December 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Nothing says Christmas like dragging your festive pudding to parkrun and sticking a microphone in people’s faces (we literally did that!).
In this very special Christmas episode of Runbelievable, Joshie and Matty take the podcast out of the studio and straight to their local parkrun for a festive vox-pop extravaganza. From milestone runners and volunteers to semi-elites and everyday legends who were just happy to still be standing in the Brisbane humidity, this episode captures the true spirit of the running community.
Along the way, there’s a Christmas quiz (yup... we call it Quizmas!) absolutely no one asked for, reflections on how and when you listen to the show, and plenty of moments that remind us why parkrun.
It’s light, chaotic, festive, and very Runbelievable.
Runbelievable: real runners, unreal stories.
Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rnblv_official/
Got a Runbelievable story or interested in being a guest on the show? Hit us up on socials or email us at joshua@runbelievable.au
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Joshie (00:19):
Hello everybody and welcome to a very run-believable
Christmas.
That's right, nothing sayscommercialisation more than a
Christmas special.
I'm your host, Josh Pranceran,and with me as always is my
trusty co-host, Matt DasherPerry.
Given we exist to share whatmakes running a truly human
experience, these two humansdecided to drag our Christmas
(00:42):
puddings down to our localparkrun to capture the hearts
and minds of whoever we couldcajole into sharing a few words.
Maddie, welcome back.
How did you find our very firstFoxpop experience?
Matty (00:55):
Yeah, thanks, Joshy.
Um I really enjoyed it.
It was good.
It was good to get around andand speak to people that were
running Parkrun because it's notsomething you you normally do,
go and speak to just um everydaypeople that you may not know.
And what I sort of got out ofand what I f what I found is
Parkrun is actually a huge partof some people's life.
(01:16):
Um they really enjoy it, theythey get a lot out of it, um,
and and a sense of achievement.
So everyone that we spoke to wasmore than happy to to have a
chat, um, which was really good.
So got to got to meet and knowum a whole new group of people.
Joshie (01:31):
Yeah.
It was fantastic.
Look, we captured about an hourof content, believe it or not,
but don't worry, we'll havemercy on listeners and spare
them most of the twenty fourminutes and nine seconds that it
took me to complete the course.
Now, in a moment, you'll hearfrom a milestone runner, you'll
hear from a volunteer, asemi-elite athlete, and plenty
(01:53):
of other peers who were justhappy to be alive.
Now, in fact, we spoke to closerto a dozen people, and I can't
wait to showcase thoseconversations.
But before we do, as the yeardraws to a close, I was curious
about when people listen to ourepisodes.
Now, Maddie, not to hang you outto dry, another poll that you
missed completely.
(02:15):
Yeah, uh I didn't post because Iwas quite curious about when
people listen to run believableepisodes, and there was a real
mix between when people tune infrom during runs or exercise
sessions, workouts, uh quite afew when commuting.
It was a there was a real mix,so uh it was actually quite
(02:36):
interesting to get somefeedback.
So if you're exercising rightnow, if you're commuting, stop
targeting or if you're doingchores, you're walking around at
my place anytime.
Matty (03:00):
Awesome.
Joshie (03:01):
That's right, Maddie.
It's Christmas time, and yes,can I have that one point for a
correct and three zero forincorrect question number one?
The first artificial Christmastrees were made from what
unusual material A.
(03:21):
B.
Painted hater, Crawl, or D.
Middle Street.
How did you know that?
That is incredible.
Matty (03:34):
Because it was the most obscure world.
And I think when the greatChristmas trees came in, it was
probably in the like 40s, 50s,60s.
Joshie (03:47):
Well, we had a 1 in 4 chairs, that's pretty
impressive.
Let's see how you can actually.
The tradition of putting upChristmas lights became popular
after Witching Avengers companycreated the first commercially
available string lights.
Was it a Thomas Edison?
A Nicola Tesla.
(04:07):
C Edward Johnson or D.
Almost very Tesla.
It was actually C.
Edward Johnson.
Okay.
Well, interestingly enough, uh,he was Edison's associate and
showed the very first electricstring lights in 1882.
(04:34):
Question number three.
Last question.
Candy cans were originallycreated in Germany for war
purpose.
A.
To decorate tree ranges.
B to keep children quiet duringlong church services.
C to symbolize shepherd's staff.
Or D as winter medicine.
(04:57):
I'd say um shepherd's stars.
It was actually B to keepchildren quiet.
Long church services.
That's the one that I I thought,no way.
Matty (05:10):
Okay.
Joshie (05:11):
The jury's out on the efficacy of said candy canes at
keeping the kids quiet.
Um now, you might be wondering,what does this quiz have to do
with running absolutely nothing?
It's Christmas quiz, so umAlright.
Without any further delay, let'sroll the tape, Maddie, and enjoy
(05:33):
the immersive experience of aregular park run on a stupidly
warm Saturday morning here inBrisbane.
Matty (05:43):
So now I've wake up this morning and I'm like, I'm
training, right?
Joshie (05:51):
So we're down here at Chernside Parkrun for our very
first Run believable Christmasspecial.
And I've got Maddie walkingahead of me.
He's just reflecting on thehardest run of his life
yesterday.
And walking with him is mylovely wife Nat.
Nat, how are you feeling abouttoday?
(06:12):
Natty?
SPEAKER_04 (06:13):
Very well.
Joshie (06:13):
How are you feeling about today?
SPEAKER_04 (06:15):
Oh, wonderful! How are you feeling, Joshua?
Joshie (06:17):
You mean wonderful?
SPEAKER_04 (06:19):
Run believable.
Joshie (06:21):
Um Maddie, what about yourself?
Welcome to Chermside Park Run.
How are you feeling, dude?
Yeah, good, good.
Here for another park run thatI'm not running.
SPEAKER_06 (06:29):
Um, love it.
Joshie (06:32):
And what about you, Naddie?
What are you hoping to get outof today?
SPEAKER_04 (06:36):
Not wet feet.
Joshie (06:38):
Not wet feet.
So as long as you don't run onthe grass, we should be okay.
We had a little bit of rainyesterday, so the grass is a bit
wet, but the concrete, theactual path looks fantastic.
