Episode 384 - Indeed

00:00:00[intro theme playing]

Welcome

00:00:23Simon Mackley: Welcome to episode 384 of the parkrun adventurers podcast, a podcast about life if your life is all about parkrun. I'm Simon Mackley and I'm coming to you from Quandamooka Country.

00:00:34Melissa Ellis: And I'm Melissa Ellis coming to you from Wurundjeri Country. Welcome back, Simon.

Level 2 with a View

00:00:40Melissa Ellis: Thank you, Mel. Welcome back to level two. Level two with a view. It's chilly out there. It's been a very busy office space. comings and goings.

00:00:52Simon Mackley: Indeed there has been. Indeed.

00:00:55Melissa Ellis: Did you know last episode that I recorded with you, did you hear the little sound effects I put in every time you said indeed?

00:01:04Simon Mackley: Do you know that you missed two?

00:01:06Melissa Ellis: No, I didn't. Damn it. Somebody said to me, what are the sound effects for? I was like, that's when Simon says indeed, editing this out no but anyway the busy goings on in level two uh we probably should mention that there's been a shift and as people are probably aware from the socials uh The Office Lady has bid adieu she has Which would explain why the Comfy Chair's out for hard rubbish this week.

00:01:52Simon Mackley: Exactly. There's a lot out on hard rubbish. I know. She must have had a lot in that desk.

00:01:58Melissa Ellis: I hope she packed her texters and her highlighters. And dictionary. And dictionary. There's online versions of those, Simon.

00:02:10Simon Mackley: There are.

00:02:11Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:02:12Simon Mackley: And I bet she doesn't use Grammarly either.

00:02:15Melissa Ellis: Who is going to get cranky about all my made up words?

00:02:20Simon Mackley: Only time will tell. Let's see if the equal opportunity employer, employee, sorry, keeps that mantle going. Who knows what the Office Lady has said to that person?

00:02:32Melissa Ellis: Yeah, well, so firstly, we want to again publicly thank Sam Schroder for all the effort she's put in over the last couple of years. Like the tasks she does behind the scenes range from spell and grammar checks on our published posts that are never right. I have a problem with commas. I'm not even sure if it's too many or too little. I don't even remember. She has been behind our shirts. She orchestrated our adventurers tops with the help of her son, Julian, who did the design. She has been the mediator with our supplier of the shirts and handled all the sales and all the inquiries and all that sort of thing and the buffs as well.

00:03:17Simon Mackley: And the buffs, yep.

00:03:17Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so she does all that. She schedules all the social media posts for us. well not all of them most of them and uh generally very supportive behind the scenes as well when we uh have got issues to work through exactly takes a lot of the load off you yes we are going to sorely miss her but we can now announce that there is a replacement there is there is a replacement there's a new stand-up desk In the corner of the office. So we can now announce that our equal opportunity employee is... Mr Dave Bravos from the West Side. Yay! Welcome, Dave. Now we are represented north, south and west.

00:03:50[background music]

00:04:10Simon Mackley: Yes.

00:04:11Melissa Ellis: We're sort of north and south, also east.

00:04:15Simon Mackley: Yeah, I was going to say I'm close to east.

00:04:18Melissa Ellis: Yes. So we're very excited with Dave coming on board and hopefully he's not yet aware what he's in for.

00:04:29Simon Mackley: Don't worry, he's a couple of hours behind. Yes.

00:04:35Melissa Ellis: Anyway, that's enough about that. We missed you for a week, Simon, when you were off to Meadowbrook. Apparently I said it wrong. I get my brooks and my banks mixed up.

00:04:47Simon Mackley: You said Meadowbrook a couple of times and then just at the end you said Meadowbank twice. I know what I was thinking. Well, there's a Meadowbank in Sydney as well. So maybe you've heard that before.

00:04:59Melissa Ellis: Queensland and New South Wales just like to confuse me. They're just like one great big land mass and I really struggle with where anything is. Sure. Okay.

00:05:13Simon Mackley: Let's run with that.

00:05:17Melissa Ellis: Well, tell us about Meadowbrook.

00:05:19Simon Mackley: So Meadowbrook, yeah, it was a lovely morning. It was freezing cold for Queensland though. It took me about four Ks for my feet to actually, sorry, for me to feel my feet. It was so numb. But yeah, like it's all on path. Sorry, what were you going to say? You saw the expression on my face. I did, yes.

00:05:41Melissa Ellis: You were saying it was cold in Queensland.

00:05:44Simon Mackley: It was cold. When I got out of the car, it was 14 degrees. Okay. Yeah, at seven o'clock in the morning. The sun really hadn't, like the sun had probably only been up for half an hour. I don't know. I left in the dark. Anyway, yeah, so it's, yeah, it's a, A very encouraging community. There's one guy there that is yelling out to everybody, trying to encourage them to get across the line quicker and that sort of thing. And I actually remember him from my previous time at Meadowbrook. He actually had one of those sprayer, like pump sprayer things. And this was on a New Year's Day. It was stinking hot. So totally the opposite to this second time I've been there. And as people were running past, he was spraying down their backs to cool them down. So you do two laps on the course. It goes sort of into a little forest and then around a little lake over, I think, two little wooden bridges. And then you end up probably 100, maybe 150 metres running on grass, which was very dewy and wet and all that sort of thing. But yeah, as you... alluded to two weeks ago it's one we don't um very often hear from that's right yeah yeah so is it a suburban event or is it like where's it geographically placed okay so it is I'm going to say west of Logan River if you know where that is so Logan River is on okay so let's say it is south southwest of Brisbane city So for me, it was about a 35 minute drive from the city. It's probably 45 minute drive. It's just off one of the major freeways. I say just off, it's probably a five minute drive away from the freeway, but it's the freeway that goes heading towards Brisbane from the Gold Coast and then goes west out to Ipswich, but it's nowhere near Ipswich.

00:07:50Melissa Ellis: Okay.

00:07:50Simon Mackley: Yeah, so let's say south-southwest of Brisbane City. Maybe it's directly south, I don't know, but yeah. All right, Mel, where did you go to this Saturday just gone?

