Episode 378 - Run the World

00:00:00[intro theme playing]

Welcome

00:00:23Oliver Spake: Welcome to episode 378 of the parkrun adventurers podcast, a podcast about life if your life is all about parkrun. I'm Ollie Spake, not Jasmine, and I am joining once again from Dharawal Country.

00:00:38Melissa Ellis: My name is Melissa Ellis and I'm coming to you from Wurundjeri Country and it's a blue moon.

00:00:45Oliver Spake: It's a blue moon. And we're wearing blue. We're wearing blue to celebrate. Not 500 blue. We're not that lucky.

00:00:52Melissa Ellis: Oh, no, but that's topical.

00:00:54Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:00:58Melissa Ellis: Anyway, how are you, Ollie? And since all the time I haven't seen you, two weeks, would it be?

00:01:04Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah.

00:01:05Melissa Ellis: Are you keeping well? What have you been up to?

00:01:08Oliver Spake: Well, yeah, it's been a little strange not to have a recording night, but nice to once again listen to you, yourself and talk on on that particular week but I have been well thank you and I have been back to work back to the usual stuff and still fondly remembering the fun that was palm24 and it was nice to relive a bit of that actually on Saturday morning in the car with mum on the way to parkrun a whole new world yes yes but I I think um you know I don't necessarily want to um repeat too much of what uh you both covered quite well but it was a an absolute highlight of a palm wasn't it and um and and the highlight in particular was the people clearly um so I just wanted to add my thanks to everyone who spent time with me chatted with me and um as always sorry to those that I missed out on speaking to it's it's never long enough is it Mel

00:02:08Melissa Ellis: No, and tell me, who did you meet? Who did you meet that you didn't know?

00:02:11Oliver Spake: Look, many, many, but one of my highlights and a particular sort of... Fun surprise was Renata. So a Friday night, sat down at the same table. I sent my food to another table because I didn't really know what was going on. But sat down with a few familiar faces. But I can't recall ever meeting Renata before. So we got to speaking and it was really lovely to get to chat. But I think one of the highlights about Palm and the whole sort of community feel was Renata Getting back to Brisbane Airport after the drive on Sunday afternoon, spotting the Victorians at the service station on the way and glad to see that they made the flight. But checked in, dropped the bags and all that, made it to the bar and waited for boarding and there was Renata.

00:03:06Unidentified speaker: So, you know.

00:03:10Oliver Spake: Yeah, it felt like it was meant to be to make some good friends around the traps. And look, so many lovely people. It would be a shame for me to try and list them because I would forget people. All I will say is, sorry, Angus, I should have let you win. What? Not that I'm sure that Angus isn't listening, but nonetheless.

00:03:32Melissa Ellis: okay in joke uh do we want to discuss the costume you know you you raised you raised a lot of um interest walking around the event um dressed as Jasmine the princess from aladdin yes yes and how did that go for you

00:03:34[crosstalk]

00:03:54Oliver Spake: Well, yeah, I've never had the experience before of being a Disney princess.

00:03:59Travis Ireland: I can't say I expect to have it again.

00:04:02[crosstalk]

00:04:02Oliver Spake: Oh, yeah. You've got the taste for it. But for long as I haven't scared young Lucy of her favourite Aladdin movie. then all is well. And Mel, I have to come clean because I do love to dress up at Palm and I have actually had a couple of times, a couple of occasions where I have had a clash or a near clash with others. But yeah, this one, as much as I liked the idea and was ready to say yes, wasn't my idea. So I did have a lot of fun following a great suggestion and thank you to that mysterious person from the Channel 5 News crew that gave me that suggestion.

00:04:46Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes. And I know who that is, but I shall keep that under my hat. So, yeah.

00:04:53Rachel: Okay.

00:04:53Melissa Ellis: But something else exciting has happened to you since we last spoke. I do believe you've been on breakfast radio or morning radio.

00:05:01Oliver Spake: Yeah. Would you like to tell us? Late brunch radio. Depends.

00:05:02[crosstalk]

00:05:05Melissa Ellis: Yeah.

00:05:05Oliver Spake: So, yeah that's right uh well I yeah we would I think you know parkruns parkruns attendances has not gone unnoticed as we all know um so many of the community are still discovering parkrun and it's becoming much much more widespread um almost at the point where anyone in the street you know in any street will will know what parkrun is when you talk about it and um Yeah, that was one of our former pod hosts' dreams. But, yes, ABC Radio Illawarra were kind enough to have a chat to me, Mel, and it was really just about the fact that, let's face it, parkrun is just that good. A lot of people want to come along to parkrun. It provides a lot of benefits, naturally, for a lot of, you know, a wide range of people, a wide range of interests. I did step in there and... make the comment when there was the reference to winning parkrun. But, yeah, a highlight was to be interviewed by a former Matilda as well. So, yeah, Amy Duggan there is a local identity but has also hosted the Women's World Cup coverage and, yeah, and was a Matilda. So that felt pretty fun.

00:06:30Melissa Ellis: Yeah, well, well done you.

00:06:32Oliver Spake: Yeah, look, thank you for having me back for another Blue Moon, Mel.

00:06:37Melissa Ellis: You're welcome. What do I do? Yeah, what do you do? Firstly, let me apologise to the listeners. Hopefully by the time you're hearing this, the Consolidated Club report will have been posted. It's a little bit late this week because I've had some technical glitches. I did briefly have it up and then I was quickly alerted to the fact that it contained some errors or it was missing some information. So I... Pulled it down and it's being worked on as we speak. It's not a biggie, but just letting people know that I don't always get it right. As we know, I make lots of mistakes.

00:07:17Oliver Spake: And I always appreciate the help that's out there and all of your effort too, Mel. So, yeah, I'm sure we'll see that soon. But thank you very much. And I feel like I am just... I'm trying not to make up another word, so let's just say waltzing in here. Yeah, riding on the coattails of others because this week's episode really is, it's all about Travis, Travis Ireland coming up in the episode. So, yes, stay tuned, of course, everyone, because we have a fantastic interview delivered by TOC with Travis Ireland.

00:07:55Melissa Ellis: Yep, and he's not even here to talk about it.

00:07:58Oliver Spake: That's right. I've run the world. So we do look forward to that.

00:08:03Melissa Ellis: Until then, why don't you let us know what you did this last Saturday, Ollie? Where were you?

00:08:09Oliver Spake: Saturday just gone. I was at Sandon Point. Can you pronounce it?

00:08:14[crosstalk]

00:08:17Melissa Ellis: Oh, yeah, you were nearly going to say shh.

00:08:20Oliver Spake: Yeah, okay. Yeah, so I suppose in terms of what's been going on, I've developed a bit of a new parkrun day morning routine that is – pushing my ability to be out there enjoying every week. So now that Zali has taken up Saturday morning kick yay, sports parent duties are factoring into my Saturday morning logistics added to the pre-dawn run group with the gym that I've joined and it makes for a busy and exciting Saturday morning. So I have been trying to get the fix in there by volunteering in between and it's all fresh. I've worked out hopefully the next two months. But for this parkrun day just gone, thankfully the stars mostly aligned for me. So I got a nice beach sand run as the sun came up and then joined mum and Hannah at Sandon Point, which is also on Dharawal Country like Shellharbour. And I managed to finish in a time that meant I could grab a coffee before we flitted across to Zali's nearby away match to watch the game there. So it did mean I had to step away from Shellharbour, but thank you, as always, to wonderful volunteers who make everything happen so easily.

00:09:44Melissa Ellis: Good job. You still managed to say it twice.

00:09:48Oliver Spake: I'm not done yet. But, yeah, yeah. And Sandon Point is such a beautiful parkrun. I mean, I'm sure we have recapped that course previously. But the outlook there on a clear morning, a sunny morning over the ocean is, yeah, pretty special.

