adventured?

00:26:47Jim: I really loved Glasshouse Mountains parkrun. It's a really nice course. It's flat despite being trail. So I really liked that one. I had a really good holiday last year to Bargara with our little daughter and that was really fun running that one. And then I'll pick on my wife's 40th birthday, we went and did Moana in South Australia, which is a sort of cliff top one along the beach. And that was really nice to be able to do that on her big day. So those would be my top three.

00:27:20Lyndell Murray: That sounds like a good top three.

00:27:23Lisa: Oh, you stole my glasshouse mountains of my local kind of adventure-y one. I've not really done too many of the crazy adventure ones. I'd say for trails, because I'm a trail runner at heart, Bunyaville's great, nice and local. Woman after my own heart, that's my home. But otherwise, probably I was very lucky a few years ago to go and do some parkrun touristing around Europe while I was on holidays. And, oh, Brabrand parkrun in Denmark was probably very memorable for running through the apple trees. And you could actually pick these little tiny tart apples as your nutrition on the way. It was great. So good.

00:28:03Lyndell Murray: That's so unique. That's amazing. Congratulations. All right. It sounds like you've done some fabulous adventuring. It sounds like you've been busy getting Stones Corner up and running. For the adventurers listening to this, what would you like them to know about Stones Corner parkrun?

00:28:20Lisa: Oh, look, everyone thinks that their own parkrun is the best. but they're all wrong because ours is the best. We just have such a group of welcoming people. We've got this beautiful new area here with wildlife really settled in, like, you know, just seeing, like, a beautiful, elegant ibis take off. Yeah, it's just such a warm, welcoming place. It's a nice flat run. Oh, in the renovations, they actually even took out a hill for us. It's great. Wow. Super flat now.

00:28:50Lyndell Murray: That's great. And it is just a few Ks from the CBD of Brisbane. It's very close and handy. If you're in the city, it's just be a couple of Ks out from the city. Yeah, great. Well, thank you so much for having a chat to me today. Thank you both so much for all the hard work that you've put in to keep the community going and to get Stones Corner back. Congratulations and well done. Thanks, guys.

00:29:15Lisa: Yeah, thanks so much.

00:29:18Lyndell Murray: Alrighty, guys. I think that is a wrap from me from Stones Corner parkrun. What a lovely morning it's been for the restart here. Great little community. Everything that the locals said is true. It's been a really lovely, friendly little course and it is a really nice one. So if you're in the city and looking for something different, why not head out to Stones Corner? Alrighty, that is it. That is Lyndell over and out for the Channel 5 News crew on the parkrun adventurers.

00:29:52Melissa Ellis: Thank you so much, Lyndell, for bringing us the update from Stones Corner. 757 days, Ollie, since their last event. I believe they originally stopped due to COVID. Then they had Parkworks, which left them with an improved path. So you've got to be happy with that. Yes. And well done to ED's Lisa and Jim. Great to hear some of the other Stones Corner parkrunners who've kept in touch and taken to adventuring during the pause.

00:30:23Oliver Spake: That's right. Yeah, way to make the best of a tough situation for the Stones Corner gang. But so lovely to hear everyone back there enjoying their parkrun. Happy days. Happy days. See, just that extra week made the difference.

00:30:38Melissa Ellis: It did.

Dazza's

00:30:39Melissa Ellis: But we are going to go straight to Dazza's now. Is that right, Ollie? We're going to mix it up this week.

00:30:46Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah, mixing everything up this week. I think it's just the excitement for what's coming later this recording evening, for some of us at least. Unfortunately, I will be in bed, but I do believe you've got plans to keep tabs. But more on that later. Dazza's. So at Dazza's this week, Dazza did say, you won't find daggy old fruit-filled hot cross buns at Dazza's. This is a niche establishment. Here at Dazza's, you can get spicy apple-flavoured, cinnamon doughnut-flavoured, triple choc-flavoured, or sausage roll-flavoured hot cross buns. So come on in, place your order, and tell Dazza all about your morning. And, in fact, our lead bike this week at Dazza's. It was Steve's bike who had to say, morning, Dazza. Another W to the list today. It was a lovely morning and I witnessed someone join the Cowell Club. We did actually see a picture from Steve's bike as well of a certain course from up high, I believe.

00:31:48Melissa Ellis: And I do think that one of our fellow adventurers might have figured out where he was. So check that out if you want a clue as to the whereabouts of Steve's bike. Has anybody figured out who he is yet? But, Ollie, we also heard from Tim Robbins who had an achievement this last parkrun Day. Pancakes with maple syrup, please, Dazza. This bunny has a sweet tooth after becoming an alphabeteer at Ipswich, Queensland. And shots with the selfie frame from Tim, including bunny onesie, an alphabeteer official record. So channeling his inner mouth, he was.

