Episode 402 - With Mispronunciations Now

00:00:00[intro theme playing]

Welcome

00:00:23Simon Mackley: Welcome to episode 402 of the parkrun adventurers podcast, a podcast about life if your life is all about parkrun. I'm Simon Mackley and as usual I'm coming to you from Quandamooka Country.

00:00:35Melissa Ellis: And I'm Melissa Ellis coming to you from Wurundjeri Country. How are you doing Simon?

00:00:41Simon Mackley: I'm doing well. How are you doing after your big trip to the UK to record with our friend of the pod Danny Norman?

00:00:47Melissa Ellis: Yeah that was exciting and unexpected so... Cynics might say that I took a week off the parkrun adventures so that I could gallivant overseas with me now. I did not. That was not the case.

00:01:02Simon Mackley: No, you did not. And I can vouch for that.

00:01:05Melissa Ellis: Yes, thank you. I literally needed a little, again, a little break from editing. So I said, guys, I need a week off. And then I was invited to record, which obviously isn't as much work. And I very much enjoyed getting a peek behind the curtain on the With Me Now set.

00:01:26Simon Mackley: Yeah, it was good to hear an Aussie flavour to their pod.

00:01:28Melissa Ellis: I know. Elliot Lyon did Aussie stats.

00:01:31Simon Mackley: Yes, I heard that. It was amazing.

00:01:34Melissa Ellis: So, no, it's always good to catch up with Danny and our compatriots in the UK. But I am back and the adventurers are back and we've got a couple of weeks to recap. Simon and the last episode was you and Sarah.

00:01:48Simon Mackley: It was. So you haven't been on for a couple of weeks.

00:01:51Melissa Ellis: No. No. Have you missed me? Oh, no. Everybody heard me last week anyway. Of course. So, but Simon, what have you been up to? Fill us in. Well...

00:02:04Simon Mackley: I can't even think where I went two weeks ago, so I'm just going to recap last week. Oh, you did? Yeah. So I went to Cormorant Bay parkrun on the lands of the Yuggera people. It's a very well-marked all-trail parkrun next to Wivenhoe Dam, just north of Fernvale and about an hour drive from Brisbane. It takes in some great views of the dam, includes parts where you run on top of the dam wall, albeit a few hundred metres away from the water at that stage. So you don't actually get anywhere near the water really. Due to recent rainfall and washouts, the course had been graded between parkrun days, so it was quite a bit different for the locals. So, yeah, made the course pillowy. I know that sounds really strange. Pillowy in parts. So it was quite light dust that was sitting on top of what would normally be a rocky sort of course. Yeah, so it was a little bit interesting. Not a surface I've run on a lot. So yeah, whilst it wasn't my Nendy, I chose it because I'd feared that leaving it to do it further into summer, it was going to be really hot. I was joined by 23 other runners slash walkers and eight volunteers on the day. It's definitely not a one and done for me. This parkrun, I would love to go back to and do it again. That may be because I came second on the day, which was amazing. Or it may be because I'd like to see the differences. Yeah, I know. Like I ran 29 minutes or something and I came second. Wow. Good job. Yeah, the guy in front of me was a tourist who is camper vanning around Australia at the moment. So he and his partner were trying out, they try to do the smaller ones. So they're telling me that they'd been to Victory Heights recently and they were at Brisbane Valley Rail Trail the week before. And I think they're going to White Rock this week. So, yeah, having been to White Rock, I gave them some tips and that sort of thing. But, yeah, it was nice to meet some fellow tourists.

00:04:09Melissa Ellis: Did you tell them about the pod?

00:04:12Simon Mackley: I did not tell them about the pod, but I was wearing my parkrun adventurers shirt. Nobody had any idea.

00:04:19Melissa Ellis: I was going to say, Cormorant Bay is not an event we hear much about.

00:04:24Simon Mackley: No, exactly. So, I mean, as I just said, there was only 23 parkrunners. They don't get a lot of people out there. Like, there's nothing really around it. There is now, which ESC, so Old Esk Railway Station, which launched a couple of weeks ago, is about another 25 minutes up the road, sort of at the other end of the dam. And that would be its closest one, 25 minutes away. The other closest to it is probably Ipswich. I might be wrong there, adventurers. Tell me if I'm wrong, but... Has it got elevation? There was, yeah, there's a bit of elevation.

00:04:58Melissa Ellis: It sounds nice. It sounds nice. And I'd like to go there. And I'm like, it's going to give me a C. What else is it going to give me, Simon?

00:05:05Unidentified speaker: Yeah.

00:05:07Simon Mackley: Probably not much more.

00:05:08Melissa Ellis: Not much else, but it was scenic? Yeah, it was scenic.

00:05:11Simon Mackley: I mean, I was surprised it actually, that it wasn't as hot as I thought it was going to be. I spoke to the RD beforehand because obviously I stuck out like a sore thumb because I wasn't one of the probably 18 locals that were there. And she said, yeah, it always gets very humid, but it is actually surprising that it isn't as hot as everyone thinks it's going to be. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. It was a really, really good parkrun. And as you say, not one that we hear about a lot.

00:05:43Melissa Ellis: Fabulous.

00:05:45Simon Mackley: Yes. So where were you last parkrun day, Mel?

00:05:48Melissa Ellis: Well, I returned to Peppertree parkrun and I did go there in the hopes of spotting platypus because recently the course checker has spotted platypus in the Werribee River, which runs alongside the parkrun trail. So this is quite exciting. It's something I've wanted to see for quite some time. A platypus in the wild with my very own eyes. They are often spotted on the Geeveston course down in Tasmania, but when I visited there yesterday, a few years ago I did not spot platypus um and Dave told me that I daren't see platypus without him so I granted his wish and I did not spot them I think you need to probably get there early like the course checker obviously was early in the morning before there's many people on the trail um so I do hope to go back in the future so it was my ninth visit out to Peppertree so that does build on my p-index okay good but I've just had well it's been cup weekend here in Victoria Melbourne cup day today so most people take the opportunity to take Monday off work either unofficially or um or leave of some type and go away but I I did not I stayed around home actually had a nice relaxing weekend cleaning out my garden shed because I needed to make some space in my garage for my new car which I'm gonna get on Friday so I'm very excited about that a new parkrun mobile excellent so that's my news that's just keeping me busy at the moment I'm focused on getting the new car a little four-wheel drive so something a little bit more robust to handle the country roads and the um there's some parkrun locations where you don't have paved bitumen car parks yeah okay yeah and like You Yangs comes to mind there's lots of really big ruts and ditches that you try to manoeuvre because you're going to a national park and the barina doesn't handle them very well it's done well till now it's done a lot of travelling the poor barina do you know what it's dragging itself over the line till I get this new car I can't use first gear at the moment aren't I've been I've been nobody else will drive my car because of the difficulty I have getting it into first gear and literally last week it just went not not gonna happen anymore so I have to start in second gear okay which thankfully I can manage I've got two more days to get to work and back before I pick up my new car oh my goodness

00:08:41Alice: Fair enough.

00:08:42Melissa Ellis: But, okay, anyway, what have we got next?

Budgie update

00:08:45Melissa Ellis: We've got a Budgie update, Simon. So Budgie was with Bec Bailey. I think you might have announced that when you recorded with Sarah that Bec Bailey had Budgie. And Bec was going to Lithgow parkrun and the Panorama Punish. Now, at Lithgow parkrun, Bec found Cathy Mudge and Budgie was passed on. So that's really exciting. And then this week, Cathy went to Forster parkrun. Now, how do you say it? Is it Foster or Forster? Forster.

00:09:20Simon Mackley: Well, yeah, I've heard it both ways. So it's spelt Forster, but I've always heard it as Foster.