00:10:07Melissa Ellis: I concur. Yeah.

00:10:10Oliver Spake: You, Mel, how was your parkrun day?

00:10:12Melissa Ellis: It was very good. I was back at Puckapunyal Restricted Military parkrun on the lands of the Tungurung Wurundjeri Woiwurrung peoples. Say that three times fast. I was joined by TOC, Jacqui and Dan O'Connell, plus friend Alicia, as well as the lovely Belinda Taylor. It was a lovely fine morning, so... bright blue skies, which just complements that beautiful forest area at Puckapunyal in the most magnificent way. I've recapped Puckapunyal before and much like you, Ollie, there's not a lot else I can probably add that hasn't already been said other than it was a very enjoyable morning with friends. We went in to see more to have brunch together at the brewer's table before returning home. So yeah, Belinda flew down from Brisbane overnight, stayed at Ellis Palace. and accompanied me on the drive up in the morning. So always happy to go back to Pucca. He was guest RD there, which allowed the lovely Co-Event Directors, Michael and Anika McCall, to be able to actually partake in their lovely little event there. Yeah, and not much else to say really on that.

00:11:42Oliver Spake: It sounds like a nice parkrun day morning though and, yeah, nice to share it with some parkrun friends.

00:11:49Melissa Ellis: Yeah, and have a bit more time at home. So that's two weeks in a row now where I have stayed relatively local and just had more time at home to do all those domestic things that often get pushed aside with all the touring.

00:12:03Oliver Spake: Yes. I hope you've got plans. We'll check up on the plans toward the end of the podcast, of course, but I hope you've got some tourism plans coming up.

00:12:13Melissa Ellis: Oh, the feet are itchy, don't you worry.

00:12:15Oliver Spake: Excellent, excellent.

00:12:18Melissa Ellis: Ah, but yeah, what do we have in terms of news and updates now? We need some sinister music. There's something I haven't ever had to download before, but there's the elephant in the room, I guess we need to address, Ollie, that there was only today posted in the socials an account of the meeting between Russ Jeffries PSH and the Bring Back the Stats group. Would you like to go first with your thoughts on what we learnt today?

00:12:45[background music]

00:13:02Oliver Spake: Well, yeah, I think first to acknowledge it always helps to be able to have a conversation and appreciate the group for having shared that information and their experience with us because for many of us, it is something, an issue that is close to the heart in our community. So it matters. And particularly, as we all know, it really happened the wrong way without that conversation that could have helped things be better addressed up front. But that meeting that was requested and was had, and if anyone hasn't seen that account, I'm pretty sure it's fairly easy to find online and to review that summary if you do want to go and read it. But Mel, I suppose, you know, about the broader issue and the desire for many to see the tats, the stats returned. Yeah, I guess, yeah, from where I stand, there'll always be things that I don't like about parkrun or other things, things that have either changed or, you know, Yeah, I guess this is an example where that strikes a chord with many. In this case, for me, I love parkrun because it brings me closer to a community. It helps me with my headspace. It keeps me and my family active. It takes me to wonderful, beautiful places with great people. And for me, now at least, that's enough for me to continue and for me to continue to see value in parkrun beyond that disappointment on the other elements. And I respect for others that equation is a bit different. But yeah, I guess time will tell as to whether there's any further update from parkrun as well about that meeting.

00:15:06Melissa Ellis: It did seem from what I read that parkrun were very clear in stating they have no intention of changing the decision that's already been made. And I must say I felt the account of the discussion was very balanced in the way it was presented by the Bring Back the Stats group. I was very impressed actually at the very logical way parkrun that the discussions appeared, because we only know what was written, obviously, appeared to be represented fairly, it seemed. And it's the first time we've actually heard any sort of reply other than the corporate line, which really didn't tell us a lot, that initial corporate response from Russ Jeffries. So... That was quite eye-opening, some of the comments, which no doubt would create some strong emotions from many people, many people that are friends of ours. I'm just feeling personally there's no winning this. There's not going to be an outcome that is going to make anybody happy and I kind of wish it would – I guess it's wrong to say I want it to go away, but I don't see the value in continuing to discuss it personally. when it's evident that it's not going anywhere and that parkrun's made a decision and their minds aren't going to be changed. And I just want the negativity of the whole situation to disappear down a big hole.

00:16:40Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah. And, you know, I feel I understand where you're coming from with that, Mel. And, you know, I don't know if I speak for you, but I think it's pretty fair to say, you know, we appreciate and I'm sure everyone Deep down, even those spokespeople for parkrun, some pretty core people, appreciate the huge amount of effort and contribution that volunteers have provided. It's disappointing that this particular issue has seen that sort of take a back seat or not be clearly recognised, but... Yeah, yeah, I too, you know, I want parkrun for the other elements, you know, and I look forward to being able to enjoy it for those elements and, you know, Yeah, I wish that for many others, but yeah.

00:17:30Melissa Ellis: It is interesting, Ollie, when you think about the announcement that was made just the week prior with the new change in event ambassadors and Event Directors getting those volunteer credits on a weekly basis, how that was released just one week prior. As a sceptic could say, that was very clever strategy.

00:17:51Oliver Spake: Yeah. If so, I almost want them to... them, I suppose, you know, the decision makers behind that decision and the conversation here, you know, whether it be Russ, PSH or others to acknowledge that because, yeah, some understanding, some appreciation and some respect, you know, goes a long way. And, you know, if that was the intent, it'd be nice to be clear about it. But, Mel, I suppose, you know, it's I find it personally challenging because I do like to enjoy the happiness, the joy of parkrun. And I do also like to be able to solve the problems that others see, feel and experience on that front. But it does feel like this in the circumstances doesn't seem like something that can just be solved and practically not unlike you. I look forward to hopefully being able to move on and, yeah, some more positive focuses coming, hopefully not too far on the horizon. But we have an interview coming up, so I'll stop rambling. Otherwise, I'll never get invited back. I will give our next update, which is that due to some incredibly fantastic demand, the bus has sold out, Mel.

00:19:17Melissa Ellis: They have. They say, well done to the Office Lady. That was her little brainwave, her little solo project. And she does so much for us and we do thank her, but I don't really think people do appreciate what she actually gives. And the buffs were her concept. She did all the design work. She gave us the opportunity to offer feedback. She took it upon herself to pre-order them and do all the sales and handle all that side of things and taking money and posting them out and that's incredible amount of work so yeah huge success yeah the proceeds have all gone towards the few overhead expenses that we incur for the pod which is basically paying for subscriptions for some of the platforms we use to host the pod and to record on plus the recording equipment that we use at palm which we actually have to hire so we don't have a lot of overheads but it's a few hundred dollars a year so these little things like you know a little bit of a margin on the buffs a little bit of a margin on the shirts that's what the goes towards guys it's just um it's just helping us cover these expenses so that it's not out of our personal pockets yeah so yeah thank you Office Lady and thank you everyone for the support not wanting to be a complete downer in this intro I've also got an apology to me what for Mel Because apparently Tenterfield's moved. It slid down out of Queensland and landed itself in New South Wales, unbeknownst to me.

00:20:55Oliver Spake: Now, I mean, I'm often – no, actually, it's unfair to say that people accuse me. No one accuses me. I think everyone just knows I don't do much homework and whatnot. But I did go looking, Mel. I was desperately looking for any background to the formation of the border because, of course, we're talking about the border between New South Wales and Queensland. But suffice to say, I couldn't find anything in the old documents that referenced – the border being on the other side there.

00:21:28Unidentified speaker: It got close. It got close.

00:21:31Melissa Ellis: Well, in my defence, Tenterfield is up there near the border.

00:21:34Oliver Spake: That's right.