00:08:01Melissa Ellis: Well, I joined fellow adventurers Andrew and Martine for an overnight adventure to Risdon Brook parkrun in Nipaluna, Hobart. It was event 450 at Risdon Brook, which takes place at the Risdon Brook Dam, about a 15-minute drive north from the Hobart CBD. The dam also provides much of southern Tasmania's drinking water and is set amongst dense bushland and is a popular recreational area. Due to being a water catchment area, dogs are not permitted, but the park also includes a 4.5km gravel track, public toilets, playground and dedicated fishing bays. So pack your fishing rods, guys! There were 42 participants on the morning which was cool but not the sub-zero icy conditions I was fearing. Sounds like it was a little bit warmer than Meadowbrook. The course starts below the main car park and follows the dam in an anti-clockwise direction for an out and back. Take your trail shoes and expect hills. There are some very pretty views along the way so stop for some photos if you're not racing the stopwatch. I was happy with my first run post-COVID, pushing myself to maintain momentum uphill and finishing only a couple of minutes later than I would have on the flat. Afterwards, we headed to Urban Kitchen and Grills in Lindisfarne for a very nice brunch, followed by visits to the Salamanca Market, which is a must-do whenever visiting Hobart, and the Kangaroo Bluff Fort Historic Site for a little local military history. And that's it. Short and sharp this week.

00:09:39Simon Mackley: So Risdon Brook is the former Hobart parkrun, right?

00:09:43Melissa Ellis: That is correct.

00:09:45Simon Mackley: So people may have got their H that way.

00:09:47Melissa Ellis: Yeah, so it was on my list to do because it is a successor event. And I've been on a mission to complete all the pioneer and successor events in Australia.

00:10:01Simon Mackley: Sure.

00:10:03Melissa Ellis: And so that gives me both Launceston and Risdon Brook slash Hobart.

00:10:09Simon Mackley: How many have you got to go now?

00:10:10Melissa Ellis: Only two successes. And I've sort of got the challenge rolled into one in my 5K app. Okay. Pioneers and successes. So I need to get back over to WA and do Rockingham. Rockhampton. Oh, I can't remember. Rockingham. Okay. And I need to get up to Darwin to do Nightcliff.

00:10:24[crosstalk]

00:10:31Simon Mackley: Okay, right.

00:10:32Melissa Ellis: Would that be, would it be Nightcliff? Yeah, yeah.

00:10:35Simon Mackley: Nightcliff, yeah. Yeah. Well, sorry, there is a Nightcliff up there, Nightcliff parkrun. If that's the second one, then yes, that's what you're talking about.

00:10:43Melissa Ellis: I believe it is. Yeah. So, yeah, it was a quick trip, but it wasn't as cold in Tassie as... I thought we had some really light rain, but certainly nothing like what I had a few weeks back in Sydney. So, yeah, it was quite pleasant. Nice trip. Nice company.

00:11:06Simon Mackley: Excellent.

00:11:07Melissa Ellis: But what about yourself? So, you've got another week to recap with us. So, that's the week just gone.

00:11:12Simon Mackley: Yep. So, I headed out to Greenbank for the first time. That's on the lands of the Yuggrable and Budgelong country. It was their event 267. with 67 runners and 10 volunteers. The course is entirely on concrete paths, except for about a 10 metre grass finish shoot. It's a two lap course around the perimeter of Spring Mountain Reserve, following the lagoon and the tree line. There's two parts of it that you've got people coming back at you in the opposite direction, but with such a small field, it was easy to pass either on the path or on the grass, there was a mobile coffee truck there at the start finish I didn't hang around as I had to get back for soccer but it was a very friendly community out there at Spring Mountain or Greenbank there weren't many tourists or they didn't put up their hand but massive shout out to the RD on the day whose name unfortunately I missed she read the entire run brief rhyming it in the whole way like sponsors the entire thing I was like what is going on she was just phenomenal um yeah it was very very impressive but um yeah that was it was a nice morning out there but I did feel like I like once I came off the freeway I was like oh my gosh this I'm going out in the country I thought I was going to get lost but up it popped how long did it take you to get there it was 45 no probably 50 minutes thereabouts okay so yeah it was like probably 18 or 19 minutes off the freeway so like I was flying out there but then it was quite a way off the freeway and a new event for you new event for me so that actually takes me to 98 events so I'll be celebrating cow and then the next time I do a new event I'll be celebrating an Australian cow because I've only done one event overseas.

00:13:19Melissa Ellis: Don't forget when you're on 99 you've got to get one of those ice creams. With the flake? Yeah. 99's the flake.

00:13:26Simon Mackley: Or I could take 99 Luftballon. Oh, well. Someone's going to sing. Well, you could maybe, but... I'm not going to.

00:13:40Melissa Ellis: Well, that's great. Excellent. Very close to a celebration. That's always fun. Yes, not far off. And do you have the date all planned out? People tend to have these things scheduled and organised. No. No. It's just going to happen organically.

00:13:55Simon Mackley: Yeah, it definitely won't be in the next two weeks. So... It will be soon. I have absolutely no plan yet. I think when I get to 99, I'll then decide where my cow and then my Australian cow will be.

00:14:09Melissa Ellis: Isn't that dragging it out?

00:14:12Simon Mackley: Yeah, I got told by someone, oh, you have to celebrate both of them. I'm like, yeah, I'm going to celebrate the Cowell and that's it. Do you though? For my 50, I went to

00:14:21Melissa Ellis: cow pasture Camden so that I had my cow at cow pasture that was all planned out but yeah for 100 I don't know what I'm going to do I'll have a little bit more of a talk about that event later on I think sure now one thing I wanted to bring up was in response to the discussion token I had last week about comrades and I posed the question about was it an up year yep because yep numbers at North Beach were down. So I, in my brain, that maybe indicated a different start point to make. Anyway, Val Warwick posted on our episode post and said, thanks for another great pod. By the way, it was an up year for Comrades. One of our Devonport friends ran it again this year. So that's great to know it was an up year. But I don't actually know if that up year one is the one that's near North Beach or not. So we still need clarification.

00:15:25Simon Mackley: I don't either.

00:15:27Melissa Ellis: Who do we know that's done multiple Comrade?

00:15:30Simon Mackley: The country manager of South Africa? Who else? Yes. Let's ask Bruce.