00:32:33Oliver Spake: Very good. Very good. Congratulations on the alphabeteership. Mel, popping up in somewhere where we were recently, Claire Stutchbury, touristing, saw the Swans at Albert Melbourne this morning, happy to tick it off the list after a devastating delay of the Spirit of Tasmania meant we missed it in 2019. And Claire shared a picture of the sunny Albert course.

00:32:58Melissa Ellis: So they had the first event back after the Grand Prix and we had the last one before it.

00:33:03Oliver Spake: Yep, missed them by that much.

00:33:05Melissa Ellis: Oh, definitely. But our tourist this week is Martine Barrot. Morning, Dazza. We touristed to the very scenic Hamilton parkrun this morning and made a very special new friend. I'll have a caramel milkshake, please. And Martine had a photo of a koala.

00:33:24Oliver Spake: Yes, yes, we love those ones. Very cute.

00:33:27Melissa Ellis: Pretty special to spot one.

00:33:28Oliver Spake: Yes. On the touristing front as well, except this time in New Zealand, Tanya Bailey. Tourist parkrun in Wanaka this morning with a course that starts downhill so therefore finishes uphill. Phew! Lovely day and a trail run. Superb buttermilk scones, 9 out of 10, at Edgewater Cafe washed down by a pot of Earl Grey. And Tanya shared a picture of her and Brett in the selfie frame. And we did also get a video from Brett across the lake as well. So it looks like a great trip.

00:34:04Melissa Ellis: They're enjoying having their parkrun back over there in NZ.

00:34:07Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:34:08Melissa Ellis: Now, this week our volley post came from Greg Garner. Did my 30th different parkrun event this morning as the Tail Walker at Ocean View parkrun. Now, where's some hot cross buns? Greg had a photo of himself and the rolling green backdrop plus a hot cross bun and congratulations, Greg. He's now hit the worldwide most events list. Yes.

00:34:34Oliver Spake: What a way to do it. Now, another parkrun celebration, in fact, but on the tourist front, Val Warwick. Hi, Dazza. Having had a couple of chocolate-filled buns yesterday, we were very good after parkrun at Geeveston today and only had a coffee. Three generations of Warwick's participated this morning, although the 14-year-old and the 12-year-old did it as easily as their pa and the rest of us not so easily. It was pa's sixth birthday today. So extra special for him to have family with him at the most southern parkrun in Australia, although it is their home parkrun and we were the visitors. So happy parkrun birthday to Steve. Congratulations to the Warwick family and that's a pretty nice spot to enjoy that, I believe.

00:35:22Melissa Ellis: Yes, I can attest to that. I have visited Geeveston and we also wish Steve a speedy recovery. Yes. Now, on the home front this week, we had Janet Reid. Oh, hi, Dazza. Janet here. Well, it was another fun-filled morning aboard the mothership Lochiel Park today. The Easter Bunny paid us a visit, and I was lucky enough to be his egg-cellent assistant. So much chocolate. The children, young and old, had a wonderful morning, and our bubble machine worked a real treat. Oops, predictive text made that buble. Oops. Oh, how I wish I had a Michael Buble machine. Could you arrange that please, Dazza? If not, a hot cross bun and an iced coffee will have to suffice. Happy Easter to you and all my fabulous fellow adventurers. And Janet shared a photo of herself, the Easter Bunny and the Easter art, Ollie. It's pretty special. I believe you know who is behind the Easter art.

00:36:22Oliver Spake: Yes. And helpfully, you can always see the Instagram tag there. Grant Fleming, who I understand is a regular at Lochiel Park parkrun, part of the Lochiel Park family. So, Grant, that's beautiful art, and check it out. If you can't make out the picture, drop us a note, but you can look him up on Instagram to see all of those artworks in perpetuity. Brilliant. Now, next, coming up with the most likes this week, Mel, was, well, this is awkward, you. So strangely, I'll read this one out. Hi, Dazza. I did a crazy long road trip. I'll fill you in when I get home, which we've done. Thank you, Mel. But what I'm super excited about is that while I was away, Paul went to parkrun. How cool is his finished photo? Can you guess where he went? And, Mel, you shared a picture. I did. Did you guess? It looked familiar. Is it somewhere you've been recently? It is. It's the mansion.