00:21:34Melissa Ellis: Just on the wrong side of it. So, yes, everybody, apologies for last week. The new, what's it called again? It's a Jay parkrun, isn't it?

00:21:44Oliver Spake: It is.

00:21:45Melissa Ellis: Jubilee. It's a Jubilee in Tenterfield? I don't know how to, yeah. Was it?

00:21:53Oliver Spake: Hmm.

00:21:54Melissa Ellis: Come on. Can you quickly go back? Was it last week that it launched?

00:22:01Oliver Spake: Checking the research here.

00:22:02[crosstalk]

00:22:02Melissa Ellis: It's Jubilee. I was correct.

00:22:04Oliver Spake: Jubilee parkrun.

00:22:05Unidentified speaker: Yes.

00:22:07Oliver Spake: My mistake. No, that's okay.

00:22:08Melissa Ellis: All righty. So, yes, it is definitely in New South Wales, always has been, always will be. So there's my apology. But that's enough of that.

00:22:15[background music]

Interview Travis Ireland — Founder and owner of Run the World (formerly Run Down Under); Gold Coast based, home…

00:22:16Melissa Ellis: Let's throw now to TOC and his interview with Travis.

00:22:28Tony O'Connell: And joining me today, we have parkrun A204597. This man is the brains behind the new app and the website Rundown Under. Welcome to the podcast, Travis. How are you?

00:22:44Travis Ireland: I'm good, thanks, TOC. I'm very well. And I'm impressed you knew my parkrun number because I didn't know it. Well done.

00:22:51Tony O'Connell: And I also know that you're a bit of a tourist. You've done 37 different events, including two countries. You've done the famous Bushy Pilgrimage. I have. And your home runs Main Beach.

00:23:02Travis Ireland: That's all correct. I tend to travel around when people finish a map. So let's call it work. I get to parkrun for work a bit. So I'm not always at the same spot, which is great.

00:23:13Tony O'Connell: Okay, so where do we get a job like you've got?

00:23:16Travis Ireland: Yeah, you've got to create it. You've got to build it yourself. You have to go through a midlife crisis and just dump everything and start a hobby. That's how I did it.

00:23:26Tony O'Connell: Well, speaking of that, Travis, give us the idea and the genesis behind the app that is Run Down Under or the website and the whole concept that is Run Down Under or Run the World as it's now known.

00:23:38Travis Ireland: Yeah, it is. It's interesting you refer to it as Run Down Under because it was Run Down Under for nine years. And I rebranded it. a year and a half ago to run the world because as the story will tell in a second not everyone will be doing run down under in in 10 years time um there'll probably be more people doing different maps But going back to the very start, Run Down Under, was a one-map concept and it was something that came through my desire to run around Australia. So it was 2013, July the 7th, and there's a long story to it which I won't go into unless we get back to it later. But basically I went through an addiction and I was looking to replace that with something and I chose running and I chose a marathon. And... The long story is I was ciphering through plans to try and find a year-long marathon training program, and I couldn't find one because I decided to do a marathon that was a year to the day from when I decided to do it. And all I could find was 20-week programs and 16-week programs, but I was ready to go. At the same time, I wanted to escape a lot of things. So I wanted to run around Australia, logistics, finances. I had three young kids. It quickly put a stop to that. It wasn't going to happen logistically. So I basically combined the two. I combined my need to replace an addiction. I combined my desire to do a marathon in one year and a desire to run around Australia. And I spent maybe three or four months planning out a route and around Australia that I wanted to run. And that route is run down under the first map, which is 14,080 kilometres. And it's simply my map and what I wanted to do. It doesn't take into account every town and city that people might think are on there, but it's just where I wanted to go. So that's how it started. It's something that I... I wanted to do. So it's quite selfish. It's my baby. I did it for me. I had an Excel spreadsheet. And then what I did, Tony, is I thought, well, I don't want to do this alone. I'm a big fan of accountability. So I put it out there and see who wants to join me. And I'll put a fee to it. I'll make it a hobby, but I need to get people interested. So I put a $50 fee on it. I said, who wants to come and run around Australia? I'll give you a singlet. and you can come and join me. And I expected to get maybe 25 of my friends, six or seven people that are runners, and that's about it. And Lo and behold, I had 759 people pay the $50 for a crappy singlet and an Excel spreadsheet. And it was then that I realised that I'm not the only one that wants to do this, whether it be in real life or to run around Australia. So the concept back when I launched it in late 2013 was quite obviously something that people were interested in because Of those 759 people, I didn't know 700 of them. So they somehow heard about it. They jumped on board and we all had the same desire to, let's see if we can run around Australia. And that started on January the 1st, 2014. We all logged our first runs. When I say logged, they all emailed me and I had to put them into an Excel spreadsheet, which on a side note, took me 19 hours to do the first week. And that's when I quickly realised that I needed a website. So the website was a... A couple of months down the track, I built a basic website to accommodate the fact I couldn't keep up with an Excel spreadsheet. So that's how it started. I was pretty lucky. One of those fortunate people that had an idea and put it out there to the universe and it turned into something completely different to what I expected. I was looking for a year-long project. program to keep me focused on a marathon. And 10 years and four months down the track, it's now my job.

00:27:39Tony O'Connell: I'm trying to equate that 19 hours for the first 759 people to what that would be now if you were trying to manually enter it. And you'd have to have a staff of 10 people all sitting in front of computers for 12 hours a day tapping keys.

00:27:55Travis Ireland: Correct. Exactly. I can't even imagine Yeah, yeah. So I remember setting the alarm for 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., whatever it was, because I wanted to make sure I got the results out before people would wake up. And it quickly turned into, I need to make sure I get these results done before they go to bed. And it still didn't work. I just wasn't ready for it, which was a good problem to have.

00:28:18Tony O'Connell: So the whole system, Travis, has really moved on. You've launched a new app, only a matter of a couple of months ago, and I've got to say, I reckon it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Had a couple of issues in your first couple of weeks with connecting to Strava and things like that, some coding, but the way it performs now, it's just seamless. I'm loving the new app. I get home... upload my run onto Strava, open up Rundown Under, and it's there. The new app and the new functionality on it seems to be going down really well.

00:28:51Travis Ireland: I really appreciate that, TOC. Yeah, it was something that made me realise that I'm a runner and a businessman. I'm not a coder and an app person because we had some big issues, and it wasn't until we did a year's worth of building and months worth of testing, but it wasn't until we transferred tens of thousands of people and over 10 million pieces of data to the app that we realised that it was a bit bigger than we thought. So the server couldn't handle it. The Strava process that we had in place couldn't handle it. We were just a little bit too big. So from day one, we realised that was an issue. We quickly fixed it, but we still had up until... yesterday um so I'm fingers crossed it's now 100 fixed we still had a couple of issues on a on a Sunday so your parkrunners and everyone will be happy to know this that once we got the last glitch done with Strava and it was just a server issue and we had to work with them and they're extremely busy and they're amazing what they do but they're a bit tough to get back to took a couple of weeks so we had to wait for them limits are all increased now everything server's done But then on Saturday, as daylight saving changed, so Queensland came back to New South Wales, we had a spike of 5,000 hits on the Strava and Run the World app in a space of an hour, which is... literally everyone on there. So we had another little glitch on the Saturday, which was again, something new, but we fixed that, which is great. So I'm 99.9% sure that we're right now, but I knew there were going to be some teething issues with the app, but To be honest, they're minor. The Strava run always comes across. It's not like you didn't do the run, so it's always going to be there. I understand a lot of people wanted it straight away and et cetera, so I upset a couple of people with some delays, but hopefully they realise that it's still there. It's come across, and now when you – like you said, it's automatic – It's there, stats, updates, everything is instant. So I'm pretty proud of it.