00:09:26Melissa Ellis: Okay. Mr. Gloucester went to Foster. Okay. Well, anyway, that's where Cathy went and she caught up with Heather Hunter. So Heather Hunter now has Budgie and Heather joined us. Was it on Dazza's, this comment?

00:09:41Simon Mackley: It was on Dazza's, yeah.

00:09:43Melissa Ellis: And she said, being part of this little journey was quite unexpected. Anyway, in a few weeks, I'll be taking Budgie to one of the states it hasn't visited yet and handing it over to another adventurer I know will be there. That person will be taking Budgie over to WA. It'll be fun to keep watching its progress. I wonder how long it'll take. And Cathy, who gave it to me, is from the Raymond Terrace area but picked up the hitchhiking Budgie in Lithgow, as we just mentioned.

00:10:11Simon Mackley: So, yeah, good to hear that Budgie has been handed over twice in the last couple of weeks. So, yeah, that's good. It is. I'm wondering which state it is going to turn up at. And I'm guessing Heather's actually meeting an adventurer.

00:10:24Melissa Ellis: My evil plan is coming to fruition. Do you want to know? Because I know. Oh, okay.

00:10:31Alice: Yeah, go for it.

00:10:33Melissa Ellis: Because, oh, should we say? Oh. Heather's coming to Whitemark Wharf in a few weeks. The end of this month. There is a small Sam's Plans trip to Whitemark Wharf. I am part of that trip. I am very nervously going to be getting on a very little plane, Simon, and flying from Essendon Airport across to Whitemark Wharf, which is in Bass Strait just off the coast of Tasmania.

00:11:01Simon Mackley: Yep.

00:11:02Melissa Ellis: And Heath's coming. She is on that trip. So, yes. As is. A very well-known adventurer.

00:11:11Simon Mackley: I was going to say, a co-host.

00:11:12Melissa Ellis: From the West Side.

00:11:14Simon Mackley: Yes, I've now put it together.

00:11:16[crosstalk]

00:11:16Melissa Ellis: Ha-ha. There you go. See, see, this is coming together well. And that would actually mean, so if Budgie gets to Whitemark, ticks off Tassie, and then can travel back to WA with Sarah, ticks off WA, that's all the states in Australia.

00:11:33Simon Mackley: State-wise, okay, yes.

00:11:35Melissa Ellis: Yeah, not so good on the territory side.

00:11:37Simon Mackley: Territory side.

00:11:40Melissa Ellis: Unless Heather intends a little quick trip to the ACT in the next couple of weeks.

00:11:46Simon Mackley: But wouldn't she have to hand it over there?

00:11:48Melissa Ellis: No, she could just go and take Budgie and then go home again. Okay, yeah. It's probably unlikely.

00:11:53Simon Mackley: The ACT's not exactly that close to where Heather lives, though.

00:11:57Melissa Ellis: No? Oh, you know my geography's not great, son. Anyway, that's enough budgie talk. You've got more news. What have you got to tell us?

00:12:07Simon Mackley: I do have news. And I'm sure if anyone's been on social media in the last couple of days, they will have seen this news already. But for those of you who don't know, Sydney is officially joining the Abbott World Marathon Majors. It has become the seventh event to join the Marathon Majors. So I saw the press release from Sydney. So they said, we did it, Sydney. Today we celebrate an unforgettable milestone for Sydney and for you. We're beyond thrilled to announce that the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS is now the seventh member of the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors. In just three years, we've done what seemed impossible, and we couldn't have done it without each and every one of you, our heartbeat. For those of you, sorry, that was the end of the press release, and I've seen today that for those of you who have this six star medal or are working towards it, don't despair because Abbott is keeping this six star medal scheme until they bring in the ninth event, which will be added possibly in 2026. So rumour has it that they're trying to cover all of the continents. Cape Town was always one of the front runners, even when Sydney was going for it. So I would expect that Cape Town is likely to be the African one. And I hear that the ninth one will actually be in China, which, yeah. So I heard recently that it was possibly going to be Shanghai because another Chinese city dropped out of it. So I guess in time we will find out who that is. But I believe Abbott is actually owned by a Chinese company now, so that could be the impetus for having a Chinese. Marathon.

00:14:03Melissa Ellis: Does this mean we won't be able to get into the Sydney Marathon anymore? It's going to be like a ballad or something. There'll be everybody all going to want to do it now and we won't be able to get a spot. Possibly. What if you've done it in the past? Does that count?

00:14:16Simon Mackley: I don't think it will. No. Sorry. I haven't done it. I haven't done any of the World Marathon majors.

00:14:24Melissa Ellis: No. Do I have to come out of retirement? I feel it's tempting. No, I'll get Dave to do it. Dave, guess what?

00:14:33Simon Mackley: challenge for you it's going to be very expensive he wants to do a marathon okay does he want to do seven though oh well baby steps don't tell him that and I have just realised as well there's a continent that hasn't got one either and hasn't been talked about which is south America antarctica And Antarctica, obviously. But yeah, I don't think Abbott will be pushing for an Antarctic one. But South America doesn't have one either.

00:15:01Melissa Ellis: But don't they have to have like three billion people run it before they're allowed to be a major?

00:15:08Simon Mackley: Yeah, well, Sydney was on a meteoric rise. I can't remember what the numbers were, but it doubled last year to this year. And I think it had already increased significantly. And it's also moving a date as well. I think it's moving to the 31st of August, which means that people can, like it doesn't merge in with, I think it's Chicago. There's one of them that was on the same weekend as Sydney this year.

00:15:34Melissa Ellis: Yeah, okay. And, oh, yeah, so then do they cut all their other events? Like they don't have a half marathon and they get rid of the 10 and they only have a full. Is that how it works with the majors?

00:15:48Simon Mackley: I don't know. Actually, yeah, I'm not sure. Because New York definitely only has the marathon. They have the half marathon at a different time of the year. I think it's in May.

00:15:58Alice: Okay.

00:16:01Simon Mackley: Yeah, Boston definitely doesn't have anything shorter. Yeah, maybe that's the case. I mean, I think this year they actually ran, I have a feeling they ran the half marathon on a different day. Maybe wrong, though.

00:16:14Melissa Ellis: I think somebody told me that. Anyway, that's great. Congratulations, Sydney.

00:16:19Simon Mackley: Great for Sydney, yes.

00:16:21Melissa Ellis: Great, yes. We'll give you that. We can't have all the events down here. We've got to share it around.

00:16:28Simon Mackley: We have no palm. It's getting tired, Simon.

00:16:35Melissa Ellis: Anyway, okay, that's enough of that. Quickly change the subject.

Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew

00:16:39Melissa Ellis: We've got some roving reports for you. They're backing up again. So let's throw over to our roving reporters.

00:16:40[background music]

Roving report Lyndell Murray — Coomera parkrun

00:16:54Lyndell Murray: G'day parkrun adventurers, it's Lyndell checking in again for the Channel 5 News crew and today I have travelled down south of Brisbane, north of the Gold Coast to the lands of the Yugambeh. Yugambeh people. Yugambeh people, thank you Megan. And I'm at Coomera parkrun. Now last time I was here I was chasing a C for my pirate club and today I'm just here with friends. And it's fantastic. I found Megan, who is right up our alley on the parkrun adventurers. She is a volunteer extraordinaire. She has tracked milestones like there's no tomorrow. And she has adventured all over the world, I believe. So, Megan, how are you going? How are you today? Good, thank you. And how is today at Coomera parkrun?

00:17:38Megan: Coomera parkrun is very good today. Nice, warm, blue sky. Today is my 10th anniversary as Run Director here at Coomera, actually. So Coomera is very special to you. Yes, so this is I actually came to the very first parkrun here at Coomera. And this is my home parkrun and has been for 12 years actually. So yeah, that's why it's so special for me.