00:37:23Melissa Ellis: It is the mansion. It's the Werribee Park Mansion, and this week those finishes at Werribee Park Mansion had fantastic finish photos with the mansion in the background. And, yeah, I was pretty happy that Paul's back into it now. He's got his days back and he's back into running. And he's on a mission to catch up the events that he has missed and get his statesmanship back, Ollie.

00:37:48Oliver Spake: Go, Paul. Well done. I hope I did all right reading your report there, Mel. It's not often you have to read out the person's report when they're right there listening to you at the time. Yeah.

00:38:01Melissa Ellis: Well, I've got the tough one this week, Ollie, because I am reading Helen Runner, who came to us from Ireland. And she said, Hi, Dazza. Our first visit to parkrun in Ireland. What a lovely welcome from the regulars at, where's that pronunciation?

00:38:18Lisa: Where is it, Ollie? It's not in there.

00:38:21Melissa Ellis: What have you done to me? It's in the Adventurers Club, isn't it?

00:38:25Oliver Spake: It is.

00:38:26Melissa Ellis: Can you cut and paste it really quickly? Yeah.

00:38:30Oliver Spake: Yes, absolutely.

00:38:31Melissa Ellis: Hi, Dazza. Our first visit to parkrun in Ireland. What a lovely welcome from the regulars at Ballincollig. I did a second fastest PPT, which is post-pause time, I'm guessing, of 24.54 and celebrated with an almond latte from the coffee van. Lidl, who sponsor parkrun in Ireland, gave out free t-shirts, water apples and protein snacks. Feeling very grateful right now.

00:38:59Oliver Spake: Nice.

00:39:00Melissa Ellis: Well done, Helen. Well done on visiting Ireland and getting a second fastest PPT.

00:39:07Oliver Spake: Yeah, sounds like a great time. Another tourist, Mel. This time back in Australia, Penny Simpson. Collie River Trail parkrun for me today. A top 10 finish and third female, which definitely says more about the numbers running than my ability or fitness. I actually like the boring fruit hot cross buns, but since I ate the ones I'd made yesterday, I'd give a cinnamon doughnut flavoured bun a shot with my flat white. Thank you, Dazza. And congratulations, Penny. I'd put that down to your running ability. Good finish.

00:39:40Melissa Ellis: Yes. And I would also choose a cinnamon doughnut flavoured bun over a sausage roll flavoured bun, which I'm not really quite sure about.

00:39:51Oliver Spake: Depends on the filling, I'm led to believe.

00:39:52Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, I have to read this next one from this week's volunteer. Now, I'm not going to say who it is because you're going to hear that shortly. Sorry I'm late, Dazza. Busy weekend. On Saturday, I was RD at Karkarook. Perfect morning. Fabulous team of volleys and lots of Easter eggs, followed by hot cross buns and a long black at our local. Cheers. Chris, ruse. P.S., Mel and Ollie, neither of you got it quite right, but don't worry, hardly anybody does. So thank you, Chris, for finally letting us know the correct pronunciation of your surname and we will make sure we get it right from now on.

00:40:35Oliver Spake: Yes, there's our one strike, one and only strike. Thank you, Chris. Sorry, Chris.

00:40:41Melissa Ellis: Wow, and not quite frenetic, Ollie. LAUGHTER Or frenetic.

00:40:45[laughter]

00:40:49Oliver Spake: Frenetic. Absolutely. That's going to stick. That's going to stick.

00:40:54Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:40:54Oliver Spake: God bless you.

00:40:57Melissa Ellis: But what have we got next? We've got mail.

00:41:00Oliver Spake: Well, hold your horses, Mel. Oh.

the Obi Award — Janet Reid

00:41:03Oliver Spake: We've got an Obi to award.

00:41:04Melissa Ellis: Oh, my goodness. Correct.

00:41:06Oliver Spake: Yeah. These Obis, they don't hand themselves out. We need to do it.

00:41:11Melissa Ellis: Okay. Do you have the envelope?

00:41:14Oliver Spake: I do have an envelope right here, Mel. So that's why I was excited and that's why I remembered it was right in front of me.

00:41:20Melissa Ellis: Of course, because I can't see it. So it slipped my mind.

00:41:23Oliver Spake: Absolutely. So shall I open the envelope? Please. Okay. Oops. Sorry. Did you rip it? It's okay. I can still make it out. Okay. This week, the Obi goes to... It says the Easter Bunny and the Easter Bilby, which means Janet. Thank you, Janet, and congratulations. Well-deserved, probably well-deserved to the whole team at the Mothership Lochiel Park who no doubt had a wonderful Easter parkrun Day.

00:42:06Melissa Ellis: It looked like it was a beautiful morning.

00:42:09Oliver Spake: Mm-hmm.