00:30:55Tony O'Connell: Yeah, no, look, it's really good. And the apps just developed so far from what you originally had, you know, with all the functionality and the mapping and that sort of stuff. I really love it. So with the concept, you started with Rundown Under. I think you're at nine maps now. Yep. There's eight on the website, one run down under two. So which was the next one that came out?

00:31:19Travis Ireland: So the second one was run down under two, and that was through necessity. So when I obviously planned this for myself, I was a 2,000 kilometre a year person. So I thought, okay, I've got seven years before I need to think about what's next. And I was introduced to the crazy ultra athletes who I'd never met before who decided to do the map in a year and a half. So it wasn't a year and a half, actually, it was a year and 10 months. But Stephen Wright – And a year and a half in, I realised, geez, he's going to finish this map soon. And I got to know him, and I knew that it meant a lot to him, and I knew that it was something that he loved. So I thought, well, what are you going to do when he finishes? So I very quickly – so the second map is not about me. It was about Stephen Wright. I said, very quickly, I'm going to build another map so that when he finishes – He can carry on. And that's when Run Down Under 2 was born and it was a new rap. It's exactly – sorry, it's not exactly. It's the opposite. It's a completely new route that starts from where Run Down Under finishes and it's another 15,000 kilometres. So it's something that was born through necessity. I needed Stephen to keep running. So that's how that was born. And then from there it was, well, he's going to finish again soon and that's when USA and Europe were born in 2016. And then if I continue on with the story, I then realised there was a need for some smaller maps, and I'll get to when I say smaller in a second, but I realised there needed to be some smaller maps. So New Zealand was obvious, and then I realised that I could break UK and Europe apart, and I got lucky in that it was the same time as Brexit, so I could do some promotion around that. So UK and Ireland became a separate map. It used to be part of Europe. And then, yeah, the last few maps were then built with Run the Great White North and East Asia came apart. And I decided that there has to be an end point. There's got to be an end. I can't keep going forever. So... I'll never say never, but that was the end. So 127,500 kilometres of maps are there for people to enjoy.

00:33:36Tony O'Connell: And we had the longest walk came in as well.

00:33:39Travis Ireland: Yes, yeah. And that's the only map that I didn't build in terms of it wasn't my idea. So every other map... I sit there and it takes me months and months and months to do it. And I find a route that I like. So I go through places, I research a lot and I get some external feedback and I find places to go to that are appealing, and diverse, and that's how I build the maps. But run the longest walk is actually a concept that is not mine, and you'll see it everywhere on Facebook. It's well known that it's the longest continuous walk you can do without getting on a boat or a plane or whichever. So I stole that idea and built a map around that. So I had to follow the exact route that was already created. So it was the only time I didn't have any input into that. And I found it the most difficult because I had to go through places that weren't easy to research. They weren't necessarily the nicest places to go through. And there was also gaps of hundreds of kilometres. So I like to have smaller gaps between towns so people have smaller goals. But in some instances on run the longest walk, there's one instance you have to go across the desert. So there's just nothing for 350 kilometres. And then obviously when you get to Russia, that west to east journey, there's a lot of nothing through cold, remote places you've never heard of. So it was tough to build. And it was more tough to find positive information. You go through some pretty inhospitable places along that journey. But I love it. I'm actually doing that map now. So I'm excited about it.

00:35:18Tony O'Connell: And for those that are not familiar with Run the World, it's one of the most important concepts I love about it is that it's broken down into small little bites. And when you hit a town, you actually get an email that gives you a bit of the history of the town and a bit of what's happening in the town. And so it gives you those little spikes to keep you motivated and moving along. I know quite often I'll get home from a run. I'll look at my stats on the app. I generally go straight to activities. Yep, it's come across. Go into the profile, check my weekly distance. And then I go to the progress button and look at where I am on the map. And you'll look at something that'll say, you've got 600 metres to the next town. And shoes back on out the door. Let's go again. I want to hit that point and get that email that gives me that history and the picture of a town and that. And that's one of the things I've really enjoyed is learning about places as I've journeyed.

00:36:13Travis Ireland: Yep. And you follow the exact same process that I do, TOC. I get home, upload it, it's there straight away, check my weekly, and then I go to the progress. And I made that error this morning. I'm one kilometre away from my next town, 1.8 kilometres away. So what are you doing talking to me? And they're funny. Oh, and I knew this last night. I knew I had 12.8K to go to get to my next town and I went out and did 11.2 this morning. So I'm exactly a mile away and I didn't put the shoes back on because I had a time commitment to get my son to work. So that mile is there. That'll get done.

00:36:49Tony O'Connell: So you're on the longest walk as your map that you're currently on?

00:36:54Travis Ireland: Yeah. So I did Run Down Under as my first map, obviously as one of the original members. And then my progression was then to do Run Down Under 2, the extended map. So I did that and I finished that New Year's Day this year, which was exactly 10 years to knock off both Australian maps. And I celebrated with a with a run on Run the World's 10th birthday. And then I had a day off on January the 2nd, and then January the 3rd, I started Run the Longest Walk. So it's 22,900 kilometres. It's the longest map by far. And I thought... I've got to get this one done while I'm still – and I'll put inverted commas – young compared to when I'm 15, 20 years down the track. I want to get this one knocked over while I'm still running. I'm running the furthest I've ever run before, so let's get this one done. That was the reasoning behind it. So just on that, I've actually got – on my wall mapped out every map when I'm going to do them. So I know what map's next. I know what map is last. And I know how old I'll be when I finish all the maps, provided everything goes to plan.

00:38:01Tony O'Connell: Oh, well, I'm not that level of spreadsheet yet, but you've given me a bit of inspiration for something to do tonight. Yeah.

00:38:07Travis Ireland: There you go. It's on my wall.

00:38:09Tony O'Connell: And one of the other things I love about Run the World, Travis, is you give a little bit back to the different clubs and support different running clubs and other clubs, parkrun adventurers, for example, you give us a little bit back, which helped us at the weekend. We've just had our Palm weekend. You actually... Paid for a little bit of the audio hire for the weekend. I really love that you're putting back into the community as well. I think that's a really great side of Run the World that probably doesn't get overly... explained or promoted?

00:38:41Travis Ireland: Yeah, thanks. I do appreciate that. And it's something that I introduced in 2015, so in the second year. And I just wanted to take a slightly different approach. I didn't want to necessarily nominate a charity as such. So I wanted to give back to all the clubs that are on my platform. And then the club can choose what they do. So a lot of clubs do choose to give it to charity. So I donate on their behalf. But then my goal is to help clubs with some uniforms, a teardrop flag. We've had marquees and tents and breakfasts for Christmas, whatever it may be. And I'm proud that I've almost donated over $100,000 in the nine years I've been doing it to 400 different clubs across the way. So last year was... 62 different clubs that qualified. The minimum is $100 and then up to my biggest club, which is Running Mums Australia, which get quite a few thousand dollars. And Nicole uses that in a variety of ways over the years from marquees to helping her with her business through to anything, pairs of shoes, giveaways for prizes and things. So I'm pretty proud of that. I like the concept of giving it to the clubs because they can then decide what they want to do with it.

00:39:57Tony O'Connell: And you also put a pretty reasonable amount back into parkrun through the T-shirt day and that that we hold every year and the number of people that have got parkrun Australia listed as their primary club.