00:15:37Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Yeah. Bruce Fordyce can tell us that. No, I actually know an adventurer who has done Comrades eight times.

00:15:46Simon Mackley: Oh, wow.

00:15:47Melissa Ellis: Okay. Yes. So let's see if I can find out. That's my little bit of homework. I think I had homework last week. I've forgotten what it was. Never mind. Anyway, that's a nice, short, sharp intro for us.

00:15:55[background music]

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:16:00Melissa Ellis: Time for us now to throw to this week's roving reports.

00:16:05Unidentified speaker: Music

Roving report Janet Reid — Anstey Hill Recreation parkrun

00:16:12Janet Reid: Good morning, parkrun adventurers. Janet here, coming to you from a chilly South Australia at Anstey Hill parkrun, home to the famous or infamous Torture Hill. I'm relieved to say that as I volunteered today, I was spared the agony of Torture Hill.

Talking to Kate Corner — South Australia Regional Ambassador; former Event Director and Event Ambassador; Team…

00:16:26Janet Reid: I'm here this morning with South Australia Regional Ambassador and my very good friend, Kate Corner. You've had a rough week this, Kate, so how are you feeling?

00:16:35Kate Corner: I'm not quite 100%, but certainly feeling better today than I was earlier in the week. Yes, with most other members of my household coming down with COVID, I think I've managed to escape with just a bit of a head cold, so I consider myself lucky.

00:16:47Janet Reid: Yes, indeed. So, Kate, tell us a little bit about your parkrun journey, where it all began, the roles that you've covered leading up to becoming our regional ambassador, and also your time with our much-loved Thorndon Junior parkrun.

00:17:02Kate Corner: I started parkrun, or did my first parkruns back in 2013 when it was quite new to South Australia. I think it was event seven or eight or so at Torrens, and at the time it was a bit of fun but I was doing a lot of long distance training and Saturday mornings were my long run mornings and parkrun just didn't really fit into that so I was pretty sporadic for those first couple of years and it wasn't until I became pregnant in 2015 and was looking to change up my running program that parkrun really sort of just fit that bill of the shorter distance and the much more casual pace and yeah that's when I really sort of fell in love with parkrun and it became my regular Saturday morning routine and really I guess from there it became very much a family thing, event for me too so it's something my son and I do together every week and have done obviously since in utero and certainly since he was a baby and right through to now as a big 8 year old that keeps me on my toes literally and as a quick little insert there your lovely son Lachlan how many times has he completed parkrun Oh, I think he's up to about 70 or so 5k events and about 80 junior events. But what he's really proud of is his volunteering record. So I think today was his 92nd volunteering at parkrun. That is amazing. Just remind us of his age again, please, Kate.

00:18:25Janet Reid: He's eight. That is outstanding. It really, really is. So what roles have you played in parkrun?

00:18:32Kate Corner: Well started out just going sort of working my way through the you know the regular volunteer roster and certainly discovered the ones that were easy to do with a with a baby and a toddler early on but I quickly decided that I do like to tell people what to do and I do like to be in charge so run directing suited me very well and I managed to do that with a baby and a toddler pretty well as I'm often reminded of stories of me mid run brief you know feeding porridge into my son's mouth while also reminding runners to stick left and keep their children with arms lengthen my other favourite is the the hollering from the the sandpit on the first tee mama look at me But yeah, so Run Director and then from there it was a relatively easy step into Event Director and I was fortunate enough to launch one of our larger events in South Australia with another good friend. And at around the same time I also stepped into the EA role. So I think I was in EA for about four or five years and then our previous regional ambassador was looking for a change and when Greta stepped away I stepped into the role.

00:19:46Janet Reid: There we go. And what have you enjoyed so far? What have the highlights been about your regional ambassador role?

00:19:53Kate Corner: Well, now I actually get to officially tell all you EAs what to do rather than just informally remind you. It's been a lot of fun. It's just different types of challenges than just being an EA. Definitely less sort of hands-on with the events, but yeah, a different set of challenges with, I guess, just helping head office manage all of the messaging and make sure that flows down through the various different levels of of our volunteers.

00:20:22Janet Reid: So effectively, you're a conduit between head office and the event ambassador team for our particular state, right?

00:20:29Kate Corner: Yeah, correct.

00:20:30Janet Reid: Good. Crazy road trips.

00:20:33Kate Corner: Tell us about some of your crazy road trips. Well, thankfully, I've met people like yourself who think it's perfectly normal to drive for eight hours on a Friday so that you can then run for 30 minutes on a Saturday. So, yeah, we've had some pretty good adventures. We have. Yeah. I think it started with Broken Hill. I think that was probably the first of our big road trips where we managed to rope in a bunch of other parkrun tourist friends from other parts of the country and ended up, I think, having four or five states represented on the one road trip. And we've since managed to make a bit of a regular event of that. So Broken Hill, Coober Pedy. We've had some good trips over to Flinders Island, to Whitemark Wharf. Where else have we managed to get to? Some good ones. Yeah. You've done more than me. Yeah. So, yeah, don't mind doing a bit of a road trip. And Whyalla more recently, that was good fun.

00:21:31Janet Reid: That was another good one, yeah. So, listeners, did you know that you can add up to five clubs on your parkrun profile? Now, I know Kate is an adventurer, but you are also a team veteran, Kate. Could you tell us a little bit about that, please?

00:21:45Kate Corner: Yeah, so in a previous life, I was a member of the Defence Force. I served in the Navy for quite a few years back in the day and a reasonably active member of our veteran community here in South Australia through the company that I work for, as well as through volunteering with other things like parkrun. So, yeah, I was pretty excited when Team Veteran became an option of a team, an event that you could choose or a club you could choose and I've done a bit of work with Invictus both through my regular employment and with parkrun so I think it's great to be involved with them and the work they do with veterans.

00:22:23Janet Reid: I think that's amazing, I really, really do. What would you say connects you to parkrun? What makes it special for you?