00:42:10Melissa Ellis: So now can we have our mail?

Emails

00:42:12Oliver Spake: Now we can have our mail. We've patiently waited for it this week.

00:42:16Melissa Ellis: Okay.

00:42:17Oliver Spake: You've got mail.

00:42:19Melissa Ellis: Firstly, this week, we heard from Stephen and Jen who said, Hello, Ollie and Mel. Jen and I are back in Bathurst after some touristing and just out of seven days ISO for joint positive PCRs. However... We still got to our home parkrun today to celebrate my youngest son Joshua's 200th parkrun with 59 volunteers, 25 locations and a 21-minute PB, a first finisher at Walcher, and he deliberately timed it to coincide with his 15th birthday today. My goodness. We also have a Bathurst six-hour car race up Mount Panorama, shameless plug, over Easter and had a dozen visitors from the race at parkrun. Great cross promotion. Over 350 entries in the Punish so far. I drive to Canberra every second week and your pod keeps me sane with all the black spots between here and there, take care, keep up the great work, Stephen and Jen. And they sent us a lovely photo of Stephen and Jen with Joshua in the selfie frame. And we intend to share that this week on our socials.

00:43:31Oliver Spake: Yes. Happy birthday, Joshua. Congratulations. And thank you for volunteering in there too.

00:43:36Melissa Ellis: He's got a few good stats there, Joshua has.

00:43:40Oliver Spake: Yes, some parkrun pedigree. So thank you, Stephen and Jen. Great to hear from you and safe travels. Also glad to hear you're recovering. Now, Mel, we heard from someone else familiar who took the time to write to us from around the globe. Eman, said hey guys greetings from cool and crisp Boston thanks so much for the well wishes and encouraging words on the pod I sincerely appreciate the positive vibes from so many friends leading up into monday's run including the parkrun adventurers the atmosphere around town is electric with 30 odd thousand runners and their family and friends enjoying the excitement of the marathon festival I feel humbled being among thousands of way faster runners than me and enjoy hearing the stories of those that work so hard to get a qualifying time. The hype is real. This morning, I completed my first international adventure at Jamaica Pond parkrun, one of the two Boston events. The course was two laps around a pond and most tourists I saw were from the UK. I especially enjoyed introducing my cousins and brother to their first parkrun. They're here as my cheer squad in the absence of Christine and Juno. See you when I get back.

00:44:55Melissa Ellis: Eman. Oh, we're so excited to listen tonight. Well, I am. You'll be sleeping.

00:45:02Oliver Spake: I wish I could, but, yeah, sorry.

00:45:03Melissa Ellis: I'll send you a message. Put your phone on silent, Ollie, and as soon as I have the results, I'll message it to you and you can see it as soon as you wake up.

00:45:12Oliver Spake: Strategically timed alarm in the middle of the night, maybe. Maybe that'll be the compromise.

00:45:16Melissa Ellis: Yes, and we have shared the photo of Eman at Jamaica Pond with his support crew already this week on our socials. But, Ollie, we had another email this week from Johan. And he said, good evening, Mel and Ollie. I had a roving day at Loxton parkrun today and managed to record some feedback. It was unseasonably cold and I won parkrun today. Lol. Much as the townsfolk take life at a leisurely pace, so they do parkrun apparently. I walked, jogged with the ED to the halfway mark and then ran back to bag a first finisher position despite a relatively leisurely time of just over 32 minutes. Keep well, Johan. Well done. Got to be happy with that. I think so. A nice leisurely first finisher.

00:46:07Oliver Spake: Yep, that sounds like quite a nice parkrun to visit. And thank you for writing to us, Johan. And as he mentioned, he did manage to record some feedback.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:46:17Oliver Spake: So guess what? It's time to listen to more of our roving reports. So should we have a listen?

00:46:23Melissa Ellis: Yep, and to our informants.