00:40:11Travis Ireland: Yeah, yeah. I'm a big fan of parkrun. I think our values are so similar in what we do. Yeah. we can continue our relationship. And I've got a great relationship with not only the parkrun community, but the parkrun staff and the parkrun brand. I'm a big fan of it. It wasn't always that way though, TOC. It took me four years to like parkrun. I was one of the ones that, and I'm not afraid to tell this story, but I was a running director. So I had a fun run series here on the Gold Coast, that I ran since 1999. And it attracted at its peak up to a thousand runners would come out and do my fun run series back in the olden days. And then this concept called parkrun came along and I had a 5K at every one of my events. And that 5K would attract 400 people, maybe 500 people that would come along and pay their $20 and start a business. So I was making money out of them. And don't get me wrong, it was something that I was proud of. And then the next year, I wonder why my numbers were so bloody low and this thing called parkrun. Why would you come and run 5k with me and pay $20 when you can go and do it for free on a Saturday at different locations? So we had some stern words, me and parkrun at the start. And I remember going along. So my very first parkrun is 2011. And I went to see what this competitor was all about. And I was running with Tim Oberg at the time. I knew him and I knew what it was So we had a love-hate relationship as mates, but he took all my runners away from me. And in all seriousness, my fun run died as a result of it. Sorry, not completely parkrun, but at the same time, I was running an event that there was maybe three or four other events in southeast Queensland. And then fast forward to when parkrun came in, there was probably 100 different events. So there's a culmination of things. And my time was up. I'd become a bit stale anyway. So, yeah, we didn't have the greatest of starts, me and parkrun. And now it's the opposite. I'm a huge fan. I love the concept. I love what they do with the inclusivity and their values. So proud to be part of that. their community and proud to be a partner with them in a small way.

00:42:31Tony O'Connell: Travis, is there anything else you'd like to tell us about Run the World? Is there anything I've missed? Anything that jumps out and says, this is a story that needs to be told?

00:42:41Travis Ireland: Well, I guess just following on from that inclusivity and our common values, one thing I'm really proud of is the range of members that I have on my platform. So the beauty of Run the World is that all I capture is your distance. I don't care how fast you are. I don't care if you've run up mountains and you've done Everest. So if I've got someone that might be the very start of their running journey. And they're doing 5K on a Saturday at parkrun. And then I've got an ex-Olympian who's doing 5K at parkrun. They both upload their runs and they both get credited with five kilometres. And there's no difference between the two of them. Obviously, I have... the pointy end of the leaderboard with some amazing athletes at the top who do some ridiculous kilometres, and you're one of those, TOC, that are always at the pointy end. But if you go right down the bottom, there's those people that are doing – 10 kilometres a week, 15 kilometres a week. I get a lot of people that will send in a submission that says longest run and it's eight kilometres or first half marathon at the age of 60. Those type of things come in. The feedback I get from what it's done for people Starting out, there's obviously people in rural areas that feel like they're part of something, even though they're not an official club, they can jump on, check the leaderboard, see the competitions and be part of it wherever they are, however old they are, however fast they are. So that's something I'm... I'm really, really proud of with the app. And I love looking at both ends. So the top end of the scale and the best example is a highlight that I did this week. There's a guy called Emil Ingeslev, and excuse me if I've got his last name wrong, but he's based in Denmark. So he's one of my members from overseas. I've got about 700 overseas members, a lot from New Zealand, the UK. He's based in Denmark. He's always at the pointy end of the leaderboard. He came second in the Danish national championships on the weekend, and did 100 kilometres in seven hours something, 4.31 pace it was, to come second in the Nationals. And the next day went out and did his 836th consecutive half marathon. So seven and a half hours of running 100 kilometres, goes out the next day, does 22 kilometres to keep his half marathon streak alive. And he did that 22 kilometres at 5.07 pace. So that is something that – and the paces are only I know because I check his Strava. No one else would know his paces if you're just looking at Run the World. But I look at that. And at the same time, the next day I got an email from a lady who was in her 60s and had signed up for her first half marathon and did her first 10K. And both of those ends of the scale gave me equal enjoyment. as to a user. So I'm a massive user of Run the World. Obviously, I own it and I'm on it every day managing it. But like I said, with you, it's the first thing I do when I finish my run. I check where I am, how I'm going on the overall leaderboard. I go through the stats a lot. I use it every single day as an avid user. If I wasn't the owner, I would be one of the most intense users of it. I love it. So it keeps me motivated, not just as the owner, but also as a participant. And that's something I love.

00:45:40[background music]

00:46:12Tony O'Connell: Yeah. No, look, it's a great platform. I'm probably on it three or four times a day having a look. Look, Trevor, I think we might have to wrap it up there. We're running out of time. But one question, apart from Main Beach, which is your home run, you've done 37 different parkruns. Is there one that jumps out and says, this was an awesome event?

00:46:33Travis Ireland: I'm going to use – yes, I'm going to use my most recent because I'm – being on the Gold Coast and southeast Queensland, a lot of the ones I go to are 400 people, 300 people, all the same-ish. I did my 100th parkrun in Lancefield, which is about an hour north of Melbourne, and there was 14 people there. And – I think seven volunteers. And the respect I got, I talked to every single person there. So it's something unique. You can't talk to every single person when you go to one that has 450 people. I hung around for half an hour, did my 100th, had photos taken, which I don't normally do. And I didn't tell anyone who I was or nothing like that. I was just going along as a guy doing his 100th. And I wasn't going to say anything for my 100th. And they asked. I thought, I'll put my hand up. And it was pretty special. 14 of us ran. On any other day, I would have won it. But Phil Gore, who is the recent national, decided to turn up at the same time. And some guy from Melbourne who was doing a tourist run in a – Victorian singlet. So I had to settle for third, but it was great. I really enjoyed that parkrun for how small it was, how engaging it was. And those volunteers, they obviously know they're only going to get 10 or 12 people show up, but they were there. They were enthusiastic. It's not like it was a chore. It made me just realise that Yeah, it gave me a different insight into a different parkrun that was small. I've never seen one that small before, and I loved it. So Lancefield, might even get a few extra people out there. Oh, and it was three laps, which was tough on mine, but I did it. It was good.

00:48:24Tony O'Connell: It is a great little parkrun. All right, Travis, well, thank you very much for giving up so much of your time, adventurers out there if you're not on to run the world get onto it it is a great thing for keeping you motivated but most of the adventurers I spoke to up at palm on the weekend are already on run the world so yeah I think there's um a great community out there great, thanks, TOC, I appreciate the, uh, the time and um letting me talk about run the world thank you

00:48:45[background music]

00:49:01Oliver Spake: And thank you once again, very, very much to Travis and to TOC. Um, what a fantastic story, um, over that time. And, uh, you know, obviously also appreciate all of the support that, that Travis has provided, you know, not just parkrun, but the parkrun adventurers and, uh, Naturally, we would like to see some Adventurers Club references popping up, wouldn't we, Mel?

00:49:25Melissa Ellis: Oh, we would. I do think that perhaps Travis should because he is an adventuring, self-proclaimed adventurer.

00:49:31[crosstalk]

00:49:31Oliver Spake: Well, yes, absolutely, yes.

00:49:33Melissa Ellis: He needs to join the Adventurers Club. I did like his comment about heading out to Lancefield and being beaten by Phil Gore. That's a bit funny. And I also noted that at that very same parkrun that Travis attended, he said he came third and that there was a Victorian, so I did have to look up the results because our very own Gary Murphy often runs at Lancefield. So I looked it up, but sadly Gary wasn't there on that occasion. So he wasn't said Victorian who pipped Travis out. But eventually Greg Moore was there on that day. So out of 14, yeah, three known to us.

00:50:17Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:50:18Melissa Ellis: Not bad odds. And also we should mention that Travis did appear in the parkrun adventurers podcast in the early days. He appeared in episode 96. Yes.

00:50:28Oliver Spake: Go back and have a listen if you haven't already.

Dazza's

00:50:34Oliver Spake: Mel, I think it's time to head back to Dazza's then in this case. So look, given the week that it was, this week Dazza has said, on Thursday we commemorated the Anzac legacy. Today we walked, ran, volunteered or cheered at parkrun. How was your morning? And as the screams in the background in my household begin, beginning fittingly in New Zealand today, Across the Dutch, Pauline Taylor said, Russell and I volunteered as Tail Walkers at beautiful Queenstown parkrun with a dusting of snow on the mountains. And the photo there was Pauline and Russell in the selfie frame looking very happy and Pauline wearing her adventurers buff.