So I think we're all gonna havea wonderful time today.
So we've now got Maddie talkingabout a bus stop marathon.
Can you tell us what that's allabout?
Matty (06:54):
Yeah, so I read a story where a guy um was at a bus
stop, so you're looking at abouttwo something, three metres
wide, and he ran 21.1k back andforth from one end of the bus
stop to the next end.
Joshie (07:06):
Wow, so what about hey John, how are you going?
Thanks, Matt.
Coach John the Hop here.
Yeah, so we got we've got uhJohn Hansen here, bush turkey
runner.
Uh who looks like he's alreadydone a quick 5k.
SPEAKER_08 (07:16):
I've I haven't done a quick 5k, but we just had the
first uh round of the bushturkey classic, so I came
seventh.
So it's 1400 metres, I think itwas on my watch, but it's
supposed to be a mile, so ohcongratulations!
Joshie (07:27):
I saw your message or someone's message that you guys
were going to be finishing uparound here.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (07:31):
So I did um around a 410 for the for what it was,
whatever it was on my watch.
Joshie (07:37):
So and I was seventh.
So 1400 metres.
That's incredible.
Wow.
So you're doing proud of that.
We have some semi-reluctantparticipants here.
We've got uh we've got Mel.
Mel, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_08 (07:49):
Hello, how are you gone?
Joshie (07:51):
Good yourself.
SPEAKER_08 (07:51):
Loving the podcast, guys.
Joshie (07:53):
Oh awesome.
What about um where's your childtoday?
Are you running child free?
Yes, yes, he's at home.
SPEAKER_04 (07:59):
So yeah.
Joshie (08:00):
Expecting big things.
SPEAKER_04 (08:01):
Absolutely not.
We had not much sleep lastnight.
Joshie (08:06):
And Karen, how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01 (08:07):
I'm absolutely fabulous.
Yeah, it's parkrun Saturday.
Joshie (08:10):
Yeah, it is awesome.
And and it's Christmas time aswell.
It's Christmas, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Gotta love the parkrun at Christmas time.
Joshie (08:16):
Yeah, how are you going, Jeanette?
SPEAKER_01 (08:18):
Not too bad.
Please, it's the end of the weekand it's Saturday.
Joshie (08:21):
It's a little bit warm, isn't it?
When I walked out of the houseout, it's nice and cool, but
it's actually when you startwalking around.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
And it's humid because they are forecasting a
little bit of rain.
Oh, are they?
Not that we had a little bitovernight, didn't we?
Joshie (08:32):
We did.
It's brought out a bit of heattoday, hasn't it?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Now it's just now it's just the sauna.
I love the sauna.
Joshie (08:39):
Awesome.
It's good to see you back here,Ruddy.
How you how's it all going,Steve?
SPEAKER_10 (08:45):
Oh, it's going pretty slow, I think.
Yes, very slow.
Tell us about the top thatyou're wearing.
Oh yeah, this is awesome.
Um I forget the name of thebrand.
Got it at Wild Earth out at umnear DFO.
SPEAKER_04 (08:59):
DFO.
SPEAKER_10 (09:01):
Awesome.
Yeah, it is absolutely myfavourite shirt.
I love it.
I love it.
Joshie (09:07):
It looks amazing, it looks like good running
material.
So we've got the amazing Rosswho is doing our Christmas Day.
Run directing today?
Christmas Day.
Oh yeah, yeah, there is aChristmas Day run.
Uh so yes, we've got RossStanley doing an amazing
introduction.
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
Anyone speaking us, okay?
Everybody knows their left hand.
Show me left hand.
That's your left hand, please.
Stay left on the part, please.
Joshie (09:35):
Congratulations on 50.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Are you interested in being onthe podcast with me?
I've got a uh little microphonehere.
We we sort of just like chatsome recreational runners about
their experiences.
Okay, and so today's what uhwhat's your name?
Brett.
Brett, I'm Josh.
And we've got Matt behind me.
So what does 50 um park runsmean to you?
SPEAKER_11 (09:58):
Well, it's sort of been a long time coming.
Uh did my first one, I don'tknow, it was around the time
when Chen Tide started.
Yeah.
And I haven't done one for morethan 18 months.
Really?
A little while.
Joshie (10:11):
So you've been on 49.
So was it injury or justcircumstance that sort of not
injury at all, no circumstance.
SPEAKER_11 (10:20):
Um I I want to be running and I want to be fit,
but just stuff happens and lifeand whatever else, and it just
hasn't quite worked out.
Joshie (10:29):
Oh gosh, geez, what a tell you what, that's a that's
huge anticipation building up tonumber 50.
What are you um hoping to getout of today?
SPEAKER_11 (10:36):
I just want to get back into it.
Um I'm a school teacher, so justhad my last day of school for
the year yesterday and get backinto it and really do some um
exercise over summer.
Joshie (10:48):
So give you a hint.
Picture the worst kid in club ata kid.
I'm sure there's gonna be a bitof motivation, like it's a tough
gig as a teacher, and I've nodoubt that uh you could use some
of the feedback those kids giveyou as a bit of fuel for today,
maybe.
Definitely, I will be, yes.
Yeah, awesome.
Well, I might have a quick chattoo at the end and see how you
how you go.
(11:08):
The cape looks great, by theway, it'll make you go faster, I
assure you.
I I'm expecting so.
Thank you so much.
Cheers, Brett, thank you.
Yeah, nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_06 (11:16):
Yeah, I know, yeah.
Joshie (11:18):
Yeah, we've had a great chat.
So Brett was he's been on uh 49park runs for uh 18 months in DC
number 50 today.
You guys aren't running?
SPEAKER_04 (11:26):
I don't think so.
Joshie (11:27):
Alright, I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna run.
You're gonna run?
Why not?
SPEAKER_11 (11:31):
Yeah, it's number 50.
Hey! Congrats, Matt, thank you,thank you.
Joshie (11:35):
Walk us up.
Walkers up! Well, how's itfeeling?
Yeah, she's really at marathonbase here and struggling.
But it's hot as balls.
But that first person wasflying.
Didn't even look like he wasmoving.
(11:56):
We've got John Hansen coming upsecond now.
Go John! Go back.
Everyone cheats each other onover 2Ks now.