00:17:59Lyndell Murray: Fantastic. And you're a Run Director here. How long have you been involved in run directing and volunteering in parkrun?

00:18:07Megan: So I have, like I said, I started parkrun back in 2012, became a Run Director in 2014, so this year is my 10th year. I have done over 258 volunteers in total, but I also volunteer at Junior parkrun, so Bellevue Park Junior parkrun on a Sunday morning as well, so that's where I get a lot of my volunteer credits, thankfully. from as well. I have also done over 400 parkruns and during that time I've also had two children as well so which is awesome. You are a busy lady. I am and prior to the kids I have travelled around a lot as done some parkruns overseas and also done a few here in Australia as well.

00:18:48Lyndell Murray: Alright so let's start with Coomera parkrun. Yes. I don't know whether I should get you to describe the course because it is not a straightforward course. But if you would like to and just give us a bit of a picture of the vibe of Cooma. It's around a lake. There's trees.

00:19:03Megan: Yeah. So like Lyndell said, it is around a lake. We don't run directly around the lake. It is on the hilly-ish side. It's not too mountainous or anything, but it does have some nice steady inclines that surprise people when they're here for the very first time uh so it is um in a local community park which is um really great and we have a really good community spirit here but yeah so it's very undulating so Coomera is not a parkrun to come to if you're trying for a PB unless you're trying to do PBs it is good for probably hill training if you want to come down um but yeah it's very picturesque and we have a really good community feel here

00:19:40Lyndell Murray: It is lovely. I always comment I'm a real back of the packer and there's still lots of people hanging around chatting. So I can always tell when there's a good community if there's still people hanging around when I finish.

00:19:51Megan: The cafe probably helps too.

00:19:54Lyndell Murray: Yeah, we'll get there, won't we? Now onto your journey as a volunteer. You went through a lot of your stats. Is today a particular milestone for you though?

00:20:04Megan: It was actually on the 18th of October, so during the week, would have been my official 10th birthday anniversary. Well, my anniversary as being a Run Director. So some of my other stats was that today is my 74th time as a Run Director. Tomorrow will be 75th for me at juniors as well. It says stepping into 20 times for other roles, but I think that should be slightly higher than that, but I'm not really sure.

00:20:28Sarah Jantscher: Maybe that hasn't really been counted.

00:20:31Megan: And But totalling over 140 different occasions over six years that I've done the run directing across my career. Brilliant. Yeah, what's this? So my total count, which I think I said earlier, was 258. I volunteered 47 times last year in 2023 and looking on track to be about the same number of volunteers for this year as well.

00:20:53Lyndell Murray: Brilliant. And is run directing your favourite volunteer role?

00:20:57Megan: I don't mind it. I think the run directing role is it got me out of my comfort zone and being able to talk in public and things like that. But I don't mind some of the other roles as well. I know timekeeping can be very stressful for some people. And even finished tokens is not too bad. We did have an incident here a couple of weeks ago where all the tokens fell off the thing and we had, but we managed to sort it out. So that was great. But yeah, probably those three roles are probably one of my favourites. Yeah.

00:21:19[crosstalk]

00:21:22Lyndell Murray: Isn't that a great thing about volunteering where sometimes it just pumps you out of your comfort zone and you get to grow a little bit as a person?

00:21:28Megan: Yeah, it does and I think it also gets people to, when they volunteer here as well, get to know more people in the community and get to know each other a bit closer and things like that. We've had a lot of groups of people here who've made friendships by coming to parkrun over the time and that's where they meet each other is here at parkrun, which is great to see.

00:21:43[crosstalk]

00:21:47Lyndell Murray: So great, isn't it? Now, as I said earlier, this podcast is for people who like touristing and adventuring. Let's get on to some fun topics here. Not that volunteering isn't fun. Volunteering, of course, is also fun. You're a great lady. Thanks, Kath. Thank you, Kath. See you, Bea. Can you give us a top three events, not including your home here at Coomera? I'm going to say also not including your junior home park either. No, that's okay. So your profile on the Coomera page said that you're a tourist. 30 different locations. 30 different locations in Scotland and all kinds of places. So what would you like to tell us about your touristing?

00:22:28Megan: Yeah, so probably Scotland, the one outside of Edinburgh. I can't remember the actual name. That one was an interesting one that was over, when was that? 2009 I was there and my son was 10 months old and it was like three degrees and we didn't have a proper stroller but we had like a really makeshift stroller stroller like one of those ones that you could travel with and there was like over 400 participants at that one um so getting up and even though they start later it was still cold um and then it was just even though it's a flat course and going out but it was like by the river and things like that so it was really picturesque but it was just so cold um And trying to struggle with this stroller. I actually ended up being, like, the third last person out of 405 people or something along those lines. But it's one that really sticks in my mind of, you know, something that was really interesting and picturesque and that wasn't here in Australia and things like that. But, yeah, it was very trying, let's just say. And actually, I... I don't know if they would be still there, but the guy who did the first-timers briefing there, he was absolutely brilliant. It was really interesting, his first-time brief. It's the other thing that I remember about that park, right?

00:22:55[background music]

00:23:32[crosstalk]

00:23:37Lyndell Murray: Brilliant.

00:23:38Megan: Another one in Australia that we like when we go and visit Melbourne, we actually like Parkville. I know it's a very simple... basic parkrun run around princess park but um that's the one that we've tried a few others down there in Melbourne but yeah Parkville we always seem to like travel back to that one and do that one I think it's really good especially having the kids and things like that it's like a nice simple one to do with them um so that's one of the other ones in Australia that I've liked to do and um the other interesting one I'll go back overseas was in Manchester um at Heaton Park that was a one of the other parkruns that we did overseas um that was quite interesting too not as cold as Scotland um but it was a miserable day that day and it was actually drizzly and stuff like that but it was lovely going through the park and it was like gravelly park and it was had little undulations not anything near here Coomera parkrun but um and that was very interesting as well so and very good atmosphere there so that was great um But, yeah, they're probably my top three that I really remember. I mean, there's plenty of others that I've been to as well, but I think they're the ones that really stick in my mind, yeah.

00:24:44Lyndell Murray: Brilliant. Thank you so much. Now, I will just ask you a little bit about your junior parkrun here. There's a junior parkrun just here on the Gold Coast that doesn't get a lot of call-outs on the podcast, but one of our co-hosts, Mel, is the Event Director down at the junior parkrun down in Melbourne. Mm-hmm. And so tell me about the Junior parkrun here on the Gold Coast.

00:25:09Megan: Yeah, so the Junior parkrun here, so we initially had one at one of the schools, but then COVID hit and then we had to restart, so we had to move schools. So now it's Bellevue Park State School where the parkrun is held on the Oval. So it's been going for, I don't know how many years now, a few years. I think I started as a Run Director last year there, and it's only because my kids really enjoyed it, been going to parkrun my husband used to be an ed here and he was also the ed for juniors at tss but my son Louis matheson I'm going to do a shout out to him he was the first junior to reach 100 for juniors and he loves to volunteer every week and I just kind of felt to continue that his wanting to be involved then I would continue and I might as well step up as a Run Director I was there every week anyway for him to do his volunteer uh he loves doing his warm-up so um I just said oh like I already do it at Coomera I know what to do so um let's just step up for juniors yeah but we uh trying to start and build up a really good base of volunteers there at um juniors at the moment um we only average around about 40 to 50 kids a week yeah So it would be, I try and plug it when I am Run Director at Coomera, but yeah, it'd be good if we could probably boost those numbers because it would, I think we would really benefit if we could probably try and get another parkrun here on the Gold Coast, I think.

00:26:31Lyndell Murray: What do you think the biggest benefit of Junior parkrun is?