Roving report Johan Duvenhage — Loxton

00:46:31Johan Duvenhage: Good morning, goeiemôre, dumelang, sanibonani adventurers. It's Johan checking in from Loxton parkrun in the Karoo Highlands of South Africa. It's a beautiful morning today, but a slightly chilly 5 degrees at the moment, so it does look like winter has arrived a bit earlier than usual, so I'm still taking a bit of shelter in my vehicle whilst I'm waiting for the parkrunners to arrive. Loxton is quite remote and off the beaten track, so it's a bit of an unusual location to have a parkrun, But I guess that is what happens when avid parkrunners up and move to an area without their favourite activity. The town, from what I understand, has a population of just over a thousand as per the last census. And I guess that would also then explain why the parkrun is one of the smallest in the country, if not the world. The course normally winds alongside and through parts of the empty and dry Loxton Dam with some awesome views of the Karoo Hills and the veld and the town from the little hill above the dam. But I'm advised that the course had to be adjusted recently as the dam's no longer empty. So I'll chat to the Event Director about that a bit later. Well, Loxton is also known for at least two other interesting things, except its parkrun. Strangely, it's one of the largest garlic producing areas in the country. The pungent little plants absolutely love the country life out here. It's also home to the critically endangered Karoo riverine rabbit, of which only an estimated 500 to 1,000 adults live in this normally arid region along the usually dry riverbanks. Well, I can see a few people moving closer, so I guess it's almost time to get parkrunning and hopefully warming up a bit. And it looks like we're going to have a bumper turnout of probably about 10 parkrunners today.

00:48:24Marnie Esterhuizen: I'll talk to you again a little bit later.

00:48:26Johan Duvenhage: Good morning, adventurers. I'm here with Marnie Esterhuizen, who's the Event Director of Loxton parkrun. And I just wanted to check in with Marnie before I go home. Marnie, it's very nice to be back. I remember being here at the inaugural. How's things been going at Loxton parkrun since the inaugural?

00:48:47Marnie Esterhuizen: Thank you. We're still small and still going. We had a bit of an issue while the COVID locked us down, but we're on it now.

00:48:57Johan Duvenhage: You mentioned that you were quite small and I had a look at the results and Loxton seems to be one of the smallest parkruns in the world with an average participation of just about nine people per event.

00:49:08Marnie Esterhuizen: Yeah, that's correct. And what I can add is since we started, I think we're on 262 people who did the parkrun, different people.

00:49:17Johan Duvenhage: In total, today was event number 119. So only 200 and? 262. 262 people that's done Loxton parkrun over the 119 events. That's quite fantastic. One of the other things that I noticed today is that we had a bit of a different route. And that was because?

00:49:38Marnie Esterhuizen: Yeah, what happened, we had the rain. So our drought is broken and the Loxton Dam is full of water. So our route used to go through the dam and now we can't go through the dam. So we've got an alternative route the last couple of weeks around the dam. So, yeah.

00:49:56Johan Duvenhage: That was interesting. I think I recall when I was here the first time and I saw the route going through the dam, I asked about that and they said, no, they don't think the dam will ever have water again. But the rain has really been fantastic over the past few weeks, months.

00:50:08Marnie Esterhuizen: Yeah, since December, we had about four times the average yearly rainfall.

00:50:13Johan Duvenhage: Oh my goodness, that's a lot. In terms of your participation, what type of person comes to Loxton parkrun?

00:50:22Marnie Esterhuizen: Okay, we have a couple of locals, that's regulars, and then we have, quite frequently, we have visitors. But we're out of the way, so the people who come to Loxton, they... They have to do a bit of trouble to get here, so they come especially to do the parkrun, like Johan today.

00:50:39Johan Duvenhage: Okay, thank you. All right, that was very nice to be back at Loxton, and I hope to be here again soon in the near future. All the best with Loxton parkrun.

00:50:48Marnie Esterhuizen: Thank you, Johan.

00:50:49Johan Duvenhage: Well, adventurers, I'm almost on my way back home after having a very lekker breakfast at Loxton Lekker, the only coffee shop in town. The coffee shop kindly provides a complimentary post-parkrun coffee to all participants, which was very welcome today, given the chill. By the way, this word lekker is an Afrikaans word used in most languages in South Africa. You can probably... be translated as nice, but it's one of those words that have a wide range of expression of feelings, from just okay to absolutely awesome. Well, I had an absolutely awesome time at Loxton parkrun today, and I hope to be back soon. By the way, Marnie also told me that he quite often gets queries from Australian parkrunners inquiring about the closest parkrun to Loxton, thinking that our local parkrun is close to Loxton in South Australia. Well, that's an interesting connection to Down Under. I also bumped into Esty. She's a researcher at the Riverine Rabbit Project, and she shared some more fascinating information about these amazing creatures, including news that additional populations have been identified recently a bit further afield, giving hope that their future survival could be a bit more secure. So until next time, keep well, enjoy parkrun.