Quite warm times, I don't knowwhat my time was at the turn.
(12:21):
Happy with that.
Good work, Badwell.
Excellent work, congrats, Jen.
Good work.
He's flying.
Someone did not like him.
Overtaking.
(12:42):
I love that.
Good Karen.
Good work, guys.
Good work, Chris.
Good to see you back.
This hill at three Ks.
Kills people.
Not huge, but in a hard day liketoday.
Thanks again.
Yeah, cheers.
This bit's always hard at jumpside.
(13:04):
800 meters to go thereabouts.
Slide uphill.
Full sun.
It's hot and humid.
I rate 172, which is too highfor this face.
Home stretch now.
250 to go.
Mane up in the high 23s, I'mlucky.
(13:26):
Low 24s.
Cheers, mate.
Thanks, mate.
Oh my gosh.
Happy days.
That was um tougher than Ithought.
(13:47):
Oh, it would be really hot outthere.
SPEAKER_02 (13:48):
Crazy.
Thanks for volunteering.
I have a podcast.
Joshie (13:53):
Yeah, I'm actually recording now.
Do you want to say hello?
I'll let you scan this person'sbarco.
There we go, a bit of promo.
I've forgotten your name, sorry.
Oh, it's Melissa.
Melissa Josh.
So Melissa's scanning barco.
So there's here at Chermsideprobably 15 different volley
(14:17):
rolls between 12 and 15.
Got our amazing run director,Ross Stanley, standing nearby.
How are you, Ross?
I'm good, Joshy.
How are you, mate?
Going very well.
Conditions are tough out therethough.
Yes, so we're a bit hot andsweaty today.
Yeah, I think you've met it, eh?
You got the right gig with therun director today.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
You're still trying to look cool, calm, and
collected.
Joshie (14:39):
You're doing a great job.
There are no incidents outthere, none that I saw anyhow.
Yeah.
Tell me something.
With that, you I saw at uhSandgate there was an incident a
few weeks ago with the runnerwho uh took out a pedestrian.
Yes.
Does that end up having rippleeffects to other park runs
around the region or not really?
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
No, well not that I'm aware of, and Rodney hasn't
said anything to us about he'smade us aware of that incident.
Yeah.
Um and I think universally aspart as a run directive wherever
you condemn that behaviour andwant to ensure that that never
repeats itself.
Yeah.
Um, but I I just uh I don't knowwhat the follow-on like Sandgate
(15:17):
Park Run has done.
Yeah.
And so that you know, I I Iwould like to see that fully
investigated and then shared,you know, what we can do to
prevent that sort of bag in thefuture.
Joshie (15:30):
I don't know about you, but I was disappointed to see
how many uh runners were beingvery defensive about the
incident.
I mean, at the end of the day,when you're a runner, you have a
duty of care to protect and lookafter pedestrians.
So I was actually quitesurprised and disappointed to
see uh how many runners were uhalmost trolling the director who
has a tough job at Sandgate.
Yeah.
(15:50):
Yeah.
So I didn't see that.
Yeah, there's been a lot ofbacklash from the the run
director posted a very pointedmessage.
Yeah, but the response has beenmixed.
Um yeah, a real mix of peoplewho uh leapt to the defence of
the um the the runningcommunity, and so the risk is
that the licence ends up beingrevoked.
(16:12):
We want to see that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
No, of course not.
No, no, and um it each um eachof us does have a response care
of duty to each other on uh andum other participant other
people who are on Park Run.
Well it's a shared, as we say inthe safety wheels.
It's a shared um it's a sharedcourse.
Joshie (16:32):
Yeah, this isn't exclusive.
Yeah, how are we here?
You're doing a great job, Ross.
Thanks for chatting.
Thanks, mate.
Yeah, cheers, babe.
Matty (16:39):
How are you?
How'd you go?
Joshie (16:43):
I survived.
I survived.
Hi Jack, how are you?
Good, thanks yourself.
Yeah, very good.
SPEAKER_07 (16:48):
Am I being interviewed?
Uh informally, you're beinginterviewed.
Joshie (16:51):
This is what we do.
We do this as a bit of a test tosee whether or not you uh meet
the criteria for the fullinterview.
SPEAKER_07 (16:57):
I'm only kidding.
Joshie (16:58):
You look good out there.
SPEAKER_07 (16:59):
Yeah, yeah, I I felt good.
Oh, I don't know.
I that's a lie.
I've I've come off two Christmasparties.
It was the challenge.
Joshie (17:05):
Oh yeah.
I'm amazed though that uh evenin this weather, you're still I
saw you done the uh was it the20-minute pacer vest?
Is it last time around or theone before?
SPEAKER_07 (17:14):
You've been you've been hovering around the 20s uh
consistently.
I think maybe the first weekendof November I done the 20-minute
pacer vest.
I didn't do it this month.
Yeah.
Um but I think I either did itOctober or November.
Yeah.
Done the 20-minute pacer vest.
Joshie (17:26):
Yeah, awesome.
So you just keep training oversummer.
What have you got on the agendafor next year?
Uh first up is Starlight SuperSwim in February.
Oh.
So you did that, was it thisyear, earlier this year?
I've done it.
SPEAKER_07 (17:37):
This is next year will be my fifth year doing it.
Oh, awesome.
Yeah, so 32 kilometers in themonth of February to raise money
for the Starlight Foundation.
Not thirty in one hit, it'sthirty two cumulatively press
the month.
Joshie (17:49):
So you try and do like a K a day kind of thing?
Is that how it works?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (17:55):
Yeah, so I'll normally do probably five or six
sessions in the pool a week, andI'll do about 1.5 to 1.8
kilometres at a time in thepool.
Joshie (18:04):
Wow, that's insane.
SPEAKER_07 (18:05):
Yeah.
Joshie (18:06):
What about running wise?
Do you have any goals for nextyear?
Uh Gold Coast Marathon.
Yep.
So you got a ticket?
Yes.
Awesome.
SPEAKER_07 (18:17):
Because I go into the queue at nine o'clock on the
work computer, got to the frontof the queue, realised that the
work firewall blocks a sign onsite, so I had to get back into
the queue on my phone.
Oh no.