00:26:36Megan: I think there's a couple of things. I think it's especially because it is a free event. So for people who struggle to get their kids out and participate in events and sport and they can't afford to do it, I think that's a benefit too to come out. It doesn't cost anyone anything, so just come down and run. I think it also gives a lot of the kids a bit of confidence too. We've seen kids who've come and been really super shy and and like you try and talk to them they don't want to have a bar of you but then you know as they keep their parents keep bringing them regularly they will they you know they start when you ask for a high five they'll give you a high five and you know it just starts a little steps but it gives the kids a little bit more confidence too um and just being in that social setting of other kids yes um and talking to adults I think as well is really important a lot of the times kids have their parents and teachers but being able to speak to just adults and open up those relationships as well I think is important Yeah, I think it's about the kids not being scared to talk to other people and, you know, that it's okay to be – also, it's okay to come out and volunteer. I think a lot of the kids have seen my son do it and they've gone, I want to do that too. So some of them have started to also volunteer with their parents. Yeah. Just to, you know, to be able to get their confidence. Both of my kids, the Run Director will get up and they just stand right next to the Run Director. They just don't care. They like handing out the bands, the wristbands. That's the milestones for the juniors. So every time, without fail, they will go stand up and they're like, the Run Director doesn't need you there. But they do it anyway. They just love it.

00:28:04Tanya: They feel so part of it.

00:28:05Megan: Yeah, so they, like my kids, yeah, definitely feel part of the whole parkrun community when we're at juniors. But, yeah, I think for other kids, I think, yeah, it is really about them being able to have somewhere to go, somewhere to do that activity and just build a bit more confidence, I think, and being around in different social situations. So, yeah, it's great.

00:28:24Lyndell Murray: That's amazing. Thank you so much for profiling the junior parkrun and Coomera. Is there any last thing that you would like the parkrun adventurers to know about Coomera parkrun?

00:28:32Megan: Come down and visit us. We love to see new people. We were a bit quiet today. All our loud people were actually away today. So come down and see Coomera. But like there's even people like we're over after eight o'clock already. We still have a whole bunch of people here hanging around. So, yep, come down. We love to have a chat. So come and visit us here at Coomera.

00:28:52Lyndell Murray: Well, brilliant. Thank you so much, Megan. Thank you for talking to me today. Thank you for everything that you have done for parkrun, Coomera and Junior parkrun here in South East Queensland. And hopefully we'll see you another time on the parkrun adventurers.

00:29:06Megan: Great. Thanks for having me.

Roving report Sarah Jefferson — Esperance Foreshore parkrun

00:29:08Sarah Jefferson: Good morning parkrun adventurers. It's Sarah here on the West Side and I am on the West Side. I have ventured down to Esperance Foreshore parkrun to complete my statesman with four other people which is very exciting and I'm here with the Run Director Tanya this morning. Thanks for having us this morning Tanya. Good morning Sarah. So we're here for event 28. It's a relatively new parkrun. Can I get you to describe the course for the listeners please?

00:29:32Tanya: Sure, so it's an easy out and back, very flat path. The only kind of challenges we ever encounter are a little bit of sand on the path. Other than that, out and back, our Marshals sort of are there to indicate the only sort of diversion off the lower path and that's out to the jetty headland. Yet, as I say, very flat track and wind is often our biggest challenge. Yes.

00:30:00Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, you can probably hear in the background it's a little bit windy this morning. But I could imagine, yes, a PB course for many people. There is also at the finish and start line a sort of shark net with some wolves so people can go in for a swim. We're about to jump in as well. I hear the water is 17 degrees at the moment.

00:30:16Tanya: Yes, it's icy. And I think for those that do the ice immersion, it's definitely not a bad place to be. Yep.

00:30:24Sarah Jefferson: Now, the colour of the water as well is pretty specky. It is a stunning, stunning pattern. Nice and clear. Yes. And can you tell us, if people were to, I guess, travel down to Esperance foreshore, what is here in the local area for tourists?

00:30:36Tanya: So, I guess Esperance is known for its amazing beaches. We have, I think... It's undeniable that they are probably the most beautiful beaches in the world. I've only been here for a year myself, but when I first drove over that hill just to see the colour of the water, and I have to say it doesn't change very often. Even with the weather, it's still one of those places you can always go and find a quiet little nook or somewhere to go. The beaches, I suppose camping, four-wheel driving is probably Esperance's biggest attraction. There are sort of a number of must-dos. Go and see the brewery. It's a beautiful, beautiful place to spend an afternoon. There's a beautiful glass place here in Esperance, which I highly recommend. I think it's called Cindy Pool Jewellery or something like that. It's stunning. It's well worth it. There's a lovely little bakery out on Pink Lake Road called Bread Local. It's always good. Highly recommended if you're out somewhere for coffee. Yeah, perfect.

00:31:41Sarah Jefferson: I've seen that online actually. Yep. What else do we sort of have? What about even Lucky Bay out to the Sydney National Park, right?

00:31:47Tanya: National Park, yeah. So it's Lucky Bay. Go out and see. You might be lucky enough to see the kangaroos. I've seen them out there once and it is a pretty special place. You'll see that advertised worldwide and it is pretty amazing. Our tourism office have just done a new brand launch and it is worthwhile having a look at that. It's just beautiful. I'll share the details with you. It's fabulous. It's just beautiful. And this is the kangaroos on the beach, isn't it? Kangaroos on the beach. But then we've got Wharton Beach, which I think is probably my favourite. Lucky Bay is probably the most photographed, but then Wharton Beach is just on a sunny day, which we don't have today. But on a sunny day, the colours and just the whales come in close to Salmon Beach. Last weekend, we had one sort of wash up on the beach, which brought the great white. So that wasn't great. But there's regularly whales to be sighted from some of the beaches in close. So, yeah, it's beautiful.

00:32:44[crosstalk]

00:32:46Sarah Jefferson: And we've got this is the Southern Ocean out here, isn't it? Not the Indian Ocean. Southern. Southern. So a little bit cooler, I guess.

00:32:50[crosstalk]

00:32:52Tanya: I'd say so. Yeah. To be fair, I don't go in it as much as I look at it.

00:32:56[crosstalk]

00:32:56Sarah Jefferson: yeah yeah yeah fair enough it's a bit frosty but we've got a um we've got a surf life saving down here out at twilight twilight beach so yeah there's people that swim and swim daily um yeah wow and now in terms of setting up this parkrun because you are one of the event um directors here as well how long was this sort of parkrun in the making what was the purpose behind creating a parkrun here

00:33:06[crosstalk]

00:33:19Tanya: So I moved down to Esperance about 15 months ago, arrived in town and wanted to sort of, new to town, wanted to get embarked on a fitness journey, looked for parkrun, it wasn't here, which I was surprised about given the number of people, sort of started inquiring with the Shire. A few people had inquired in the past, but for some reason or other, it never got off the ground. I then inquired with the Shire. They were really helpful. I got a few long-term locals that helped me with fundraising. And I didn't really find any resistance at all. It was an easy process, I have to say. And although it took eight months, which I thought was a long time, I was told that was relatively quick. Clearly, I'm not very patient, but I have to say it was a lot of work to get up and running, but well worth it because our numbers have been pretty consistent.

00:34:09Sarah Jefferson: Yeah, and have you had lots of tourists coming down as well?

00:34:12Tanya: Lots of tourists, which surprises me. We've had tourists from everywhere, all over Australia, but also from international. Well, like I said, there was a couple here from the UK today. Incredible. But there's not been a single weekend where we haven't had visitors, which is great. Yeah.

00:34:28Sarah Jefferson: Because it's about an eight-hour drive from Perth. It is an eight-hour drive. Yeah, so pretty far from Perth. And we're talking fast roads, right? So, yeah.