Roving report Sarah Jefferson — Homestead

00:52:09Sarah Jefferson: Good morning, parkrun adventurers. It's Sarah here, back on the West Side. This morning I'm checking out Homestead parkrun, event number 27. I'm ticking off a Wilson number. Absolutely loving the autumn mornings here in Western Australia. Nice and cool, which is a bit of a change after a long, hot summer. Let's see if I can have a chat to someone. Hi there, what's your name? Royce. Royce, how old are you? [age removed]. And did you complete Homestead parkrun today? Yes. Yes. Wow, that's amazing. Well done. You ran or walked and jogged five kilometres? Yes. Amazing. I'm really impressed. How many parkruns have you done? Eight. Eight parkruns. Yes. So what are you working towards? My 10 T-shirt. Your 10 T-shirt. So if you've done eight... And you're working towards 10. How many runs left have you got? Two. Two. How exciting. You excited about that? Yeah. Awesome. Do you know what colour the 10 T-shirt is? Red. No, not red. Have another try. White. White. That's going to look good on you, I think. What do you love about parkrun, Royce? That after makes me feel good. Awesome. Yeah, it makes me feel good too, nice and happy. And is there anything that's really hard or maybe a little bit challenging about parkrun? That after I am very hot. So, Royce, after you've completed your parkrun, do you like to go and do anything special? Yes. Yes, what do you like to go and do? I love going to have hot chocolate and baked rolls and taking a picture in the... Oh, in the sign at the parkrun? Yes. Awesome, I did see you taking a picture in the sign. Well done. Well, I must say that when I was... I started my parkrun journey. So you're starting 20 years earlier than me. So I'm a little bit jealous. Do you think that you'll have more parkruns than me by the time you're my age? Yes, I will. Yeah, well, well done.

the Informant

00:54:14Sarah Jefferson: I am very envious.

00:54:15The 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. There were 438 runs held down under, which is up 17 on last week, and a post-COVID record beating 437 set on the 22nd of January. 402 of these were in Australia, and 36 in New Zealand. This was out of 1687 worldwide. Aussie New Zealand attendance is up around 7,500 to 47,344. 215,000 ran worldwide. There were two launches, one in Austria and one in the United Kingdom. Down under we had 5,627 PBs,

00:55:11[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:55:25The Informant: while 2,579 people participated for the first time. 156 juniors reached their Junior 10 milestone, 204 people reached their 50 milestone, 128 reached their 100 milestone, and 25 people reached their 250 milestone. 22 people called bingo. Janet Murray was quickest with 172 runs, while Manfred von Appen was slowest on 348 runs, a record for Australia. There were two new statespeople, Maria Babler in the ACT and Michael Evans in the Northern Territory. Also in New Zealand, Pete Oosthuizen completed the South Island. In the top 20 most Aussie New Zealand events, absolutely nothing happened. Overall on the biggest movers list, James Rees and Caro Vos both moved up 8 to a ranking of 208. 102 people lifted their Wilson Index this week. This week's biggest mover is Tracey Leeper, who moves up 18 to 39. And three people joined the Cowell Club this week. Brent Hale, Helen Davis and Stephen Davis. Now if you want to see these stats in full, you can find them 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.

00:57:07Melissa Ellis: And, Ollie, I enjoyed very much listening to Johan from Loxton, a chilly parkrun over there and unseasonably wet by all accounts of the Loxton Dam that created the need for an alternative route. And Sarah coming to us from Homestead. We're still to decide on a new moniker for Sarah. She needs a title. I think over time that will come.

00:57:38Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:57:39Melissa Ellis: It needs to be organic, doesn't it?

00:57:41Oliver Spake: That's right. These ones do just kind of come to the forefront when you least expect it.

00:57:45Melissa Ellis: And, of course, our informant that we always enjoy and that gives us a giggle.

00:57:50Oliver Spake: Yeah, we do appreciate the support as always.

Consolidated Club Report

00:57:53Melissa Ellis: But, Ollie, this moves us to our adventurers Consolidated Club report. I did post this.

00:58:00Oliver Spake: You did?

00:58:01Melissa Ellis: On social media.

00:58:02Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:58:03Melissa Ellis: With a photo.

00:58:04Oliver Spake: It was a great photo.

00:58:05Melissa Ellis: It was. The artwork wasn't quite up to the normal standard.

00:58:11Oliver Spake: You're referring to the frame?

00:58:13Melissa Ellis: The frame. Rather than the art department, how did I describe it? The half-arse department.

00:58:18Unidentified speaker: Right.

00:58:20Melissa Ellis: So the art department was on a reduced tempo for the weekend.

00:58:26Oliver Spake: Well, it was a long weekend.

00:58:27Melissa Ellis: It was, and they perhaps didn't take kindly to the request. And granted, I didn't give a lot of notice. So we hope everybody enjoyed seeing the artwork.

00:58:41Oliver Spake: Oh, look, I think it was actually quite good. It's got a nice flow to it. It looks quite natural. It could be a long-term thing.