So it was probably about midday,one o'clock, but I finally got
to the front of the queue againand was able to secure myself a
ticket.
Joshie (18:34):
You see, this is why I love recreational runners.
The elites don't have to gothrough this, they don't have
firewalls, they just turn up andrun.
They miss out on the phone.
Oh yeah.
Jack, thanks for talking withus.
Maddie, why didn't you runtoday?
SPEAKER_06 (18:46):
Um, it's hot.
Matty (18:49):
Yeah.
Um I don't like I don't like thehumidity.
Joshie (18:53):
So I'm sore.
Um yeah, well, we may havementioned at the start that
Maddie just ran the hardest runof his life yesterday, so he's
recovering from that.
SPEAKER_07 (19:02):
Okay, I'm recovering.
Joshie (19:03):
You've got my lovely wife Natty here.
Nat, why didn't you run today?
SPEAKER_04 (19:08):
And I felt totally fine watching everyone else run
today.
I did a workout last night and Ijust tired.
Joshie (19:14):
Yeah.
Needed a break.
Oh, well done.
SPEAKER_06 (19:17):
Thank you.
Joshie (19:18):
Happy resting.
I had a great chat with uh wegot we got Jen here.
I wonder if I can get Jen tocome over and have a chat.
Hi Jen.
We're we're recording.
SPEAKER_06 (19:29):
Oh hi.
Joshie (19:33):
Did you want to have a chat?
How was that out there?
SPEAKER_12 (19:36):
Oh it was alright.
No, I don't know.
I've been saying not quite ashumoured the last four weeks in
a row, but it's still.
Joshie (19:46):
Oh well done.
I think even even participatingand finishing is an awesome
effort.
So well done, Jen.
SPEAKER_12 (19:52):
Yeah, lots of shout-outs and stuff in.
And that's a lot of people.
Joshie (19:55):
Yeah, sorry, I don't think I reciprocated your
shout-out.
I think you say, go, Josh, youalways focused.
There's a bit where it's reallyshady, and I have trouble
spotting people there.
SPEAKER_12 (20:06):
Yeah.
Joshie (20:07):
Well, thanks for giving me an excuse.
Well done today.
Well Brett, how was it?
It's Brett, isn't it?
How was that?
Number 50, congratulations.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_11 (20:21):
Um ways it was easier than I expected,
otherwise harder.
Yeah.
Been doing a few three kilometreruns, so yeah.
That was just that.
A bit further.
Yeah, I felt good overall.
Yeah, you looked like you wereprobably around the 26 around
that, 26, 27.
Well, according to my phone, butI don't know if I started it at
the right time.
It was about 29.
(20:41):
29.
You don't run with a watch bythe looks of things.
I do, but I ran out of batteryovernight and I for number 50.
Joshie (20:47):
I'm not in practice, so you have to come back and do it
all again next week.
SPEAKER_06 (20:50):
I will, I'll be here.
I'll be here.
Joshie (20:52):
Well, congratulations today.
Awesome 50 milestones.
Well done.
I appreciate it.
Cheers.
SPEAKER_10 (20:59):
How's that, Steve?
How'd you go?
Yeah, pretty good actually.
Yeah.
Considering very warm, but yeah.
Really, I was pretty happy withhow I ran.
Nice and got a bit faster as Iwent.
And uh yeah.
Joshie (21:12):
And we got we got uh Brett here who just ran number
50.
He's been sitting on 49 parkruns for 18 months, and today
reeled out number number 50.
SPEAKER_10 (21:20):
What happened today?
The majority um school holidaystarted.
That is literally it.
Thank you.
Joshie (21:30):
Yeah, well done.
Congratulations again, Brett.
That's a big achievement.
Cheers.
My top is completely sticking tome now.
Hopefully it gets rid of thecreases.
I'm not sure about the qualityof these uh tops.
What do you think?
See how yours isn't as badlycreased as mine.
Matty (21:46):
That's because it's mine has a mess, uh scrunched up in
my door mate off all my clothes.
Joshie (21:50):
You probably ironed it before you came here as well.
I did uh I may have designed itwhen I first got it.
SPEAKER_12 (22:04):
But you look at it.
Yeah, you all look very sharpthis morning.
Well, thank you very much.
And you're unbelievablesinglets.
Joshie (22:11):
They do look alright, don't they?
I was the only one on course, sothese guys decided that they'd
do some promo at the finishline.
SPEAKER_02 (22:19):
No, I know.
Joshie (22:20):
Oh, we've got Aaron over here.
SPEAKER_10 (22:22):
Have you ever registered it?
Joshie (22:24):
Yeah, he's I wonder if Aaron would want to have a chat.
SPEAKER_05 (22:26):
Hey, well done.
I jogged most of it.
Then I actually what I'dprobably almost consider like
running.
Yeah.
Well, I actually widened mystride so I actually was running
rather than just like shuffling.
Joshie (22:38):
Oh that's all you know I'm re I'm recording.
Is that okay?
SPEAKER_05 (22:41):
Yeah, sorry.
Joshie (22:42):
Um you know I've noticed that you've been not just
running, but you've beensmashing the cross training
lately.
I've seen on Strava you eitherswimming or doing gym sessions
every day?
SPEAKER_05 (22:50):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much, yeah.
Yeah, I tr I have to forcemyself to have a day rest every
week.
Yeah.
Usually I feel there's a time Ifeel burnt out a bit, so then
I'll take the morning off andjust go for a walk.
So when did you get the bug?
Like what was it that sort ofgot you?
I've always dedicated as well aswhat you were now.
I've always done stuff.
So since the only time I everstopped was briefly when Luke
(23:12):
was young.
Yeah.
And when I was like a uni, Ididn't do as much.
Yeah.
But I've always done something.
Cycling, swimming.
Swimming was probably got backinto it when I did my kneeing.
Yeah.
And I had to go to the pool anddo walking.
Yep.
Up and down the pool.
Yeah.
And so then I um then I wentback into swimming again.
(23:32):
Yeah.
And then I slowly built back upinto being able to walk.
Yep.
Because when I first did it, Iwas doing park run, but I'd only
walk like 100 metres and backagain.
Oh.
And then just like slowly justbuild up distance over time
walking.
And how did the knee feel?