00:34:35[crosstalk]

00:34:37Tanya: Or an hour's flight, which is... Yeah, it's an easy hour's flight if you need a weekend away. I do know that for our launch, we had people fly down from Perth. So, yeah, it is amazing, the parkrun. sort of yeah the group that grows and yeah it's it's such a good way for people to just to turn up here and know nobody you kind of see their faces and they're a bit apprehensive and then you sort of introduce them and then you know you see them come back week after week which makes it all worthwhile definitely and there's so many people at the finish line as we're still here you know an hour after it's ten past nine now

00:35:09Sarah Jefferson: you know, well over an hour after the event has finished and people are still here chatting, lots of dogs, which is really great.

00:35:14Tanya: It is great. I wish we had a coffee van close by because I think that would make it. But anyway, that's... That's right. We'll head into town and spend our money in there.

00:35:22[crosstalk]

00:35:23Sarah Jefferson: Absolutely, yes. So, yeah, thank you for all that you do for parkrun. It's a really beautiful place here. Thanks for coming. Yeah, we highly recommend that you come down. I can imagine over summer your numbers are going to swell quite a lot. I would imagine once this weather settles. Yeah.

00:35:34[crosstalk]

00:35:35Tanya: Yeah. Yeah.

Roving report Ali Sheppard — Baysgarth Park parkrun

00:35:37Ali Sheppard: really well received which is great fabulous thank you thank you good day adventurers Ali from the UK here and I am in the northeast of England at Baysgarth Park parkrun and I'm here with Phil Kirkham who is the Event Director I'm the Run Director today and I'm one of the core team yes And you're not just the Run Director today. Do I understand that this was your 50th?

00:36:01Phil Kirkham: Yeah, unbelievable. I didn't realise it was my 50th volunteer credit today, which is quite nice.

00:36:06Ali Sheppard: Which is fantastic. So, Baysgarth Park is a beautiful parkrun up in the north-east of England near the Humber Bridge.

00:36:14Phil Kirkham: That's right, yeah, we're just on the southern end of the Humber Bridge, not far from Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby. And what can you tell me about Baysgarth parkrun? Well, it was event 57 today, so we had our first birthday a few weeks ago. For many, many years, people are asking around and about, are we going to have a parkrun in Barton? And the park, to be honest, lends itself to it absolutely fabulously.

00:36:36Tanya: It's beautiful, yeah.

00:36:36Phil Kirkham: And we were also very fortunate with the help from the local council that they actually put in some tarmac paths at the back part of the parkrun, which originally was going to just be run on a rough track. Oh, okay. So that makes it suitable for everybody. So we've got a special parkrun. Special parkrun.

00:36:52Ali Sheppard: Tracks, that's amazing. And it's sort of four laps. No, is it four laps? It's one little lap, two big laps.

00:37:00Phil Kirkham: And then a little lap, yeah. We say it's two big and one little, but as you say, yeah, it probably is nearer four, two little and two big.

00:37:09[crosstalk]

00:37:10Ali Sheppard: We're told to count the red door.

00:37:12Phil Kirkham: Count the red door. If you go past the red door four times, you finish. If you go past it five times, you've done an extra lap.

00:37:17Ali Sheppard: And that's the red door of the Baysgarth Museum.

00:37:19Phil Kirkham: That's right, which is currently in the process of being renovated to show all the historical artefacts from the local area. And there's also going to be a coffee shop in there, I believe, as well. Fantastic. So that will be a coffee shop right where you finish your parkrun.

00:37:32Ali Sheppard: Oh, that will be awesome.

00:37:33Phil Kirkham: That's actually at the finish.

00:37:36Ali Sheppard: will be absolutely awesome so today there was um um some spooktacular goings on wasn't there because it was yeah yeah we had some of our volunteers were dressed up in various halloween outfits and some of the uh runners and walkers as well actually they were indeed and even one of the the the dogs the Tail Walker dog Molly with a dog with a bat on its back yeah people just love parkrun don't they they do they just and it's

00:37:53[crosstalk]

00:38:01Phil Kirkham: I think if you don't understand it, it's quite a strange concept. But once you do, it's brilliant.

00:38:05[crosstalk]

00:38:08Ali Sheppard: But it's only a chance to put a smile on your face. And what I noticed, because I'm at the back of the pack, and as I was walking around the park, particularly at the top bit, there were other people who were walking their dogs. And I've got a green face at the moment because I'm dressed as a witch. And everybody looked and smiled and said good morning. So it does sort of bring a bit of... It does.

00:38:30Phil Kirkham: And as you can see now, even, you know, parkrun, there's a lot of people around walking the dogs, etc. And it is a well-used park. Yeah. And it's in its nice condition as well. Yeah. It's very well maintained. Yeah. And like we said earlier, it just lends itself to parkrun.

00:38:44Ali Sheppard: And spectacular trees. I mean, there's one...

00:38:47Phil Kirkham: You've seen it the best time now, to be honest. Autumn here is fabulous. Every week it changes. The colours change every week.

00:38:53Ali Sheppard: There was a tree at the top bit that was just incredible. And it's got this huge carpet of beautiful red leaves underneath it. It was absolutely amazing. So I loved it. But how about you? Did you parkrun before you started up?

00:39:06Phil Kirkham: Yes, I was a keen parkrunner before I got involved in the core team here just over a year ago. I've done 160 parkruns, 50 venues and I've completed my alphabet the other week. Amazing. Not that I really go chasing those sorts of things.

00:39:16[crosstalk]

00:39:19Ali Sheppard: Where did you complete your alphabet?

00:39:20Phil Kirkham: I completed it in Glasgow at Victoria.

00:39:23Ali Sheppard: Oh, okay.

00:39:24Phil Kirkham: And we got an overnight bus. Oh my goodness. We got a bus at three o'clock in the morning to get to Glasgow to do the parkrun, to stay in Glasgow, to get the bus back to Leeds at five o'clock in the morning.

00:39:32Ali Sheppard: Now that is hardcore.

00:39:35[crosstalk]

00:39:35Phil Kirkham: But we do enjoy a bit of touristing. We probably go out maybe once every four or five weeks, and we'll stay over and we'll go and do a parkrun somewhere else.

00:39:44Ali Sheppard: So you enjoy your touristing. Out of those 160-odd different parkruns you've done or so on, not counting this one, because you can't include this one, can you think of your top three?

00:39:57Phil Kirkham: Top three would be... In no particular order. Cleethorpes because it's the class of my home parkrun. It's my PB course. Yeah, awesome. So you'd have to have that one there. I did enjoy Keswick. Keswick? Even though some people don't, because it's an out and back along to the old railway. That's in the Lake District. In the Lake District. I did enjoy that one.

00:40:13[crosstalk]

00:40:16Ali Sheppard: Is that the one with the tunnel that goes under?

00:40:18Phil Kirkham: It does, but when I did it, the tunnel wasn't open. It was on the, there was a diversion. Yeah. So I did enjoy that. That was many years ago, that. And I suppose, just for the journey really, probably Zuiderpark in Holland.

00:40:31Ali Sheppard: Yes. Yeah, yeah, awesome.

00:40:33Phil Kirkham: Just the fact to say I've been to Holland to do a parkrun. Yeah, yeah.

00:40:36Ali Sheppard: And it begins with Z.

00:40:37Phil Kirkham: And it begins with Z, yeah, that's right, yeah.

00:40:38Ali Sheppard: Perfect. No, it's fantastic. I've had a great time today. It's wonderful. Come, you know, if you're in this area, do come to Baysgarth Park. Please do. You'll get a very warm welcome. And we're off to get coffee now. That's it, yeah. So that's a wrap, Adventurers. Bye. Bye.