00:51:20Melissa Ellis: So they've already travelled those buffs. They've made it to New Zealand.

00:51:24Oliver Spake: Yes.

00:51:25Melissa Ellis: Now, we also heard from Mark Walls. Now, he was representing Kingsland this week and he said, had my first attempt at volunteering as pacer today at my home, Wynnum parkrun. Was aiming at 32.30, but came in seven seconds ahead with the palindrome of 32.23. Didn't share a photo, but well done, Mark.

00:51:49Oliver Spake: Absolutely. Now... In the ACT, Sherry Brandman said, a nice colourful frond at Goongarland parkrun to celebrate the Viking, aka Paul Whelan, achieving capitalist status, and Michelle Wheatley achieving 200 runs at 50 locations. Post-parkrun breakfast frond at Frankie's at Ford, the best French toast ever. And thank you, Sherry, for sharing the photo, the pic of the group, all in green with a sign saying capitalist.

00:52:22Melissa Ellis: Next up, we had Rex Gream representing New South Wales. And he said, at home at Armidale parkrun, where the one and only Brendan Peel came for a visit. After parkrun was done, headed off to the local cafe where we partook in a long and most enjoyable breakfast. Great to catch up with Brendan and safe travels back. And there was a photo of Brendan and Rex in the selfie frame there at Armidale. Now, in Tassie, Renata Koch.

00:52:51Oliver Spake: who said, my morning was absolutely perfect. 20-plus parkrun World Tourists participated in the Launceston parkrun and I joined the Peel Club. Making new friends and achieving goals is what it's all about. And the photo was of Renata in the selfie frame at Lonnie. Also noted, Team Pede was also at the first event in Tasmania on Saturday, as well as Michelle Fyfe, Linda Coffey, David Ryan and Helen Rubin.

00:53:19Melissa Ellis: Now, next up coming to us from the West Side is Andrew Yeatman, and he said, Maylands Peninsula parkrun with parkrun adventurers newbie Tanya Rochelle. Still coming for you, Oliver Spake. And Andrew shared a photo of himself running on course with Tanya wearing his adventurers shirt. Now, Ollie, are you aware of this challenge that you've got happening?

00:53:44Oliver Spake: I am aware of this challenge, yes, impressed he's on a mission Andrew yeah yeah he's gonna have the whole OWA signed up good luck Andrew it's it's what we need it's what we need absolutely I'll have to have a word back to my Shellharbourians But meanwhile, billow, groovy billow, Victoria said, they finally let me out on day release to do Coburg parkrun with the wonderful Jodie Maisie and photo shared of the Blue Stone entrance to Pentridge Prison.

00:54:24Melissa Ellis: Do you know the link there with the prison, Ollie?

00:54:29Oliver Spake: No.

00:54:30Melissa Ellis: No, okay.

00:54:31Oliver Spake: I feel like I do, but I'm not going to lie.

00:54:33Melissa Ellis: So Coburg parkrun is very, very close to the Pentridge Prison, the old Pentridge Prison in Coburg. Now, it's long since... been retired as a prison and it's been redeveloped into residential area but the original some of the original bluestone walls still exist plus one of the old cell blocks they do ghost tours I've actually been to a ghost tour there at pentridge so yeah really cool beautiful looking building so thanks for sharing that below and it is quite close Also, Coburg parkrun, best time of year to go, autumn. It's absolutely gorgeous in autumn. We have beautiful autumn colours down here.

00:55:12[crosstalk]

00:55:13Oliver Spake: Oh, I do like the autumn colours, yes.

00:55:17Melissa Ellis: Now, me next. Okay, Anne Fry. Now, we didn't have a South Australian representative location in Dazza's this week. But Anne Fry is our travelling South Australian, so that was close enough for me. She said, Wimmera River parkrun Horsham, Victoria, was my third state in three weeks. Nepean River, New South Wales, last week, and RD duties at Anstey Hills, South Australia, the week before. And she had three of those little emojis with the little kisses all over their faces. I don't know what they're called. Anyway, she shared a photo of herself in the selfie frame with her bark runner.

00:55:51Oliver Spake: Now. Over in the UK, Adrian Homburg said, made it to parkrun Mecca. Bushy Park parkrun bucket list item ticked off. Fabulous run among 1,590 others. And the photo of Adrian and friends with the bushy, the one and only bushy pop-up sign.

00:56:14Melissa Ellis: I looked at that photo and I recognised those running shirts. I don't know if Adrian was one of the ones in those running shirts, but I'm pretty sure it's a Victorian running club. So I don't know if he just found some fellow Australians when he was over there. I guess that's still people there for the London Marathon, do you think?

00:56:31Oliver Spake: I would suggest so. Well, I hazard a guess anyway. Yeah.

00:56:36Melissa Ellis: Anyway, good work. Good stuff. Now, we also heard from Heather Morgan. She was also in the UK and she said, first parkrun of my six-month trip went to Ifield, Ilfield. Is it I-R-I-L-L? Ifield, I think. Ifield Mill Pond parkrun and bumped into a random Aussie who just happens to know the Office Lady. parkrun really is a small world. There was a selfie of Heather with the Office Lady's friend.

00:57:04Oliver Spake: Yeah, I love this small world we have. Yeah. Meanwhile, also in the UK, Andrea Booth said, ''My first international parkrun exceeded expectations.'' Running the Curly Whirly at Somerdale Pavilion parkrun to the Benny Hill theme music was so joyful. Chats with friendly locals and UK tourist parkrunners made it even better. And yeah, the photo there included a Curly Whirly chocolate bar behind the Somerdale Pavilion pop-up.

00:57:39Melissa Ellis: Next, we had Sunil Chimund coming to us from the UK. Sorry, Sunil, if I mucked up your surname. He said, And in brackets, Wayne Manor in the film The Dark Knight Rises with a friend from Australia who is heading back next week to his regular parkrun at the entrance. You can see the British cold weather has got to him. That was a great photo of Sunil and his Aussie friend looking a bit cold with the amazing manor in the distance. And I did check the results for that parkrun at Wollaton Hall. Sunil, you've got to sign up your Aussie mate. He's not an adventurer. Wow. And he's at one of our The The events too.

00:58:30Oliver Spake: That's right. The The Club at The Entrance. And meanwhile, in South Africa, we did see Jake Dubit popping into Dazza's with a comment, and sharing the photo of the parkrun flag beside what looks like a cornfield with the South African flag there. So, thank you for visiting, Jake. And thank you, everyone, for visiting Dazza's. There are a lot of achievements in there, Mel. And I don't think we said thank you, congratulations, and well done to everyone.

the Obi Award — Sunil Chimund

00:59:06Oliver Spake: But I suppose, you know, fitting is we hold the congratulations to the winner of the Obi. So, I have, despite me having cleaned up the desk a bit, I have the Obilope.

00:59:22Melissa Ellis: Wait a minute. I've got to get the camera. Okay. I just realised I didn't post last week's photo. Okay, smile, Ollie. Okay. And now the winner. I've got to get the... Okay, you say it first.

00:59:34Oliver Spake: Okay. And the winner of this week's Obi. Sunil.

00:59:35[background music]

00:59:47Melissa Ellis: Well done. Hooray. And that's just because I thought that was rather amazing, that photo of Wayne Manor.

00:59:56Oliver Spake: Yeah, it looks cool.

00:59:57Melissa Ellis: If only we could have had Rachel give us some Batman-themed jokes.

01:00:03Oliver Spake: I'm sure there's an opportunity there.