Joshie (23:47):
So have you met um Matt, have you met Aaron before or
not?
Matty (23:51):
Matt Aaron, last mate, yeah.
Joshie (23:52):
Matt's a good friend of mine.
Um sits with me on the on thepodcast.
Yeah, he's one that cracks allthe funny jokes up.
Aaron had a very very comp veryuh Aaron had a very complex knee
operation uh a few years agonow.
Yeah.
How's the knee feeling at themoment, like running wise?
SPEAKER_05 (24:12):
It's not great because I've put on a bit of
weight in the past year, so it'sgot a lot of impact through it
at the moment.
When I was lighter, it felt alot better.
Yeah.
So the last year's been a realslog of trying to just keep
going.
Like I just need to get the dietback under control again.
Yeah.
And then that'll bring theweight back off, and then
that'll make more comfortablefor running.
(24:32):
Yeah.
Do you have any park run goalsfor next year?
Um, I do want to actually startgoing regularly.
I had a long hiatus off.
It took me like 10 years to domy hundred c hundreds.
Oh wow.
I want to actually start atleast, if not every park run,
every second park run.
Yeah.
It's good because I go and meetTony here and we give each other
a bit of stick, so you know itkeeps keeps me a bit motivated,
(24:54):
and I've got a routine now whereI go to the gym and then come
here.
Okay.
Whereas before like a year or soago, I was doing karate after
this.
Oh wow.
And it just completely burnt meout.
Like I'd go and then do karatefor two hours, and I just I
think that was actually whatcaused my downfall was too much.
I think I burnt my body out sobadly that it just didn't
(25:17):
recover properly.
Yeah.
But you it sounds like you'remanaging your volume a lot
better now.
Back on the volume of all of myactivities.
I still try and make itconsistent because I think you
need to do I always think atleast two to three times a week
you need to do whatever activityyou're doing to be proficient.
Yeah.
Like swimming, you definitelyhave to do three times a week.
(25:38):
Gym, it's good if you can gothree times a week.
And consistency is the key.
Consistency is the key.
It does I reckon it doesn'tmatter what you do when you get
there half the time.
Like if you do great, then it'sgreat.
If you get to there and dosomething, there's times when
you just go through months ofthat period and people just
stop.
But if you just keep going atit, things all start to move
again.
Exactly.
Because they keep showing up.
Joshie (25:58):
Yeah, showing up is exactly right.
Just like Maddie did today.
He's showing up.
That's it.
Thanks, Aaron.
Dude just came up to me andthought I was barcode scanning.
Maybe it was this hint that Ishould be volunteering more.
(26:19):
So it is Melissa, isn't it?
Yeah.
Um so what does um what does paruh parkrun mean to you?
SPEAKER_02 (26:25):
Oh, uh, it's a good sense of belonging, maybe.
It's probably the easiest way,yeah.
And to be honest, um, yeah, it'sprobably my favourite thing to
volunteer with because you getto talk to everyone and puts you
in a really good mood.
Joshie (26:36):
You seem to volunteer almost as much as what you run.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Oh no, I'm not as good.
There's a few around here thatdo that and they're more.
Joshie (26:44):
This guy does, yeah.
Some people are more competitivewith volunteering than they are
with running though.
So oh look, as long as you're acouple times a year, you're
doing great.
Thanks, Melissa.
Yeah, cheers.
SPEAKER_12 (26:57):
Yeah, I did a workout last night.
Joshie (26:59):
How was that?
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
Very hot, just humid.
But yeah, I got my positionbingo.
No way.
Yes, way.
Joshie (27:07):
So what was left on the um on the card?
SPEAKER_01 (27:10):
So it was 181.
Like complete that counts.
Yeah.
Matty (27:16):
We've got to get every number on a bingo card.
SPEAKER_01 (27:18):
No, a position.
So between between one andninety-nine.
Yes, I've still got it open.
So I've got some trophy warshappening here.
Okay.
Joshie (27:27):
81 was the last one.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
480, but 281.
Joshie (27:30):
Congratulations.
Yeah.
So, how long have you beentrying to get the last one for?
How long have you had that inthe case?
SPEAKER_01 (27:35):
Now I don't try, it just happens.
Like, I'm not one of thesepeople that counts the numbers.
Matty (27:42):
Oh, they do, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:43):
I don't do that, it had to just happen.
And I've had one for quite someyears.
Oh, sorry, I had two for years.
I got the second to last one.
Maybe nine months ago, somethinglike that.
And then there's just been thisone.
Joshie (27:58):
Well, congratulations, what are you gonna do to
celebrate?
I sincerely hope that you likethat.
In 2026, you'll hear from anincredible range of guests.
Life transformations, findinglove through running, and tales
of resilience that have to beheard to be believed.
(28:20):
In the meantime, if you have arun-believable story of your
own, we'd love to hear it.
And if you'd like to be a gueston the show, then hit us up.
Finally, if there's oneChristmas wish that we do have,
it's to please follow, rate, andshare this podcast with your
running mates.
It does something to thealgorithm which I truly cannot
be bothered understanding norexplaining.
(28:42):
So have yourselves a wonderfulfestive season, and we'll see
you for the next Unbelievableadventure.
Thanks, Matty.
It's been awesome fun.
Matty (28:57):
Thanks, Joshua.
Hello everybody and welcome to a very run-believable
Christmas.
That's right, nothing sayscommercialisation more than a
Christmas special.
I'm your host, Josh Pranceran,and with me as always is my
trusty co-host, Matt DasherPerry.
Given we exist to share whatmakes running a truly human
experience, these two humansdecided to drag our Christmas
(00:42):
puddings down to our localparkrun to capture the hearts
and minds of whoever we couldcajole into sharing a few words.
Maddie, welcome back.
How did you find our very firstFoxpop experience?
Matty (00:55):
Yeah, thanks, Joshy.
Um I really enjoyed it.
It was good.
It was good to get around andand speak to people that were
running Parkrun because it's notsomething you you normally do,
go and speak to just um everydaypeople that you may not know.
And what I sort of got out ofand what I f what I found is
Parkrun is actually a huge partof some people's life.
(01:16):
Um they really enjoy it, theythey get a lot out of it, um,
and and a sense of achievement.