00:40:45[background music]

00:41:00Simon Mackley: and we're back from the roving reports so we heard from Lyndell at Coomera and she was talking to the rd who is also rd at Bellevue park juniors so there's lots of talks of adventures in Scotland and around Australia um we heard from Sarah from Esperance Foreshore and she spoke to Tanya who really sold the natural beauty of the area it sounds like a wish list parkrun to me and Ali Sheppard came to us from Baysgarth Park, parkrun. So she was talking to RD Phil, who was certainly enthusiastic and up for a chat about the area and his adventures.

00:41:37Melissa Ellis: Are you sure that's the right pronunciation? You can't be too sure.

00:41:40Simon Mackley: In Baysgarth?

00:41:42Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Might be Baysguth.

00:41:46Simon Mackley: Probably. Someone's going to get a chuckle out of that.

00:41:52Melissa Ellis: Well, might be Baysgoth. Yeah, anyway. No, that's great. Good work. And we are holding some roving reports over for next week because, again, we've got AMPA, which is a good problem to have.

00:42:06Simon Mackley: It is. It is.

Dazza's

00:42:09Simon Mackley: So we might move on to Dazza's. This week, Dazza said, with Halloween and the Day of the Dead occurring this week, we certainly look at opportunities to dress up. Some of us may have worn red, or black, or green, or purple, or even dark blue, although Dazza's personal favourite is a fetching sky blue. Maybe this week you earned the right to wear a new colour, or you wore a giant barcode.

00:42:33Melissa Ellis: or you chose to wear your pyjamas all day or maybe you just got worn out whatever you wore come into Dazza's grab a drink and tell us all about it and we will mention that we had a carryover challenge because we had a week off which was the make the letter of the parkrun this the first letter of the parkrun name using your own physical body I can't say this has really been a success, this one, Simon.

00:43:04Simon Mackley: No, it hasn't, because we had no one this week do it.

00:43:07Melissa Ellis: No.

00:43:08Simon Mackley: I don't remember seeing it the week prior either.

00:43:10Melissa Ellis: Oh, well. There you go. But this week, who we did hear from was Sue Keane, coming to us from New South Wales. And she said, parkwalker at Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan parkrun, my 50th location. A of Alphabet Challenge, Wilson's 19. A in parkrun Name Challenge. A in Namely Challenge, Prime 19. 19 ray fairer nine to go no small group today of 33 enjoyed the course was it brutal I'll let you know tomorrow great team and everyone was so friendly and she shared a photo of herself in the selfie frame no abgma abgma whatever that's the acronym I can't say it

00:43:53Simon Mackley: Next, we heard from Em Nico, who said, couldn't participate because I was working, but went down and gave the first time as briefing. So there was a picture of Em and her colleague, and they were both in their police uniforms in the Kirra selfie frame. And we believe that no tokens went missing last weekend.

00:44:11Melissa Ellis: That's a great photo. I think the Belinda Fairy used that one on the Consolidated Club report this week.

00:44:19Simon Mackley: She did.

00:44:20Melissa Ellis: And thank you, Em, and thank you for your service. Now, we also heard from Gareth Arnold coming to us from WA, and he said, Morning, Dazza. There was lots of colours to choose from amongst the sculptures on the beach next to the finish line at Rockingham parkrun, but I was wearing Dirty Cheetah Orange. Oh, I wonder how this one got inside.

00:44:40Lyndell Murray: LAUGHTER

00:44:41Melissa Ellis: Now, Gareth was giving his best Monty Slade thumbs up in front of some very big taps on the sand. Now, the taps are the skull beaches. They were, yes. Yes, by the beach, I would assume. Rockingham, everybody knows that's on my list if I ever get back to Australia.

00:44:56Simon Mackley: It is. We also heard from Martin Barrett. Said, hey Dazza, Andrew Johnston, Eric Banner and I ventured to Goulburn River Trail parkrun in Seymour, Victoria, so I could finally regain statesmanship. Added bonus was the unexpected catch up with Billo. And there was a picture of Billo, Martin and Andrew in the Goulburn River Trail selfie frame.

00:45:20Melissa Ellis: Well done, Martin. Good job getting back there. Next, it's time for Andrew to get his statesmanship, now we also heard from Kristy Hill coming to us from the act she said got out in the VI Guide yellow at tuggers and one step closer to my double ton only three to go now tuggers is tuggernong in the act and uh Kirsty was showing a photo guiding her friend in her yellow yellow even archie shirt

00:45:51Simon Mackley: We heard from Ian Thompson from the UK who said, went to Upton Court parkrun for my 100th run of a record tourist trek. We planned on meeting fellow adventurer Heather Morgan there, only due to cross wires, we were a week early. Volunteered as auxiliary scanning assistant to begin with, looking up missing barcodes in the 5K app, but ended up scanning two when it got busier. And there was a photo of Ian in what looks like an op shop holding a Rod Stewart album in front of his face, wearing his With Me Now hoodie, and the title of the album is Foolish Behaviour.

00:46:27Melissa Ellis: That's kind of a like a fun thing to do, isn't it? It's like one of those trends that people do on social media where they go into a store and find a record cover of someone's like the whole album cover is a head and then you hold it in front of your head. Very clever. Well done, Ian. Anyway, next we heard from Ruth Perkins coming to us from Japan. Oh, my goodness. I'm not going to be able to say this, am I? I wore the biggest smile today at Meijo koen, Nagoya. Nagoya? The brave and cheery volunteers turned up despite the heavy rain from the tail end of Typhoon Kongrei and many cancellations elsewhere. I can't thank them all enough. I even managed to get a little interview with the lovely ED Yuko Seiki, and that is coming up next week. There was no photo, but we rarely hear about Japan, so this had to go in.

00:47:19Simon Mackley: Definitely. We also heard from Rory Merritt from the U.K., He said, whilst I wait for the official V1000 merchandise, a friend created me my own logo and I now have a yellow hoodie to keep me warm over winter. So Rory was looking resplendent in his yellow hoodie and that custom logo, not a parkrun one, but a very clever looking logo for Rory specifically.

00:47:46Melissa Ellis: We next heard from Jonathan Morgan who had strayed from South Australia into New Zealand and he said awesome time at Dunedin parkrun this morning set in the beautiful Botanic gardens and includes climbing the stairs of despair twice also climbed to the world's steepest street yesterday now at Dunedin airport waiting for my first of three flights back to Adelaide today And there was a picture of Jonathan in the selfie frame next to the parkrun flag. I'm a little bit jealous. I would have liked to have done Dunedin myself. I'm sure I will get to one day. And I also climbed this world's steepest street. I think it's Baldwin Street.

00:48:26Simon Mackley: Okay.

00:48:27Melissa Ellis: And it does hold the title. It's in Wikipedia, so it must be true.

00:48:31Simon Mackley: Okay. And lastly, we heard from Johan Duvenhage from South Africa. He said, Wearing white and pink at our new edition, Pine Forest parkrun in Paulborough Free State. With most of the colours on the washing line. Levi and I had a wonderful morning with an awesome team and some big names in attendance. You can send me the check for the easy pronunciation bonus. Yes, thank you for having one that's actually quite easy to say there, Johan. So Johan and Levi were volunteering with the aforementioned pine forest in the background.

00:49:09Melissa Ellis: Now, I should maybe paint the picture of the parkrun colours on the washing line. Now, I believe it's something that Johan does at his events, maybe at special occasions or inaugurals, where he strings up literally pieces of line and pegs all the milestone shirts. So, you know, there's the... like the red 50 and the v50 shirt and then there's the the hundred the black and then there's the green and there's the pink I think and the apricot so he's got a whole array and he has them hanging up between the trees and the washing lines and it's very spectacular I think we've shared and we've had one of those shots as our cover photo on the adventurers we may still have I probably should know that

00:49:57Simon Mackley: Yeah, I've definitely seen it before, and I believe there was one with a sunrise with all of them in the foreground. So, yeah, it does look amazing when you see those photos.