01:00:05Melissa Ellis: But there was many, many more people in Dazza's. I could have kept going adding more this week, Ollie. We have more than usual this week because there was so much content and a lot of it was those world tourists all over the place.

01:00:15[background music]

Club Corner

01:00:17Melissa Ellis: Yes. Now, speaking of Rachel, it's time for us to have a listen to Club Corner.

01:00:22[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

01:00:36Rachel: This is Rachel with Club Corner, where we talk about the what and why of parkrun clubs, and I am coming to you from Arrernte Country. Again, your friendly reminder that challenges existed way, way, way, way, way before the various apps which some people use to track clubs and challenges, and the apps are not the sole arbiter of what is, or is not, a challenge. Today I'm going to talk about some more niche parkrun fun, starting with beaches. No, not the beaches, that sole entry in the 5k on sand club from Oz, rather, the beach club, where the event name includes the beach word. This club has entries from all states in Australia, but no territories. Queensland, aka Kingsland from Mel, aka the greatest state, question mark. Has five entries, with Airlie, Broadbeach Waters, Elliott Heads, Golden, Main, and Mudjimba. New South Wales has, The, and McLean. Victoria has a solo entry of Altona. Equal with Tasmania with O'Connors. SA has three. With Aldinga, Christies and West Beaches and WA rounds out the list of 15 events in Oz with South Beach Recreation Reserve and Town Beach. If you do all of the beach events then you can proclaim yourself to be a, beach bum. Oh yes, I forgot to mention last week that if you complete all of the reserve parkruns, you can call yourself a bench warmer. And to prove that clouds can be anything, we have the challenge to become a Gilligan. And yes, this has everything to do with islands, obviously, but this time it's about some geography and some names. It's about an event being on an island or being named an island. So to become a Gilligan, you need to be someone who has done all events in Tasmania, which is an island, plus the events with Island in their name, plus S.S. Koopa Trail parkrun which is on Bribie Island in Queensland. The named islands are Hamilton, Kangaroo and Phillip Islands. There is a cool double island quirk to this club, with Whitemark Wharf being on Flinders Island, which is an island within the island state, a double island. Do you have some favourite clubs or challenges that are not on the apps that you chase? Drop Mel and co-align with your thoughts, it won't stop me, but it might break up the monotony, winky face. And remember, in parkrun life, all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun, so stay tuned for our future club corners.

01:02:51Oliver Spake: And thank you very much, Rachel. I like the sound of being a beach bum.

01:02:58Melissa Ellis: Next year's palm theme.

01:03:01Oliver Spake: Oh, no. Oh, dear. Okay, moving swiftly along. Mel, how... Oh, no, hang on.

Consolidated Club Report

01:03:07Oliver Spake: The Consolidated Club Report. Do we have some data?

01:03:13Melissa Ellis: Yes. So I have actually managed to, with the help of a lovely friend, get the Consolidated Club Report into a manner in which I can report the stats. So the adventurers Consolidated Club Report for Saturday, the 27th of April 2024, of a total of 621 members, 480 took part on this date in 11 countries across 259 locations. In the UK, there were adventures at 50 events. There were four in South Africa, two in Poland, and one each in Singapore, USA, Ireland, Finland, Canada, and Japan. Locally, we had adventures at 51 events in New South Wales, 48 events in the Great Estate, 41 events in... There were 16 on the West Side, 15 in South Australia... nine in Tassie, seven in the ACT, six on the North Island, three on the South Island, and one in the Northern Tree.

01:04:22Oliver Spake: Excellent.

the Frond

01:04:23Oliver Spake: Now, internationally, we had five at Jablonna, and I apologise because I am sure I have got that pronunciation wrong in Poland. But that included Helen and Andy Rutter, Adrian Lescombe, Christine Imbert and Dawn Branton.

01:04:42Melissa Ellis: over there in Poland.

01:04:43Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah, how about that? And that was indeed another World Tourist Meetup. That was one of the World Tourist references you mentioned in Dazza's there, Mel, and that was Adrian, I think, who did say, a brilliant trip to Poland from the UK for the World Tourists Group European Meetup. Fantastic to meet friends, old and new, at the super friendly place Jablonna. And a photo there with Christine.

01:05:12Melissa Ellis: I reckon that J would be pronounced with a Y. I think so.

01:05:16[crosstalk]

01:05:16Oliver Spake: Jablonna. I think so. Jablonna. Yeah.

01:05:19Melissa Ellis: Hey, and apparently, Bec told me I got my New Zealand pronunciation right last week. Oh, well done. So it was nice to have a bit of positive feedback for a change.

01:05:29Oliver Spake: That's right. Thank you, Bec. That's right. Now, moving along. In the UK, we also had a frond of four. Alice Holt. Stuart and Morgan Smith, sorry, at Alice Holt, I should say, including Stuart and Morgan Smith, William Burton and Nicola Stott.

01:05:48Melissa Ellis: That would have been five, but where was Tamsin? Maybe she was volunteering.

01:05:52Oliver Spake: Yeah, which we don't get the stats for. But Mel, the largest frond wasn't Shellharbour.

01:05:59Melissa Ellis: No. Is somebody challenging you to how many times you can drop that word in?

01:06:06Unidentified speaker: No.

01:06:06Melissa Ellis: Okay. Alrighty. So there was a few big fronds around the country. There was 11 at Jeune Park, in Kingsland. There was nine at Capistone, I said it again, Capestone Lake, and there was eight at the Ponds. But I'm going to read out the ones for Capestone Lake. It was event seven there, and we had Ryan Stoddart, Jill Gardiner, Barbara and Roger Luther, Lisa Ackerson, Warren Williams, Linda Coombes, Sheridan Davis, and Michaela Reese. Now, Linda Coombes visited Dazza's and she shared a photo with some of the girls in the selfie frame there and special mention to Em Nico, who was not in the results but can be seen in that photo in a red volley vest. And also Ryan Stoddart came to Dazza's. And he said, my birthday weekend did my 500th parkrun and almost regained my Queensland statesman. But alas, Jeune Park parkrun in Beaudesert launched today. I bet you can guess where I'll be next week. Ryan shared a lovely collage of photos from his morning. So happy birthday to Ryan. Congratulations on achieving your 500th parkrun. Yep.

01:07:18Oliver Spake: Massive.

01:07:19Melissa Ellis: And I hope it was a really good morning for you. I did notice that Jill Gardiner, she was there too. One of those photos was of Ryan and I would imagine it was Jill who has already achieved her 500th in matching blue 500 merchandise. So, yeah, well done.

01:07:39Oliver Spake: A great achievement. And, yeah, thank you again, everyone, for popping in and fronting around and keeping the fun going. But remember, of course, everyone, you can add the Adventurers Club, if you haven't already, as one of your five affiliations on your parkrun profile.

01:07:57Melissa Ellis: And we're growing, Ollie, like we are well up over 600 members now. I had a little look trying to see if I could see where we were sitting or if we were indeed appearing on a list of, you know where I'm going, you've got a big grin, a list of largest clubs. There used to be a global list.

01:08:17Oliver Spake: But we know we have a fantastic community.

01:08:22Melissa Ellis: We don't appear on the Australian list. The Australian list does still exist. Okay. But because we're a global club, we don't appear on it.

01:08:29Oliver Spake: Yeah.

01:08:29Melissa Ellis: Never mind.

Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"

01:08:32Melissa Ellis: But coming up, what is next? Launches.

01:08:37Oliver Spake: Yes. parkrun's growing too.

01:08:39Melissa Ellis: It is. They're coming thick and fast, Ollie.

01:08:42Oliver Spake: Yes. Wow. I'm looking at these. All right. Well, firstly, upping the April launch total to 50%. 14. So three launches. That's huge. Jeune Park, as you said, Mel, why don't I just read all of them? Then I can really have a go at pronunciation.