00:58:48Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:58:49Oliver Spake: It sounds like it might be. And that doesn't detract at all from a mega week in consolidated club land for the adventurers.

00:58:58Melissa Ellis: Absolutely was. So Saturday the 16th of April saw a total of 165 members of which 139 took part in at 96 different locations. I know. So starting off with the UK, I've outsourced it this week, Olly. So let's listen to Alison telling us the events.

00:59:22Alison Fraser (King): Ashton Court, Preston, Trelissick, Pontefract, Riddlesdown, Wimpole Estate, Lyme Park, Woking, Rutland Water, Rogiet, Mallards Pike and Great Salterns.

00:59:36Melissa Ellis: And in New Zealand, we had four events, Wanaka, Greytown Woodside Trail, Hobsonville Point and Russell Park. In South Africa, we had two events, Loxton Park, we heard from Johan already, and Homestead Lake. In the USA, three events, Roosevelt Island, D.C., Jamaica Pond and Joe Creason. And one this week, Ollie, that we heard about in Dazza's, which was Ballincollig. Is that right?

01:00:10Oliver Spake: Ballincollig.

01:00:11Melissa Ellis: Oh, thank you.

01:00:12Oliver Spake: We believe. Yeah.

01:00:14Melissa Ellis: We hope. Anyway, locally, there were adventurers at... 27 events in Victoria, 17 events in New South Wales, 16 events in Queensland, 7 events in WA. Cheer.

01:00:34[applause]

01:00:36Sarah Jefferson: That's huge.

01:00:39Melissa Ellis: Yes. I know. There's a bit of growth going on over there, three events in South Australia, two events in Tasmania, one event in ACT and Northern Territory is on the board. One event there at Nightcliff. Thank you, Damon Young.

01:00:57Oliver Spake: Yes. Welcome to the table, Northern Territory. That's thrilling. And Mel, I am curious. I mean, you think, you say growth in WA, is it growth or do people just like travelling to WA? Yeah.

01:01:10Melissa Ellis: Oh, you think they're tourists from the rest of the country? Sarah, can you look into this for us?

01:01:18Oliver Spake: Look, if you apply that logic, then by a factor of almost four, people would also like travelling to Victoria. So, yeah, you might need to think that through first.

01:01:30Melissa Ellis: I actually think that we're picking up more Adventurer Club members in WA thanks to the fine work of Caveman Cam and Sarah.

01:01:39Oliver Spake: That's right. So thank you, adventurers, for taking us around the country and around the globe. What a week. What a week. Almost 100 different locations. It's the closest we've been to that number.

01:01:51Melissa Ellis: I wonder how many weeks until we hit the 100.

01:01:55Oliver Spake: I suppose there's one way we can achieve that, and that's keep adventuring, Mel. So where are you going?

01:01:59Melissa Ellis: Ooh, next week. I will be relatively local. No long car trips for me. I will be at... It might be event four, I think, by this week at Warrandyte River Reserve parkrun.

01:02:13Oliver Spake: Ah, yes.

01:02:14Melissa Ellis: In the northeast suburbs of Melbourne. Hopefully Paul will tourist with me.

01:02:19Oliver Spake: Yeah.

01:02:20Melissa Ellis: That's the plan. Yes. And I may catch up with a few other adventurers. What I did fail to mention when I read out the Consolidated Club events, Ollie, was Victoria again. Not only did we top the events list, in Australia with adventurers.

the Frond

01:02:39Melissa Ellis: But again, the two events with the largest fronds were Warrandyte River Reserve and Werribee Park Mansion with five and four respectively. So those newest two Victorian parkruns are still attracting the most adventurer members.

01:02:57Oliver Spake: Yes. Hopefully in the weeks to come we'll see some challenges from elsewhere.

01:03:02Melissa Ellis: What about you, Ollie? What is on your agenda, need we ask?

01:03:07Oliver Spake: No long car trips for me, Mel. I do currently have my name down on the volley roster, so I will be taking it easy and trying to limit the cheering. But at the same time, looking forward to welcoming back a whole another bunch of parkrunners.

01:03:25Melissa Ellis: Well, that sounds good.

01:03:26Oliver Spake: But adventures are coming. Weeks to come.

01:03:29Melissa Ellis: How's the course doing anyway?

01:03:31Oliver Spake: Is it recovering? Oh, I'm glad you asked. The course is terrible. Come and visit everyone.

01:03:39Melissa Ellis: Okay, it's extreme parkrun.