00:22:31Kate Corner: I think it's the people, 100% the people. And you and I may not have met had it not been for parkrun, which is impossible to imagine. And I'm very fortunate that many of my really good friends, I guess we have that same history that we've met through parkrun and realised how much we enjoy each other's company and how much we have in common. But I think too, for me, it's really important activity that I can do with my son every week. And he gets to choose in what capacity we participate, but we do participate every week as long as we're not busy doing something else. But, yeah, for me, that's really important and, you know, allows us to connect. And, you know, it's a good half an hour to 40 minutes of just the two of us chatting and him telling me all about the latest book he's reading or what he did in school that week or, you know, what colour the sky is or, hey, look at that leaf or whatever it is. But it's, yeah, I think that's really important. And to go along at his pace.

00:22:38[crosstalk]

00:23:26[crosstalk]

00:23:28Janet Reid: Yeah, absolutely. Lovely. Now, Kate, you've participated in 83 different events, 17 to go to your car or club. Here's my big question. Which would be your top three?

00:23:41Kate Corner: goodness um it's a really tricky question because it depends on what you're measuring by right it depends on what the criteria are but I think um in terms of um I don't know I guess maybe if we in terms of effort to get there um that's probably for me that's probably Whitemark Wharf on Flinders Island that's um that was a a couple of different planes um you know, to get there onto the island and it was a pretty incredible trip as well. So that was probably number three. I think in terms of sheer beauty and enjoyment, we have a parkrun in South Australia called Myponga Reservoir. It's a five kilometre trail loop. And yeah, that's certainly one of my favourites just from the scenery and the course itself. But in terms of, you know, the place that I guess I feel the happiest and that I just can't wait to get to on every opportunity, it's got to be Lochiel. And I'm sure regular listeners who have heard Janet speak before will understand the joys of Lochiel. But yeah, I refer to that as my spiritual home. So even when I was an Event Director at another event and EA for multiple events around the state, Lochiel I think has always been that special place for me. And yeah, will continue to be my favourite parkrun.

00:23:47[crosstalk]

00:25:01Janet Reid: I'm glad you love your time aboard the mothership. So, Kate, thanks very much for chatting with us today. I hope you feel 100% by Monday. And thank you for all the volunteering that you do with a volunteer ratio of 103%, which is not too shabby at all. Not too shabby. So, parkrun listeners, there you are. A little chat with our regional ambassador in South Australia, Kate Corner. I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you've all had a fabulous parkrun day. Until next time, this is Janet saying cheerio. Now, where's the wine?

Roving report Alison Fraser (King) — Y Promenâd parkrun

00:25:35Alison Fraser (King): Bore da parkrunners or should I say good morning adventurers. It's Alison here and I'm coming to you today from a new parkrun in Wales. Bore da is good morning in Welsh and I'm going to be running at It looks like Y Promenâd parkrun, but we'll soon find out. This is the newest Y parkrun in the UK. There are two other parkruns in the UK that start with a Y, and I know that this one has been hotly anticipated by parkrunners seeking Ys for their alphabets. [Welsh: "Good morning, parkrunners"]

Talking to Martin — Run Director, Y Promenâd parkrun (Brecon, Wales)

00:26:12Alison Fraser (King): so I'm going to see how many people are going to be here today and also brave the weather and we arrived and it was chucking it down it's lightened up a bit now who knows what we're going to get so hopefully I will be back with you soon I'm with Martin today's Run Director so thank you for such a great parkrun Martin oh good morning hope you enjoyed it oh it was awesome Can you please let us know how to pronounce your parkrun name correctly?

00:26:41Martin: It's Y Promenâd, Aberhonddu, which translated means Promenade Brecon. [Welsh: "The Promenade, Brecon"]

00:26:46Alison Fraser (King): Right. It's not E then, it's A.

00:26:48Martin: Y Promenâd, yeah.

00:26:50Alison Fraser (King): Awesome. And how long have you been a parkrunner?

00:26:54Martin: I've been a parkrunner probably about five years, but we've only just started this parkrun. I think this is number three. So it's my first as a Run Director.

00:27:02Alison Fraser (King): Oh, well done. You've done a great job.

00:27:04Martin: Yeah, good, good.

00:27:05Alison Fraser (King): So where did you start your parkrunning?

00:27:07Martin: Well, our nearest one is The Groe, which is Builth Wells, which is about 15 miles away. And I've been going to that one, as I say, for about the last five or six years.

00:27:16Alison Fraser (King): And what got you involved with this new parkrun?

00:27:20Martin: Well, Brecon Athletics Club is basically the sort of body that's got together with a bunch of people who are like-minded and wanted to make parkrun happen. And I used to run with Happy Feet Runners, which are part of Brecon Athletic Club. And a lot of the Happy Feet Runners have come along and made sure parkrun happened, so...

00:27:40Alison Fraser (King): There's a lot of happy people here because of the name of your parkrun.

00:27:44[crosstalk]

00:27:44Martin: Yeah, the Y Hunters.

00:27:46Alison Fraser (King): Have you noticed that there's been a lot more people from outside of Wales coming to your event?

00:27:52Martin: Definitely, yeah. Lots of people alphabet hunting and lots of people wanted to come and run at the first parkrun of a new event. So the first couple have been quite busy.

00:28:04Alison Fraser (King): And what's been the local reaction to having a brand new parkrun here?

00:28:07Martin: Oh, really positively. Everybody seems quite excited and good that we've finally got one. Because trying to find the right location was a real challenge. But I think, as you'll agree... you can't see it today but Brecon Beacon's highest mountain in South Wales is up in those clouds up there and usually you've got a beautiful view up into the mountains but as you can see a beautiful view down the river Usk as well so it's a it's a truly stunning parkrun but I am biased yeah well one of the Marshals did tell me that today is an authentic Welsh day weather-wise oh yeah this is typical of Wales a typical June day yeah

00:28:43Alison Fraser (King): So have you done many different parkruns yourself?

00:28:46Martin: Probably about five or six around the country, yeah.

00:28:48Alison Fraser (King): Can you name those ones for us?

00:28:50Martin: Yeah, so I've been to Cirencester parkrun, Hay on Wye, just up the road, and I went to Milford Haven recently, down on the coast in West Wales, and had a beautiful run down there as well.

00:29:02Alison Fraser (King): So what do you think about the Welsh parkruns and how they might vary to others around the world? Is it something that we have to experience?