So everyone that we spoke to wasmore than happy to to have a
chat, um, which was really good.
So got to got to meet and knowum a whole new group of people.
Joshie (01:31):
Yeah.
It was fantastic.
Look, we captured about an hourof content, believe it or not,
but don't worry, we'll havemercy on listeners and spare
them most of the twenty fourminutes and nine seconds that it
took me to complete the course.
Now, in a moment, you'll hearfrom a milestone runner, you'll
hear from a volunteer, asemi-elite athlete, and plenty
(01:53):
of other peers who were justhappy to be alive.
Now, in fact, we spoke to closerto a dozen people, and I can't
wait to showcase thoseconversations.
But before we do, as the yeardraws to a close, I was curious
about when people listen to ourepisodes.
Now, Maddie, not to hang you outto dry, another poll that you
missed completely.
(02:15):
Yeah, uh I didn't post because Iwas quite curious about when
people listen to run believableepisodes, and there was a real
mix between when people tune infrom during runs or exercise
sessions, workouts, uh quite afew when commuting.
It was a there was a real mix,so uh it was actually quite
(02:36):
interesting to get somefeedback.
So if you're exercising rightnow, if you're commuting, stop
targeting or if you're doingchores, you're walking around at
my place anytime.
Matty (03:00):
Awesome.
Joshie (03:01):
That's right, Maddie.
It's Christmas time, and yes,can I have that one point for a
correct and three zero forincorrect question number one?
The first artificial Christmastrees were made from what
unusual material A.
(03:21):
B.
Painted hater, Crawl, or D.
Middle Street.
How did you know that?
That is incredible.
Matty (03:34):
Because it was the most obscure world.
And I think when the greatChristmas trees came in, it was
probably in the like 40s, 50s,60s.
Joshie (03:47):
Well, we had a 1 in 4 chairs, that's pretty
impressive.
Let's see how you can actually.
The tradition of putting upChristmas lights became popular
after Witching Avengers companycreated the first commercially
available string lights.
Was it a Thomas Edison?
A Nicola Tesla.
(04:07):
C Edward Johnson or D.
Almost very Tesla.
It was actually C.
Edward Johnson.
Okay.
Well, interestingly enough, uh,he was Edison's associate and
showed the very first electricstring lights in 1882.
(04:34):
Question number three.
Last question.
Candy cans were originallycreated in Germany for war
purpose.
A.
To decorate tree ranges.
B to keep children quiet duringlong church services.
C to symbolize shepherd's staff.
Or D as winter medicine.
(04:57):
I'd say um shepherd's stars.
It was actually B to keepchildren quiet.
Long church services.
That's the one that I I thought,no way.
Matty (05:10):
Okay.
Joshie (05:11):
The jury's out on the efficacy of said candy canes at
keeping the kids quiet.
Um now, you might be wondering,what does this quiz have to do
with running absolutely nothing?
It's Christmas quiz, so umAlright.
Without any further delay, let'sroll the tape, Maddie, and enjoy
(05:33):
the immersive experience of aregular park run on a stupidly
warm Saturday morning here inBrisbane.
Matty (05:43):
So now I've wake up this morning and I'm like, I'm
training, right?
Joshie (05:51):
So we're down here at Chernside Parkrun for our very
first Run believable Christmasspecial.
And I've got Maddie walkingahead of me.
He's just reflecting on thehardest run of his life
yesterday.
And walking with him is mylovely wife Nat.
Nat, how are you feeling abouttoday?
(06:12):
Natty?
SPEAKER_04 (06:13):
Very well.
Joshie (06:13):
How are you feeling about today?
SPEAKER_04 (06:15):
Oh, wonderful! How are you feeling, Joshua?
Joshie (06:17):
You mean wonderful?
SPEAKER_04 (06:19):
Run believable.
Joshie (06:21):
Um Maddie, what about yourself?
Welcome to Chermside Park Run.
How are you feeling, dude?
Yeah, good, good.
Here for another park run thatI'm not running.
SPEAKER_06 (06:29):
Um, love it.
Joshie (06:32):
And what about you, Naddie?
What are you hoping to get outof today?
SPEAKER_04 (06:36):
Not wet feet.
Joshie (06:38):
Not wet feet.
So as long as you don't run onthe grass, we should be okay.
We had a little bit of rainyesterday, so the grass is a bit
wet, but the concrete, theactual path looks fantastic.
So I think we're all gonna havea wonderful time today.
So we've now got Maddie talkingabout a bus stop marathon.
Can you tell us what that's allabout?
Matty (06:54):
Yeah, so I read a story where a guy um was at a bus
stop, so you're looking at abouttwo something, three metres
wide, and he ran 21.1k back andforth from one end of the bus
stop to the next end.
Joshie (07:06):
Wow, so what about hey John, how are you going?
Thanks, Matt.
Coach John the Hop here.
Yeah, so we got we've got uhJohn Hansen here, bush turkey
runner.
Uh who looks like he's alreadydone a quick 5k.
SPEAKER_08 (07:16):
I've I haven't done a quick 5k, but we just had the
first uh round of the bushturkey classic, so I came
seventh.
So it's 1400 metres, I think itwas on my watch, but it's
supposed to be a mile, so ohcongratulations!
Joshie (07:27):
I saw your message or someone's message that you guys
were going to be finishing uparound here.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_08 (07:31):
So I did um around a 410 for the for what it was,
whatever it was on my watch.
Joshie (07:37):
So and I was seventh.
So 1400 metres.
That's incredible.
Wow.
So you're doing proud of that.
We have some semi-reluctantparticipants here.
We've got uh we've got Mel.
Mel, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_08 (07:49):
Hello, how are you gone?
Joshie (07:51):
Good yourself.
SPEAKER_08 (07:51):
Loving the podcast, guys.
Joshie (07:53):
Oh awesome.
What about um where's your childtoday?
Are you running child free?
Yes, yes, he's at home.
SPEAKER_04 (07:59):
So yeah.
Joshie (08:00):
Expecting big things.
SPEAKER_04 (08:01):
Absolutely not.
We had not much sleep lastnight.
Joshie (08:06):
And Karen, how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01 (08:07):
I'm absolutely fabulous.