01:03:42Oliver Spake: Yes, yeah, we took to sharing a bit of a graphic before parkrun day just gone with all of the hazards pointed out across the course. So when it's not raining, it's a little more passable. The deep ruts in the course and the mud puddles that are almost dry and the grassy hills are just that little bit easier to traverse. It's your standard cross-country course. But when it's raining, it just becomes a bit more of a challenge. We get a few stream crossings and things that may need us to call it off once again.

01:04:16Melissa Ellis: So it's like parkrun ninja.

01:04:21Oliver Spake: Very much so. Very much so. So much that it may not even be on and you need to run it in stealth.

01:04:27Melissa Ellis: Well, we hope that doesn't happen. We wish Shellharbour all the best. Can't you just get like somebody to come and mow a track just a little bit off centre to go around the ruts?

01:04:38Oliver Spake: Absolutely. There are sections where that has helped. But unfortunately, even after some dry weather, it was just sodden. So in time, it'll get to that point. But with so much recovery still after the weather impacts, I'm not sure how quickly we'll see too much of the paths fixed.

01:04:57Melissa Ellis: Is there anything the community can do to foster, I don't know, you know, a push to gather support to improve the course, you know, rally, you know what I mean?

01:05:10Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I think that's one of the real positives about our parkrun communities and our local parkruns is that, you know, there is that desire to help pitch in and fix, you know, situations like this.

01:05:24Melissa Ellis: Do we need placards? Save Shellharbour. Save Shellharbour. Can I tie myself to a tree?

01:05:32Oliver Spake: Well, look, you may not need to do that. Suffice to say, he's on the agenda to see the paths fixed. It's unfortunately with the transition of ownership, there are a lot of people involved in that.

01:05:44Melissa Ellis: There's a lot of love out there. I'm sure I can get a group.

01:05:48Oliver Spake: Well, start assembling, Mel. I'm sure it will help.

01:05:52Melissa Ellis: Adventurers assemble. Yeah.

01:05:54Oliver Spake: Yeah, that's it. That's it. Look, we're certainly pitching in where we can. And I think we'll wait and see just how much they manage now that the weather is finer, just here and there to be able to get in, mow and hopefully fill in some of these cracks. But unfortunately, it's a beautiful park. and our course is not unique in how poorly maintained it's been over the last couple of years and it absolutely breaks my heart that it just hasn't been looked after. So whilst this weather impact right now has had an impact, you know, we've seen it before that and there's a lot of hard work that needs to be done. So we'll keep pushing and, yeah, just get ready, everyone. We can do it with your help.

01:06:39Melissa Ellis: I like the Catch Cry Adventurers Assemble. I actually had an idea. We got offered the opportunity through one of the company that produces the Ugly Christmas Singlets that we could have more merch and we could potentially have a beach towel. And I had the idea that we could design something that was almost palm related with the Catch Cry of adventurers Assemble. What do you think? Like, let's just workshop this.

01:07:06Oliver Spake: No workshopping required, Mel. There's one thing that it should be. There's one piece of merch that every adventurer needs, particularly if the Catch Cry is adventurers assemble. It's a parkrun adventurer's screwdriver.

01:07:22Melissa Ellis: Is this linked to Ikea somehow? No.

01:07:28Oliver Spake: It stands out for me.

01:07:29Melissa Ellis: I didn't think of approaching a company like a hardware company. Maybe Bunnings could sponsor us.

01:07:36Oliver Spake: Well, I suppose there are those left field potential advertisers that we do get approached from now and then. We could go to brunch there and have sausages. I think we need to run that past the arts department, aka the catering department. But yes, yeah.

01:07:54Melissa Ellis: Well, anyway, if anybody's got any ideas, let us know.

01:07:57Oliver Spake: Yes. Always welcome the feedback. I think we're still looking for feedback on potential Palm 2023 events, by the way. So, yeah, keep it coming, everyone. Really? Start it coming. We can edit that out, Mel.

01:08:14Melissa Ellis: Keep it in.

01:08:15Oliver Spake: It's fine.

01:08:16Melissa Ellis: You can think that. That's not where I'm thinking.

Sign-off

01:08:19Oliver Spake: But anyway, that's all good. No. Look, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for the chat once again. Thank you, everyone, for your parkrun adventures. Whilst we wish we could stay recording right through and watch the marathon and cheer on Eman whilst we record it, it's probably time to wrap it up. So as always, everyone, you can contact us via Facebook or or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. That is it for another week, and we'll see you all next week for more adventures.

01:10:01Oliver Spake: Hi Mel and Oli, today I ran the Boston Marathon. It was fun. I'll fill you in when I get home. Bye everybody, stay safe!