00:29:10Martin: Oh, I think so, yeah. I mean, we're really spoiled in Wales. As I say, I'm very biased, but we've got beautiful scenery. As I say, Builth Wells and here are both riverside parkruns with beautiful views. But then I was down in Milford Haven running on the marina down there, the waterfront, and, you know, you've got beautiful views of the estuary there. So, come to Wales, it's really special.

00:29:28Alison Fraser (King): Yeah. And if we were to be hanging around in the Brecon Beacons after we've done parkrun, what do you reckon we should be doing next?

00:29:39Martin: Oh, well, you've got the Promenade Boathouse Cafe down the road where most of us meet afterwards. You've got the Hours Cafe, which is up at the Cathedral. But then the town's full of coffee shops as well. And there's only a five-minute walk away.

00:29:45[background music]

00:29:51Alison Fraser (King): And then maybe climb a mountain?

00:29:53Martin: Yeah, yeah, go up Pen y Fan. It's only an hour's walk from Storey Arms. So you could do both the things in one day.

00:29:59Alison Fraser (King): Thank you so much Martin for an excellent parkrun day.

00:30:02Martin: Glad you enjoyed. Thank you.

00:30:04Alison Fraser (King): Thanks Martin and everyone else who is involved with Y Promenâd parkrun in Brecon. I have to admit when we were heading over to this parkrun, it was raining. The hills were in cloud. You couldn't see the peaks of the hills and mountains around us and I did think that we would get soaking wet. However, As soon as we started the parkrun, it kind of got clear again. So thank you, parkrun Weather Fairies, for looking after us today. It was a two lapper, mostly on tarmac, some on field. Road shoes will do you for this parkrun. I really enjoyed it. It was very social. There's an out and back section. And then with the field, you could see people on the other side. There were 200 people today, so just down on last week, which was event two, so today was event three. I think it's just an event that's going to be such a hit with the locals. And yes, they will get people visiting for the Y. That was why I was there today. But I do love Brecon and I love going into Wales. So it was just great to be able to revisit but to do a parkrun at the same time. So thanks very much, everyone, at Y Promenâd parkrun. And here's to many more successful events in the future. I will see you another time for another parkrun adventure.

00:31:25[background music]

00:31:38Simon Mackley: And we're back from Dazza's where we heard from Janet at Anstey Hill Recreation Reserve. Also talking with Kate Corner, who's the new regional ambassador in South Australia. And we heard from Alison at Y Promenâd in Wales. So, yeah, Torture Hill. I would be very interested how much of a torture that is at Anstey Hill. I've done it. Have you? Is it a torturous hill? Yeah, it's pretty steep. Okay. Yeah, cool. And I am quite jealous of a lovely weather day in Wales for a parkrun with Alison. I'm sure that doesn't happen all the time. So that's, yeah, I would like to put Wales on my wish list if I ever get across to the UK again.

00:32:22Melissa Ellis: some stage soon yes and I would like to add that I am also a member of team veteran like Kate Corner and so yeah I support that as one of my five affiliations I was just going on to my parkrun profile now to have a look and confirm definitely team veteran excellent so

Dazza's

00:32:47Simon Mackley: Yeah, I was going to say, this week at Dazza's, he said, 12th to the 18th of June is National Blood Donor Week 2024. Are you a donor? Come on in and share your parkrun adventures and PG blood stories with us.

00:33:02Melissa Ellis: And to start with, we heard from Adrian Homburg coming to us from the Great Estate and he said, back home at Birdsland Reserve after a week off hiking down the prom. It was fabulous to catch up with my community again. He didn't share a pic, but he used the word.

00:33:23Simon Mackley: And we heard from Laura Amos in New South Wales, who said, sadly not allowed to donate blood due to medication, but did enjoy the muddy community spirit at Rouse Hill parkrun with friends this morning. And there was a photo of Laura and her friends showing a huge puddle on the course.

00:33:39Melissa Ellis: Oh, I've done a Freedo at... Rouse Hill, must get back there. Do it officially. Yes. Next up, we heard from Tracey Wood coming to us from Queensland. Unfortunately, unable to catch up with the Victorian parkrun adventurers, but made up for it by joining members of the deaf community for breakfast after Capalaba parkrun. And she shared a photo of herself in the selfie frame with said friends.

00:34:06Simon Mackley: Yes. And we heard from Phil Olson from the UK. Hey. We said lots of parkrun community were at Lowestoft for Cowfest East. Lots of familiar faces. And there was a photo of the Lowestoft pop-up with the jetty in the background.

00:34:22Melissa Ellis: Cowfest. This is a lot of people wearing cow, cows. Yes, it is. And probably beanies, but it's summer over there, maybe not beanies. So they have a, is this an annual meetup or a quarterly or what's the go?

00:34:36Simon Mackley: I don't know how often they meet up. I know, like, as they said, Cowfest East, I know that there used to be just one and then there's become more because obviously there's geographical differences, challenges for getting everyone together but um yeah I'm not sure how often it happens okay

00:34:54Melissa Ellis: We also heard from Monty Slade, also from the UK, and he said, lovely community at the delightful Ross-on-Wye parkrun as I park walked around the course. Did a night marathon the night before, so I felt I had given blood. Congratulations to all blood donors who provide an essential service, one we hope to never need. And he had the fingers crossed emoji. And, of course, Monty posted his trademark thumbs up with his adventurers buffs. And the pop-up and flag there at Ross-on-Wye.

00:35:28Simon Mackley: Yep. And we heard from Tanya Bailey. She said, a cool grey morning at Pegasus for our eighth birthday celebration. The parkrun community turned out with tutus and party hats, and I ran my fastest time this year with new shoes, having their first outing. And there was a picture of Tanya running with Brunner.

00:35:48Melissa Ellis: And, of course, coming to us from New Zealand. Yes. And I wonder if Brunner helped Tanya get that PB. Good work. Coming to us from the West Side, Chloe Bravos, a morning away from my parkrun community to take part in our Teachers Union State Council and fight the good fight with the, what's that emoji, Simon? The muscle arm. Oh, yes. I roll my sleeve up every fortnight to donate plasma and help the community fight many illnesses. Given my red cells aren't as important, I'm glad I can help in another way and more often. So thank you very much for that, Chloe. She didn't post a picture, but good work on fighting the good fight.