Yeah, it's parkrun Saturday.
Joshie (08:10):
Yeah, it is awesome.
And and it's Christmas time aswell.
It's Christmas, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Gotta love the parkrun at Christmas time.
Joshie (08:16):
Yeah, how are you going, Jeanette?
SPEAKER_01 (08:18):
Not too bad.
Please, it's the end of the weekand it's Saturday.
Joshie (08:21):
It's a little bit warm, isn't it?
When I walked out of the houseout, it's nice and cool, but
it's actually when you startwalking around.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
And it's humid because they are forecasting a
little bit of rain.
Oh, are they?
Not that we had a little bitovernight, didn't we?
Joshie (08:32):
We did.
It's brought out a bit of heattoday, hasn't it?
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Now it's just now it's just the sauna.
I love the sauna.
Joshie (08:39):
Awesome.
It's good to see you back here,Ruddy.
How you how's it all going,Steve?
SPEAKER_10 (08:45):
Oh, it's going pretty slow, I think.
Yes, very slow.
Tell us about the top thatyou're wearing.
Oh yeah, this is awesome.
Um I forget the name of thebrand.
Got it at Wild Earth out at umnear DFO.
SPEAKER_04 (08:59):
DFO.
SPEAKER_10 (09:01):
Awesome.
Yeah, it is absolutely myfavourite shirt.
I love it.
I love it.
Joshie (09:07):
It looks amazing, it looks like good running
material.
So we've got the amazing Rosswho is doing our Christmas Day.
Run directing today?
Christmas Day.
Oh yeah, yeah, there is aChristmas Day run.
Uh so yes, we've got RossStanley doing an amazing
introduction.
SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
Anyone speaking us, okay?
Everybody knows their left hand.
Show me left hand.
That's your left hand, please.
Stay left on the part, please.
Joshie (09:35):
Congratulations on 50.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Are you interested in being onthe podcast with me?
I've got a uh little microphonehere.
We we sort of just like chatsome recreational runners about
their experiences.
Okay, and so today's what uhwhat's your name?
Brett.
Brett, I'm Josh.
And we've got Matt behind me.
So what does 50 um park runsmean to you?
SPEAKER_11 (09:58):
Well, it's sort of been a long time coming.
Uh did my first one, I don'tknow, it was around the time
when Chen Tide started.
Yeah.
And I haven't done one for morethan 18 months.
Really?
A little while.
Joshie (10:11):
So you've been on 49.
So was it injury or justcircumstance that sort of not
injury at all, no circumstance.
SPEAKER_11 (10:20):
Um I I want to be running and I want to be fit,
but just stuff happens and lifeand whatever else, and it just
hasn't quite worked out.
Joshie (10:29):
Oh gosh, geez, what a tell you what, that's a that's
huge anticipation building up tonumber 50.
What are you um hoping to getout of today?
SPEAKER_11 (10:36):
I just want to get back into it.
Um I'm a school teacher, so justhad my last day of school for
the year yesterday and get backinto it and really do some um
exercise over summer.
Joshie (10:48):
So give you a hint.
Picture the worst kid in club ata kid.
I'm sure there's gonna be a bitof motivation, like it's a tough
gig as a teacher, and I've nodoubt that uh you could use some
of the feedback those kids giveyou as a bit of fuel for today,
maybe.
Definitely, I will be, yes.
Yeah, awesome.
Well, I might have a quick chattoo at the end and see how you
how you go.
(11:08):
The cape looks great, by theway, it'll make you go faster, I
assure you.
I I'm expecting so.
Thank you so much.
Cheers, Brett, thank you.
Yeah, nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_06 (11:16):
Yeah, I know, yeah.
Joshie (11:18):
Yeah, we've had a great chat.
So Brett was he's been on uh 49park runs for uh 18 months in DC
number 50 today.
You guys aren't running?
SPEAKER_04 (11:26):
I don't think so.
Joshie (11:27):
Alright, I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna run.
You're gonna run?
Why not?
SPEAKER_11 (11:31):
Yeah, it's number 50.
Hey! Congrats, Matt, thank you,thank you.
Joshie (11:35):
Walk us up.
Walkers up! Well, how's itfeeling?
Yeah, she's really at marathonbase here and struggling.
But it's hot as balls.
But that first person wasflying.
Didn't even look like he wasmoving.
(11:56):
We've got John Hansen coming upsecond now.
Go John! Go back.
Everyone cheats each other onover 2Ks now.
Quite warm times, I don't knowwhat my time was at the turn.
(12:21):
Happy with that.
Good work, Badwell.
Excellent work, congrats, Jen.
Good work.
He's flying.
Someone did not like him.
Overtaking.
(12:42):
I love that.
Good Karen.
Good work, guys.
Good work, Chris.
Good to see you back.
This hill at three Ks.
Kills people.
Not huge, but in a hard day liketoday.
Thanks again.
Yeah, cheers.
This bit's always hard at jumpside.
(13:04):
800 meters to go thereabouts.
Slide uphill.
Full sun.
It's hot and humid.
I rate 172, which is too highfor this face.
Home stretch now.
250 to go.
Mane up in the high 23s, I'mlucky.
(13:26):
Low 24s.
Cheers, mate.
Thanks, mate.
Oh my gosh.
Happy days.
That was um tougher than Ithought.
(13:47):
Oh, it would be really hot outthere.
SPEAKER_02 (13:48):
Crazy.
Thanks for volunteering.
I have a podcast.
Joshie (13:53):
Yeah, I'm actually recording now.
Do you want to say hello?
I'll let you scan this person'sbarco.
There we go, a bit of promo.
I've forgotten your name, sorry.
Oh, it's Melissa.
Melissa Josh.
So Melissa's scanning barco.
So there's here at Chermsideprobably 15 different volley
(14:17):
rolls between 12 and 15.
Got our amazing run director,Ross Stanley, standing nearby.
How are you, Ross?
I'm good, Joshy.
How are you, mate?
Going very well.
Conditions are tough out therethough.
Yes, so we're a bit hot andsweaty today.
Yeah, I think you've met it, eh?
You got the right gig with therun director today.
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
You're still trying to look cool, calm, and
collected.
Joshie (14:39):
You're doing a great job.