00:50:08Melissa Ellis: It does. Thank you, Johan, for sharing. Now, just before we announce the Dazza's winner, Simon, I also wanted to do a special happy birthday to our Channel 5 News crew member, Alison King, who celebrated her birthday on parkrun Day. Now, she said it was her multiple of four birthday, so I assumed it was a milestone. I think perhaps it was not, but it's very cryptic. But in any case, I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Alison.

00:50:33Simon Mackley: Yes, happy birthday, Alison.

the Obi Award — Heather Hunter and Cathy Mudge

00:50:34Melissa Ellis: Now, do you have an Obi Post-it?

00:50:37Simon Mackley: I do have an Obi posted. And this week's winners, yes, plural, winners, is Heather Hunter and Cathy Mudge.

00:50:59Melissa Ellis: yes they got the ob for getting uh budgie moving yes so we do appreciate that thank you for keeping the interest going with budgie and Heather feel free to take him on some adventures and before you get to Whitemark if you want to pop up to Northern Territory feel free

00:51:18Simon Mackley: Or the ACT.

00:51:19Melissa Ellis: Yes.

00:51:20[background music]

the Birthday Boy

00:51:21Melissa Ellis: Now, that's it. We don't have any emails, so now it's time for us to throw to our birthday boy.

00:51:34the Birthday Boy: Howdy, it's the Birthday Boy here with some of the goings on for November 2024. November is in the top third for populous parkrun months, sitting behind April, October and May, but it is swiftly being caught by February and January. Anyway, there are 44 events spread over the five weeks of November. So let's get started. Kinda sucks to be week one or two this time around, as you're probably hearing this after the fact. So let's just list those out for their moment on the pod. Week one, the first nine events. Composite, Campaspe, sorry, East Richmond, Karkarook, Coonoora, Maitland, Our Park, Port Hedland, South Bank and Willoughby parkruns. Then in week two, the next 10 events are Aurora, Benalla Botanic Gardens, Berwick Waters, Cowra, Diamond Creek, Geographe Bay, Jurien Bay Foreshore, Launceston, Nepean River and Victory Heights Trail parkruns. There are no junior events celebrating in November. They start celebrating again from January. Continuing back with November, we have three events turning 10. The previously mentioned Geographe Bay is in week two, Calamvale in week three, and the beaches in week five. But, I hear that the Beaches is being tricky and celebrating in week four owing to tides. So here is a timely spot for the anniversary reminder that events may celebrate what they like, when they like. You should check all details of celebrations with the local source, i.e. their webpage and or their Facebook page. This is especially true for dress ups, cakes, et cetera. Back to the Beaches, and the theme for their 10th party is a parkwalker themed birthday. At time of recording, they have had more than a dozen parkwalkers signed up. And I think those numbers can only go up from there. The other week five event is Minnippi parkrun in Queensland. We gave them a shout out last year. At week five minus a few days is the US special day with Thanksgiving on November 28th this year. Give us ahoy if you're an adventurer and celebrating in the US of A. So if week one is the second, week two the ninth, week five is the 30th, that leaves the remaining weeks of November as the 16th and the 23rd. The ever-special first anniversaries for November are Dhunggaarr Reserve, New South Wales, and Katherine Hot Springs, Northern Territory. Welcome. We have an old timer event this month with the third event to open in Oz, celebrating their 13th anniversary. You can quite easily figure out who that event is, I'm sure. A hint, it's located in the third best state. And the other group of events I have picked to highlight this month are the remaining six events who are turning seven. Lota and Whitfords Nodes are celebrating in week three. Then Miles, North Harbour, Sunbury and Joaquin parkruns are in week four. As always, head to parkrun.com.au forward slash events to search for events on your adventures. And don't forget to park Sorry, and don't forget to check the parkrun cancellations page. It's a valuable tool. Check out parkrun.com.au forward slash cancellations. This is the official cancellation page and contains information for the coming weekend plus two further weeks. So be sure to check it again mid month, especially as this is a five week month. Well, see you next month for some more birthday boy banter and be sure to let the team know if you have any requests.

00:55:30[background music]

00:55:42Simon Mackley: And thank you to the birthday boy for going through November, which obviously we have missed the first week of it anyway. But yeah, it was good to hear that we have a 30th, third best state I think was the way it was put third best state I don't know where that is them's fighting words anyway so yes thank you birthday boy

Consolidated Club Report

00:56:10Melissa Ellis: Yes. OK, now over to the adventurers Consolidated Club report. For Saturday, the 2nd of November 2024, of a total of 706 members, 513 took part on this date in nine countries across 269 locations. In the UK, there were adventurers at 56 events. There were six in South Africa, four in the USA, and one in Ireland, Italy, Japan, and Singapore. Luckily, we had adventurers at 50 events in New South Wales, 49 in the Great Estate, 47 in Kingsland, 18 in West Australia, South Australia had 12, Tassie had 8, ACT had 7, North Island had 6, South Island had 2, and there were none in the Northern Territory.

the Frond — Belton House frond of four — Helen Rutter, Andy Rutter, Nicola Stott, Ali Sheppard

00:57:00Simon Mackley: From the international fronds, we had a fronde of four at Belton House in the UK, where we had Helen Rutter, Andy Rutter, Nicola Stott, and Ali Sheppard. Now, Ali did put a comment in Dazza's, which we've included here. So she said, I might have worn orange as Tail Walker, but today it was all about the colour green. Hold my usual latte, Dazza, and swap it for a glass of Prosecco, as after 11 years I finally did my 250th parkrun at Belton House parkrun. You do have a license, right? Thanks to all my friends who came to support me and for all those friends I made at parkrun throughout those years. And Ali was there in multi-colours and looking so happy to have completed her 250th parkrun.

00:57:48Melissa Ellis: Woohoo! Well done! And nice to have a little frond as well. Good job! Now I'll tell you where I didn't have a frond, Simon. Bushy. There was no pilgrimage this week with adventurers.

00:58:01Simon Mackley: Wow.

00:58:02Melissa Ellis: Zero, zilch, nada. So that's a bit sad. Never mind. I think there was the week before, but we didn't record that week. So, oh well. Sorry to those people. Now, the largest frond in Australia and New Zealand. There were a few events. So we had a frond of nine at three different events. Cottesloe, Macquarie University and Schlaba. But I am going to highlight our friends at Cottesloe. And they were Matthew Stevens, Chris Carvell, Chris Jones, Andrew Yeatman, Janet Changwony, Chang... And I do think that some of those popped into Dazza's. I definitely saw Andrew Yeatman in Dazza's, so I didn't copy down his comment, though. But anyway, well done, guys. Yes, old farts out there, I do believe.

00:58:57Simon Mackley: I believe they went for a swim as well. There was a comment about Matthew Stevens going for a dip with him.

00:59:02Melissa Ellis: Oh, that's right. There's this whole bromance thing going on.

00:59:06Simon Mackley: There is.

Launches and anniversaries"Where is the cake?"

00:59:07Simon Mackley: So while we've been off, there have been some launches galore. So two weeks ago, we kicked off with White Lick Creek parkrun in the USA.

00:59:18Melissa Ellis: Wow.

00:59:20Simon Mackley: Yeah, it's a mouthful. Just be careful how you say that. Exactly. Exactly. So they had 27 runners and 12 volunteers. So White Lick parkrun is located southwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. The course is an out and back on a permanent asphalt trail alongside White Lick Creek. It starts and finishes just over the bridge across from the creek from Friendship Gardens Park Trail and runs along the back of Plainfield Rec Center to a turnaround point near Talon Stream Park.