00:36:35Simon Mackley: Yes. And we heard from Steve Warwick from Tasmania. He said, we left our regular community of Bells Parade parkrun behind us as we headed in the direction of the rising sun because the van needed a service in Launceston. Then it was further eastwards to stay at Cozy Corner North Campgrounds, so we could attend and share with the community of O'Connors Beach parkrun. As we'd been there twice previously, both times walking, we put ourselves down to volunteer to thank the faithful little community for all they do to keep the event up and running, or should that be up and walking. Following the event, we headed to the Lifebuoy Cafe for a small community of three with our friend Leanne. And the picture appears to be of Token Sorting board which is being occupied by a lobster.

00:37:24Melissa Ellis: Yes, very curious with no explanation. But anyway, Steve managed to get the word community in a few times in his post. So I'm enjoying our little challenge to our adventurer, Simon. And again, we picked a selection from dozens of people that used the word community. We still had a few ears floating around from last week. And we do understand that some people might be a week or two behind on their listening, and that's okay. We might, going forward, use a mix of comments from people including things over the previous week's challenges. I didn't say that very eloquently. Never mind. You know what I mean.

00:38:10Simon Mackley: I do.

00:38:12Melissa Ellis: Yes.

the Obi Award — Monty Slade

00:38:13Melissa Ellis: But... Do we have an Obilope?

00:38:16Simon Mackley: We do have an Obi notepad.

00:38:20Melissa Ellis: An Obi post-it.

00:38:22Simon Mackley: An Obi post-it. And on that post-it...

00:38:25Melissa Ellis: Wait, shall I take a photo? Now Simon knows that I actually use the photos. Now... So listeners, if I am interrupting this broadcast to let you know that I have been posting these photos, I'll go back about a week later to the episode post and put the photo there, shows the winner. I don't do it earlier than that because it would be a spoiler. So I wait till we record the next episode before I post it. Just so you know. Anyway, would you like to give us the winner?

00:38:30[background music]

00:38:53Simon Mackley: I will definitely give you the winner. The winner was... With a big thumbs up, Monty Slade.

00:39:08Melissa Ellis: Hooray. Thanks, Monty. Thanks for being dutifully coming into Dazza's listening and giving us our encouragement every week with your thumbs up. Yes. Well, that's Dazza's done. We're ripping through it this week.

00:39:20[background music]

Club Corner

00:39:22Melissa Ellis: So let's wander over to Club Corner and see what Rachel's got in store for us this week.

00:39:28[13 seconds of audio that could not be transcribed]

00:39:41Rachel: 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. Are you hungry? Hungry for some knowledge? Today I'm going to talk about food parkruns. No, not the fabulous meals we share around our parkrun adventuring, rather events with food in their titles. Some are obvious, like Applecross, Orange, or Peppertree. Others are related, like Cooks River or Point Cook, and then we have New Farm and Picnic Point Parklands parkruns. We have avoided brand names, so no Bega, and not kinda food-like, so no Broadbeach Waters. Some Queenslanders might consider Castlemaine to be a food group winky face, but that just won't do... And if we were in France, maybe we would have considered Frog Hollow parkrun. On the other hand, today, we are also featuring the Zoo Club, so that means that Frog Hollow parkrun does make the cut, along with Birdsland Reserve, Cormorant Bay, Horseshoe Bay Reserve, Kangaroo Island, and Wallaby Track parkruns. What have been some of the best things you have eaten at parkrun? What has been an unusual animal spotted on course? And remember, in parkrun life, all non-milestone clubs are unofficial and unsupported by parkrun, so stay tuned for our future club corners.

00:40:55Simon Mackley: And we're back from Rachel. So we were talking, well, Rachel was talking about the food club and the zoo club. So... Some interesting things in there, and I believe you've got one that you think should be added to that as well, Mel, that wasn't mentioned.

00:41:12Melissa Ellis: Well, I was thinking animals when it came to the zoo club, and I wondered why cow pasture reserve wasn't included. And then we were just discussing it off-air, Simon, and I thought, well, you don't really see, well, I think you said you don't see cows in zoos, but there's some cow-like animals in zoos, isn't there I'm sure buffaloes and buffaloes yeah bison they're kind of like cows and and if we're going to include horses from horseshoe bay then I think cows really should be in there as well I agree yes I think that was an oversight during the same paddock yeah what else was I going to say the food club Why was New Farm in the food club? Because you get food from a farm?

00:41:59Simon Mackley: I'm guessing so.

00:42:00Melissa Ellis: And Picnic Point was because you have food at a picnic? Yep. Hmm. Interesting.

00:42:06Simon Mackley: Yeah. And I guess pepper goes on food for Peppertree. Apples, oranges, cook. You cook food. Point cook. Sorry, cooks river and point cook.

00:42:17Melissa Ellis: Yeah. That was interesting. And what about the questions Rachel had, Simon?

00:42:24Simon Mackley: Well, I, yeah, I was thinking back. So since moving back to Queensland, I've noticed kangaroos have been aplenty. So Greenbank last weekend, in the middle of where you run around, there was probably six or eight. I know there was an even number of kangaroos sort of feeding on the grass there, um Sirromet you often see probably 40 to 100 wallabies or very small kangaroos I'm not really up on my macropods as to which is which um and Ocean View I definitely saw um kangaroos there as well so that was back in December but yeah I think kangaroos are probably the the most unique thing I've seen of late. What about you?

00:43:10Melissa Ellis: I've seen an echidna on a parkrun course, but not on a parkrun day. And it was in Tasmania. I don't really recall which one it was. I got a feeling it was Wynyard Foreshore, that there was an echidna there. And so that would be the most exotic creature I've seen on a parkrun course. Oh, I know. When I went to Batemans Bay, we saw dolphins.

00:43:33Simon Mackley: Okay.

00:43:34Melissa Ellis: Well, standing at the finish line. Yeah, that was pretty exciting.

00:43:38Simon Mackley: Actually, I think I've seen dolphins at Kawana as well last year. I was going to say, have you been to Geeveston and seen the platypus?