01:09:00Melissa Ellis: I'm not going to say no.

01:09:02Oliver Spake: Jeune Park is located in Beaudesert in Queensland, south of Brisbane and west of the Gold Coast. event attended by 181 finishers including 28 first-timers and supported by 20 amazing volunteers. Jeune Park is described as two laps anti-clockwise following the edge of the park initially running south towards Spring Creek Estate veering left at the end of the park then beside Spring Creek before running along the fence of Lyons Bicentennial to the start line and continuing for another lap.

01:09:39Travis Ireland: Also, over in the UK, cycle route 43.

01:09:44Oliver Spake: Look, my Welsh is not great, so can I just...

01:09:49Melissa Ellis: Did you say it was in Wales?

01:09:51Oliver Spake: Yeah, in Wales. I apologise. I would have liked to have researched that and gotten it right, but I failed. But, yes, Wales plays host to the UK's new event, a flat out-and-back course following a section of Route 43 cycleway. This event was attended by 210 finishers with first-timers and 26 volunteers. The event... It has caused a ripple of disappointment with naming conventions, as many thought it should have been a why event. And the why is the reference to the word I didn't say. It began with why. Ystalyfera is what I'm going to say, but I know that's not right. And to top it off, our third new event from Poland. And I will read the English translation, which says the route is two laps with a 400 metre run and return. The route leads along the forest paths of the city forest in Brdnicka. And the total length of the route is five kilometres. The route profile is not demanding, but there are two small hills on the route. In some places, the route narrows. The start and finish are in the same place near the parking lot. Week one saw 130 finishes supported by a team of 10 amazing volunteers.

01:11:23Melissa Ellis: Wonderful, and thank you to the magic elves that came in and populated all that for us.

01:11:30Oliver Spake: Absolutely. I'm not sure if it was you, Ollie. It wasn't me. No, it certainly wasn't me.

01:11:35Melissa Ellis: So that's it.

01:11:36Oliver Spake: Thank you, Tame.

01:11:37Melissa Ellis: Thank you.

01:11:38Oliver Spake: Yes. Looking forward, Mel.

01:11:42Melissa Ellis: We didn't prep for this bit.

01:11:44Oliver Spake: No.

01:11:45Melissa Ellis: What's coming up? Is it April? Mother's Day?

01:11:47[crosstalk]

01:11:49Oliver Spake: It's coming into May. So yes, it is approaching Mother's Day. It's a couple of weeks to Mother's Day, I believe. Yeah, it's approaching that sort of time. I know there are plenty of celebrations coming up and plenty of events going. The running events continue, but I'm struggling to think of any

01:12:12Melissa Ellis: parkrun related updates hey I've got a question and maybe news are you doing city to surf this year I am oh I've registered

01:12:20Oliver Spake: Excellent. Did you join the Adventurers Club? No. So I did jump in, and if anyone is signing up for City to Surf or The Punish, they can jump in and add the adventurers as their group or club.

01:12:35Melissa Ellis: That's great. Good job, Ollie. Thank you for doing that for us.

01:12:38Oliver Spake: I don't know if I did The Punish, but it's there. But I did do it for City to Surf, yeah.

01:12:45Melissa Ellis: Can I tell you why I'm not going to run as an adventurer?

01:12:49Oliver Spake: Why, Mel?

01:12:51Melissa Ellis: Because I'm representing defence. Excellent. So I'm a little bit excited about that. I've got permission to run under the banner of the ADF for City to Surf. So that's a first for me.

01:13:05Travis Ireland: Last year I was Wonder Woman.

01:13:07Oliver Spake: Yep.

01:13:07Melissa Ellis: This year.

01:13:08Oliver Spake: Wonder Woman.

01:13:09Melissa Ellis: Different. Same, same, but different. So I'm very excited. Very exciting. Very excited. So, yeah, I can always look back on my city to surfs year to year and go, oh, yeah, that's the year I wore a purple tutu. Or that's the year I ran in my Collingwood jumper. So, yeah, this year will be my military year.

01:13:13[crosstalk]

01:13:20[background music]

Sign-off

01:13:32Oliver Spake: Yeah. Excellent. Excellent. Well, yeah, some things to look forward to there for sure. What about parkrun day, Mel? Have you got plans? I did hear you mention some itchy feet. What's happening?

01:13:45Melissa Ellis: Oh, yes. So I have got a flight to Tassie. I'm going to fly into – Nipaluna Hobart and with my travel buddies Martine and Andrew and no doubt Eric and um where are we going to go I think we're going to visit the Warwick's and we might be going to is it Bell Park, ah yes, okay, Bells Parade, Bells Parade, yes so I'm told I'll just go where I'm taken absolutely

01:14:20Oliver Spake: Absolutely. Ah, right.

01:14:21Melissa Ellis: Tassie's still a whole frontier for me. I've got plenty of events that I haven't yet completed. So happy to go where I'm taken.

01:14:30Oliver Spake: Yeah, yeah.

01:14:32Melissa Ellis: And what about yourself, Oliver?

01:14:33Oliver Spake: Well, Tassie is also a frontier for me. But sadly, I think I'm actually going to miss out on parkrun Day. Oh. So, yeah. Everybody, oh. No, I don't know how to give the short version of the story, but my father has bought a yacht. He's getting used to it, and it happens to be in a different place. So I don't know how to say all that's future Ollie's problems, but myself and my brothers and one of my sisters.

01:14:48[crosstalk]

01:15:12Melissa Ellis: I've got my boat license.

01:15:14Oliver Spake: Do that now. We – We might actually be closer than you think, Mel. So on Friday night, I'll be flying into Nipaluna and, yeah.

01:15:27Melissa Ellis: You're going to sail over Bass Strait? No way.

01:15:31Oliver Spake: No, no, no, no, no. I'm flying into Hobart. The yacht is already there just to help him get the hang of it before he sails it back across Bass Strait in a couple of weeks. Oh, my God. I'm not coming on that. Apparently, Mo is, though. So, yeah, good luck. In case people can't tell, there's a tone of nervousness in my voice. We'll bring you updates. Stay tuned for the next blue moon.

01:15:52[crosstalk]

01:15:58Melissa Ellis: Can you please post in Dazza's? I need to know.

01:16:02Oliver Spake: So, Mel, I'll be sleeping on a yacht somewhere in the water in Nipaluna. If I get any say in the matter, I'm hoping to make a parkrun, but I've been told very clearly I get no say and I'm needed to be, I guess, literally on deck. Swabbing the decks. Yeah.

01:16:21Melissa Ellis: Hoisting the mainsails.

01:16:25Oliver Spake: Oh, that's hilarious. Goodness me. But, yeah, we'll be in the same place. We will. I'll look out for you at the terminal, Mel.

01:16:31Melissa Ellis: Yeah, right. Okay. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. Well, thank you for joining me again. It was great to catch up.

01:16:41Oliver Spake: Thanks for having me.

01:16:42Melissa Ellis: And here your beloved parkrun mentioned multiple times again. I'm going to find another sound effect. I've really been lacking in sound effects lately. I think we might have to do a tally of how many times you can drop it in. I have to vary it.

01:17:01Oliver Spake: So Wanwan. Wanwan is the local language word for Shellharbour. Oh, okay. So we'll have to vary it up a little bit. Right.

01:17:06[crosstalk]

01:17:09Melissa Ellis: Oh, good on you for knowing that. But anyway, safe travels and fair seas. Yes.

01:17:19Oliver Spake: We'll be in the channel and the derwent. But nonetheless, and to you, Mel, and to everyone, safe travels.

01:17:26Melissa Ellis: And as always, you can contact us via parkrun adventurers on Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. That's it for another week. We'll see you all next week for more adventures.

01:17:30[outro theme playing]

01:18:34Unidentified speaker: Bye.