00:59:55Melissa Ellis: Now, we also had Bundoran Promenade parkrun in Ireland. And Bundoran Promenade is in County, County, not country, County Donegal. It launched with 254 runners and 21 volunteers. The course is a simple out and back along the promenade and Ruffy Cliff Walk. Location-wise, it's northeast of Sligo and southwest of Donegal. And I'll just say that really fast and hope for the best.

01:00:23Simon Mackley: And move on, yep. Also two weeks ago, Kai Kai parkrun in South Africa launched. So it had 48 participants and nine volunteers. So it's located in Port Nolif, which is around seven hours north of Cape Town, and it's very close to the Namibian border. It sounds like a destination parkrun as well, near the sea and mountains in the distance. It's a two-lapper running on fully paved surface around the perimeter of Kaikai Residential Development.

01:00:55Melissa Ellis: Next up, we had Simmons Park parkrun in the UK. Thank you, Simon, for giving me the easier options. It is a multi-terrain course and had 121 runners and 21 volunteers at its launch in Simmons Park, Okehampton. Oaky? Oaky. Oh...

01:01:14the Birthday Boy: Oh, we'll just go with O'Campden.

01:01:16Melissa Ellis: The course takes in the grounds of O'Campden College and Simmons Park on gravel, tarmac, artificial grass and trail, starting and ending on the path outside the pavilion in the park. So it's on a trail. You need your trail shoes.

01:01:32Simon Mackley: Bringing it back. OK, and now we go for one of the hard-to-pronounce ones. So... Pferdebachtal parkrun in Germany. So it's located in Dortmund. They had 107 runners and 11 volunteers when they launched last parkrun day. It's located close to Dortmund Zoo. The course starts at the parking lot at the Gisbert of Romberg Berufskolleg. Then going off to the Pferdebachtal, which means valley with grazing horses. It runs two laps of the parking paths on fine gravel, turning back and under the subway in the direction of Romberg Park and Berufskolleg and back into the parking lot. We have a special treat. We have a German course description courtesy of a friend of the pod, Sarah Jantscher, and she will now tell it to you in German.

01:02:33Sarah Jantscher: Streckenbeschreibung. Wir starten auf dem Parkplatz am Gießberg von Romberg Berufskolleg Romberg Park am Ende der Hacheneierstraße. Dann geht es ins Pferdebachtal. Dort laufen wir zwei Runden auf Parkwegen, feiner Schotter. Nach zwei Runden biegen wir wieder ab und laufen unter der U-Bahn durch Richtung Romberg Park und Berufskolleg. Am Parkplatz ist das Ziel.

01:02:59Melissa Ellis: And thank you very much, Sarah. Great to have that little bit of German flavour. A little bit of German flavour sprinkled into the pod. But now we're heading back over to South Africa to Pine Forest parkrun. And it's also starting last parkrun day. In Paul Roux, South Africa, there were 67 active participants and 13 volunteers who conquered the three-lap course. It begins through the pine forest and down towards the field, next to Reservoir Road, up through the field, back to the picnic spot, and repeat.

01:03:32Simon Mackley: Not like the next one, which was also in South Africa, which I'm going to say is called Klein Valley, but it doesn't look like it says Klein Valley. So Kleinevalleij parkrun started with 521 active participants and 28 volunteers. The route is a double lapper along gravel roads in the Kleinevalleij Estate, which is a working vineyard north of Paarl, near Stellenbosch.

01:04:00Melissa Ellis: I'm not seeing any Australian events here. This is a concern.

01:04:04Simon Mackley: Yes, hopefully there's some in the making at the moment.

01:04:09Melissa Ellis: Asia Pacific, it's letting the team down.

parkrun adventure challengelistener challenge

01:04:11Melissa Ellis: Never mind. Okay, what do we... Now, let's issue a challenge, Simon. I think we need to get our listeners back onto the challenge, and I want to make it a bit harder this week.

01:04:23Simon Mackley: Because it wasn't hard enough?

01:04:24Melissa Ellis: So that you have to think. You have to use your brain. Yeah, well, people don't like lying on the ground. They get all sooky if it's wet. Anyway, this time, how well do you know your Melbourne Cup racehorses? You might have to get Google or Wikipedia to help you out with this one. What I want you to do, listeners, is I want you to work in the name of a previous Melbourne Cup winning horse into your Dazza's post. Can't be that hard, surely. We even have a parkrun named after a previous Melbourne Cup winner. We do. One of your very own events, Simon.

01:04:58Simon Mackley: Yes, indeed.

01:05:00Melissa Ellis: Often mispronounced.

01:05:09Simon Mackley: Yes.

International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day

01:05:10Simon Mackley: Okay. So looking forward, do we have something we're looking forward to, Mel?

01:05:14Melissa Ellis: Oh, we always look forward to Ugly Christmas in, I was going to say in July, Ugly Christmas Singlet and Shirt Day, Simon. And the big news is there has been a second offering, of the shirts if you missed out in round one round two is open so you can jump on over to the Ugly Christmas Singlet and Shirt Day page and find that the portal is open again if you missed out the first time in grabbing yourself one of those very popular tops now as a reminder it's not us that makes these shirts if you do have questions please ask the elves over on that page all the details we just like to support them exactly where are you going next parkrun day Mel well you see I haven't got a plan again this has been a very quiet couple of months for me with just worrying about my car oh my gosh I can take my new car to parkrun Simon exactly with your new number plates oh no I don't think they'll be on yet Because, you know, I've got to pick up the car on Friday and then I have to get to VicRoads to do the transfer. So, yeah, listeners, I've got new number plates. And I might do a reveal in Dazza's when they're in the car, yes anyway um so I don't know I think it'll be somewhere local because I've got to be across town for lunch on Saturday so I haven't got a lot of time so I Dave and I will be popping out to somewhere within maybe within a 45 minute radius of Meltown anyway uh tell me what about you

01:07:03Simon Mackley: I am very much the same. I'm undecided, which is very boring. I don't think I'll go and hit a new event. I might go and up my reindex, or I may go and try and increase my p-index. So if I do my p-index, I will go to Scribbly Gum. If I do my reindex, I might actually go to Underwood, which is about half an hour drive for me.

01:07:28Melissa Ellis: so we'll see what happens but I will wear my adventurers shirt if anyone sees me hit me up and say hello ah yes I also always wear my adventurers shirts I do think we need to look at opening up and selling some more of those maybe in the New Year we need to look at that maybe before palm Simon I think

Sign-off

01:07:47Simon Mackley: That's a good idea.

01:07:48Melissa Ellis: Yeah. Anyway, next week I am going to be back with TOC. He didn't go to parkrun this week. He actually ran a very long two-day event. I think it was a two-day event. It was like 60 kilometres or something down in Portland.

01:08:03Simon Mackley: He did two different events.

01:08:05Melissa Ellis: Did he?

01:08:06Simon Mackley: He did a marathon in one day, and then he went and did 60km the next day.

01:08:12Melissa Ellis: Oh, gee whiz. No wonder he said his legs were cooked.

01:08:15Simon Mackley: Yep. It was both the two bays thing, but he did two different days of massive amounts of kilometres.

01:08:22Melissa Ellis: Yeah. And just in case the audio is picking up in the background, Lucy is whining at the office door because it's closed. She wants to come in and go to bed. So that must mean we're nearly at the end. It must. Thank you for joining me again, Simon.

01:08:40Simon Mackley: No problem. It's great to be back.

01:08:42Melissa Ellis: Now, everybody, as always, you can contact us via parkrun adventurers on Facebook or our email, which is parkrunadventurers at gmail.com. We like emails. That's it for another week, and we will see you all next week for more adventures.

01:08:55[outro theme playing]

01:08:58Simon Mackley: Bye. I was holding back.

01:09:16Alice: It's free, it's free, it's free.