00:43:46Melissa Ellis: No, I have been to Geeveston and I searched for the platypus. Actually, while you bring that up, I was out in my local area on Sunday and there was a Jackson's Creek, that has platypus and I looked really really really hard but I couldn't see any platypus and it's a bit of a bucket list thing for me I want to see a platypus in the wild but they're very shy creatures so even when they're in the waterways they're very hard to spot yeah you have to look for bubbles or something yeah and you have to look in like still little pockets of water uh-huh

00:44:24Simon Mackley: hmm anyway um what about the other question what you've eaten at parkrun Simon you've got a bit of a funny response here I have the only thing I can think of is that uh I've eaten some dirt running uh true sorry tripping uphill at Bunyaville last year but uh I digress what about you I might have eaten a bug okay I'm sure I've done that as well

00:44:49Melissa Ellis: But when it comes to post-parkrun food, I don't think I've eaten anything strange because I stick to my low carb and I generally end up in a bakery, so I just have a coffee.

00:45:04Simon Mackley: Yeah, fair call. Yes, bakeries normally are the place of choice.

00:45:11Melissa Ellis: They are. But anyway, Simon, moving on.

Consolidated Club Report

00:45:15Melissa Ellis: The adventurers Consolidated Club report for Saturday the 15th of June 2024. Of a total of 650 members, 453 took part on this date in nine countries across 228 locations. In the UK, there are adventurers at 40 events. There were seven in South Africa, two in the USA and one in Austria, Italy, Canada and Poland. Locally, we had adventurers at 53 events in Queensland. Simon's doing the fist pump in the air. Yes.

00:45:50Simon Mackley: We spread out.

00:45:51Melissa Ellis: Queensland topped the table this week with the UK coming in with a silver medal and with 39 events in third place was the Great Estate. 34 events in New South Wales, 18 on the West Side, 13 in South Australia, 7 in the ACT, 5 in Tassie, 3 on the North Island, 2 in the Northern Territory and 1 on the South Island. And that's a bowling strike. But I don't know. We might stop doing the bowling strike because we seem to get them. We're getting a bit blasé. We're getting them every week.

00:46:29Simon Mackley: Oh, dear. Now that we say that, it won't happen next week.

00:46:32Melissa Ellis: We've had a good run of people in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory is where we usually don't have adventurers.

00:46:38Simon Mackley: But it must be good touring weather up there. Probably because it's colder down south and warmer up there. I know the corkles were saying how warm it was in Darwin.

the Frond — Holden Forest, UK (largest international frond, 9); Harmony Boulevard, QLD and Cooks River, NSW (largest Australian fronds highlighted, 5 each)

00:46:48Simon Mackley: So we hit the largest frond. Oh, hang on.

00:46:52Melissa Ellis: Yeah, the largest international front.

00:46:54Simon Mackley: Yes, and I've got Australian ones there.

00:46:57Melissa Ellis: Oh, we've got them back the front, Simon. We do. No, you just read the one down below.

00:47:03Simon Mackley: So shall I go first with the largest Australian front? Whatever. There was actually two. So there were five people at both Harmony Boulevard in Queensland and Cooks River in New South Wales. So at Harmony Boulevard, There were Alan and Roisin Burrell, Rhonda Whetton, Lockie Miners, and Patrick Peacock. And I know the reason for that is because there was an ambassador catch-up at Harmony Boulevard on the weekend. And then at Cooks River, there was David Soe, Michael Thomson, Russell and Pauline Taylor, and Sue Bannister.

00:47:41Melissa Ellis: And we probably should say these two are just a selection of large fronds. They weren't the largest frond.

00:47:48Simon Mackley: True.

00:47:48Melissa Ellis: They are the ones we've chosen to highlight.

00:47:51Simon Mackley: They are.

00:47:52Melissa Ellis: The Pilgrimage, Simon. I am just double checking. Was there nobody?

00:47:58Simon Mackley: I double checked. There was definitely no one at Bushy.

00:48:02Melissa Ellis: Damn it.

00:48:02Simon Mackley: When I saw the nil, I was like, oh, I need to make 100% sure.

00:48:05Melissa Ellis: Yeah, the nil was carried over from last week. That's a cut and paste.

00:48:10Simon Mackley: That's all right.

00:48:12Melissa Ellis: Anyway, our largest international front was nine at Holden Forest in the UK. There was Deb Airey, James Avery, Mark Perkins, Rhianna Taylor, Kim Leonard, Cameron and Sammy Gerrish, Penelope Thesen and Jenny Dimmick. And where was Andy Airey, you might ask? Well, Andy was over at Orangefield with Adrian Luscombe, Nick Alway and Christine Imbert.

00:48:37Simon Mackley: Okay.

00:48:38Melissa Ellis: I think these were more cow fest things. I don't really know.

00:48:41Simon Mackley: May have been. Remember that you can add the Adventurers Club as one of your five affiliations on your parkrun profile.

00:48:50Melissa Ellis: Yes, and we should say a bit of a thank you to Janet. She also mentioned that in her roving report. She did indeed. Good work, Janet.

Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"

00:49:00Melissa Ellis: Now, launches. We did have some after none last week. Yep. We've come back with a vengeance, Simon.

00:49:08Simon Mackley: We have. We have got five this week. So the first one we're profiling is Bug Hunter Waters parkrun in Northstowe, UK. They had 102 participants with 25 volunteers. It's located in the Bug Hunter Waters water park in Northstowe, UK, as I said, two laps in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of Bug Hunter Waters water park on a mixture of tarmac and compacted gravel paths. The course is flat with only a couple of slopes and is fully accessible to wheelchair users. The first finisher had never been to parkrun before, as were 11 other newbies.

00:49:49Melissa Ellis: Ah, I really want that to be bug huggers. Wouldn't that be cool if they were bug huggers? Now, we had one in the Great Estate. The Great, oh, and it's even called Great. The Great Southern Rail Trail parkrun in Korumburra, Victoria. They had 131 participants, 13 volunteers and six first-timers to parkrun, located on the Great Southern Rail Trail in Gippsland, Victoria. It's a one-and-a-half loop course that takes in the historic rail precinct in Korumburra before heading out past the beautiful green rolling hills of South Gippsland. This sounds like Tokroded. The course is all on gravel and easily accessed from the main street of Korumburra. Start near the barbecue shedder heading northwest along the trail towards the first turnaround point at Warragul Road then turning and heading southeast to the second turnaround point at North Railway Crescent then back to the first turnaround point and back to the finish. Yes, so our own wonderful co-host, Tony O'Connell, is the event ambassador of this lovely event, and he was there on the morning. Now, I'm quite familiar with Korumburra. Okay. As it has a historical village, much like Ballarat's Sovereign Hill, but on a smaller scale, and it's called Coal Creek. Okay. Okay. Coal Creek Historical Park, something like that. So I would encourage any people who are going to be making plans to head out and visit this event out in Korumburra to make sure you look up Coal Creek. I'm pretty sure it's still operational and it's sort of the gold rush era kind of historic village. Sounds like fun. Worth a visit. Can recommend.

00:51:40Simon Mackley: Okay. The next launch we're profiling is called Mangawhero River Walk parkrun in Ohakune, New Zealand. So they had 73 participants with 15 volunteers and 22 or 30 percent first timers. It's an out and back course starting at The Entrance to the Mangawhero River Walk at the corner of Mangawhero Terrace and Ayr Street. The course takes you along the Mangawhero River over two bridges, including a swing bridge. to the junction at the end of town and then back to the start area. You follow a corridor of birdsong and river flow in the heart of Ruapehu on a trail of crushed stone and wood chip with a little bit of concrete. They certainly made it sound lovely.

00:52:27Melissa Ellis: It sounds lovely, doesn't it? And aren't you a smarty pants knowing all those fancy birds?

00:52:33Simon Mackley: I have actually stayed in Ohakune, so yeah.

00:52:35Melissa Ellis: Excellent. Next, we've got Morden parkrun launching over in the UK with 103 participants, 35 volunteers and one first timer. The course is made up of three laps running clockwise on moderately hilly and grassy terrain with some sections on tarmac path. And it says care should be taken during wet or icy conditions. Now, I do believe, Simon, this is a course that can become very wet and muddy in the winter months. And the event team advise all runners to wear appropriate footwear. So it sounds like trail shoes are needed there. And you prepare yourself for some stat club.

00:53:18Simon Mackley: Exactly. It could be a lot of fun in winter.

00:53:22Melissa Ellis: And check for cancellations.

00:53:25Simon Mackley: That's true.

00:53:25Melissa Ellis: Exactly. The cancellation page is a valuable resource. Who do you sound like?

00:53:32Simon Mackley: And the last launch of the weekend was at Wantijpark parkrun in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. So they had 117 participants with 18 volunteers and 32 or 27% first timers. The route through the park consists of two laps on paved paths. The start and finish are near Wanti Pavilion and Dordrecht is located southeast of Rotterdam for those playing along at home.

00:54:01Melissa Ellis: How many events are they roughly now in the Netherlands?

00:54:05Simon Mackley: I don't know, but they're certainly adding quite a few.

00:54:09Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Anyway, that's great. And thank you very much for taking all the ones with the hard names. You're such a gentleman.

00:54:15Simon Mackley: My pleasure.

00:54:16Melissa Ellis: I appreciate that. I appreciate you.

Sign-off

00:54:18Melissa Ellis: Now, looking forward, Simon, we have enjoyed our little secret challenges to our listeners. So two weeks ago, we had the ear emoji that we asked you to post in your Dazza's comment. And Last week, it was to use the word community. Now, this week, we've got a completely different challenge for you. We want you in the photo that you post. We want you to give us a Monty Slade thumbs up.

00:54:46Simon Mackley: Exactly. I don't think that's going to be hard to do, is it?

00:54:50Melissa Ellis: no no it's so easy you don't need to do anything and and there's nothing to forget because you can't forget your thumb exactly all you can do is forget to do it so that's a problem but if you even if you're just driving to at the last minute to parkrun you've still got time you can still do it so that's your secret challenge this week exactly that brings us to the end it does where are you heading this parkrun day So, this parkrun day coming, Simon, I am going to finish my pooper scooper challenge. Okay. And that is to get 20 number twos. All right.

00:55:31Unidentified speaker: Okay.

00:55:33Melissa Ellis: And I've got 19. Excellent. And so... I think I'm pretty safe going to event two out in Korumburra. It's a regional event. It's not likely to be attracting big numbers. And I am going to take the opportunity to go out and visit my kids while I'm out that side of town. It will be convenient to catch up with people in the area on a weekend that I have Ezra home with me. Yeah, perfect. What about you?

00:55:33[crosstalk]

00:56:04Simon Mackley: I am unknown at the moment. Um, I know that we have a soccer game well out of the area and so I need to be back in time to take Jackson to that. So I may actually just volunteer locally. I haven't looked at the local events yet to see who needs what. So I'll see how I go. But one thing I do want to point out as well is I want to wish TOC a very good luck this weekend or this Friday when he starts his backyard ultra at Wild Dog. So I'm looking forward to hearing all about that. That's exciting, isn't it?

00:56:41Melissa Ellis: He's food fest. Yes, indeed. Yeah. Who's going to be updating us?

00:56:48Simon Mackley: I don't know. I actually had a look on their website this morning, and it looks like they're going to be updating on Facebook. So I guess that we will Yeah, I'll be looking on Facebook to see what they post.

00:56:59Melissa Ellis: Oh, I need more than that. I'll have to get in. Jackie, you need to sort yourself out, love.

00:57:05Rachel: We need live updates.

00:57:07Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:57:09Melissa Ellis: That's great. Good luck, Toc. He will smash it. I'm sure he will. I look forward to that. We'll hear all about it when he returns. Next week, hopefully. But, Simon, great to – hey, hopefully he returns.

00:57:23Simon Mackley: Next week, yeah. Because he'll be on the pod next week. That's all I was meaning.

00:57:26Melissa Ellis: Yes. Yeah. If he didn't die.

00:57:29Simon Mackley: That wasn't what I meant. I meant that he might still be running.

00:57:36Melissa Ellis: Oh, if only you could see Simon at the moment. It's too funny. But thank you for joining me again, sir. Thank you for another episode in the can. And I look forward to chatting to you again in two weeks' time.

00:57:51Simon Mackley: Indeed.

00:57:57Melissa Ellis: But 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 and we'll see you all next week for more adventures.

00:58:00[outro theme playing]