There are no incidents outthere, none that I saw anyhow.
Yeah.
Tell me something.
With that, you I saw at uhSandgate there was an incident a
few weeks ago with the runnerwho uh took out a pedestrian.
Yes.
Does that end up having rippleeffects to other park runs
around the region or not really?
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
No, well not that I'm aware of, and Rodney hasn't
said anything to us about he'smade us aware of that incident.
Yeah.
Um and I think universally aspart as a run directive wherever
you condemn that behaviour andwant to ensure that that never
repeats itself.
Yeah.
Um, but I I just uh I don't knowwhat the follow-on like Sandgate
(15:17):
Park Run has done.
Yeah.
And so that you know, I I Iwould like to see that fully
investigated and then shared,you know, what we can do to
prevent that sort of bag in thefuture.
Joshie (15:30):
I don't know about you, but I was disappointed to see
how many uh runners were beingvery defensive about the
incident.
I mean, at the end of the day,when you're a runner, you have a
duty of care to protect and lookafter pedestrians.
So I was actually quitesurprised and disappointed to
see uh how many runners were uhalmost trolling the director who
has a tough job at Sandgate.
Yeah.
(15:50):
Yeah.
So I didn't see that.
Yeah, there's been a lot ofbacklash from the the run
director posted a very pointedmessage.
Yeah, but the response has beenmixed.
Um yeah, a real mix of peoplewho uh leapt to the defence of
the um the the runningcommunity, and so the risk is
that the licence ends up beingrevoked.
(16:12):
We want to see that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
No, of course not.
No, no, and um it each um eachof us does have a response care
of duty to each other on uh andum other participant other
people who are on Park Run.
Well it's a shared, as we say inthe safety wheels.
It's a shared um it's a sharedcourse.
Joshie (16:32):
Yeah, this isn't exclusive.
Yeah, how are we here?
You're doing a great job, Ross.
Thanks for chatting.
Thanks, mate.
Yeah, cheers, babe.
Matty (16:39):
How are you?
How'd you go?
Joshie (16:43):
I survived.
I survived.
Hi Jack, how are you?
Good, thanks yourself.
Yeah, very good.
SPEAKER_07 (16:48):
Am I being interviewed?
Uh informally, you're beinginterviewed.
Joshie (16:51):
This is what we do.
We do this as a bit of a test tosee whether or not you uh meet
the criteria for the fullinterview.
SPEAKER_07 (16:57):
I'm only kidding.
Joshie (16:58):
You look good out there.
SPEAKER_07 (16:59):
Yeah, yeah, I I felt good.
Oh, I don't know.
I that's a lie.
I've I've come off two Christmasparties.
It was the challenge.
Joshie (17:05):
Oh yeah.
I'm amazed though that uh evenin this weather, you're still I
saw you done the uh was it the20-minute pacer vest?
Is it last time around or theone before?
SPEAKER_07 (17:14):
You've been you've been hovering around the 20s uh
consistently.
I think maybe the first weekendof November I done the 20-minute
pacer vest.
I didn't do it this month.
Yeah.
Um but I think I either did itOctober or November.
Yeah.
Done the 20-minute pacer vest.
Joshie (17:26):
Yeah, awesome.
So you just keep training oversummer.
What have you got on the agendafor next year?
Uh first up is Starlight SuperSwim in February.
Oh.
So you did that, was it thisyear, earlier this year?
I've done it.
SPEAKER_07 (17:37):
This is next year will be my fifth year doing it.
Oh, awesome.
Yeah, so 32 kilometers in themonth of February to raise money
for the Starlight Foundation.
Not thirty in one hit, it'sthirty two cumulatively press
the month.
Joshie (17:49):
So you try and do like a K a day kind of thing?
Is that how it works?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (17:55):
Yeah, so I'll normally do probably five or six
sessions in the pool a week, andI'll do about 1.5 to 1.8
kilometres at a time in thepool.
Joshie (18:04):
Wow, that's insane.
SPEAKER_07 (18:05):
Yeah.
Joshie (18:06):
What about running wise?
Do you have any goals for nextyear?
Uh Gold Coast Marathon.
Yep.
So you got a ticket?
Yes.
Awesome.
SPEAKER_07 (18:17):
Because I go into the queue at nine o'clock on the
work computer, got to the frontof the queue, realised that the
work firewall blocks a sign onsite, so I had to get back into
the queue on my phone.
Oh no.
So it was probably about midday,one o'clock, but I finally got
to the front of the queue againand was able to secure myself a
ticket.
Joshie (18:34):
You see, this is why I love recreational runners.
The elites don't have to gothrough this, they don't have
firewalls, they just turn up andrun.
They miss out on the phone.
Oh yeah.
Jack, thanks for talking withus.
Maddie, why didn't you runtoday?
SPEAKER_06 (18:46):
Um, it's hot.
Matty (18:49):
Yeah.
Um I don't like I don't like thehumidity.
Joshie (18:53):
So I'm sore.
Um yeah, well, we may havementioned at the start that
Maddie just ran the hardest runof his life yesterday, so he's
recovering from that.
SPEAKER_07 (19:02):
Okay, I'm recovering.
Joshie (19:03):
You've got my lovely wife Natty here.
Nat, why didn't you run today?
SPEAKER_04 (19:08):
And I felt totally fine watching everyone else run
today.
I did a workout last night and Ijust tired.
Joshie (19:14):
Yeah.
Needed a break.
Oh, well done.
SPEAKER_06 (19:17):
Thank you.
Joshie (19:18):
Happy resting.
I had a great chat with uh wegot we got Jen here.
I wonder if I can get Jen tocome over and have a chat.
Hi Jen.
We're we're recording.
SPEAKER_06 (19:29):
Oh hi.
Joshie (19:33):
Did you want to have a chat?
How was that out there?
SPEAKER_12 (19:36):
Oh it was alright.
No, I don't know.
I've been saying not quite ashumoured the last four weeks in
a row, but it's still.
Joshie (19:46):
Oh well done.
I think even even participatingand finishing is an awesome
effort.
So well done, Jen.
SPEAKER_12 (19:52):
Yeah, lots of shout-outs and stuff in.
And that's a lot of people.
Joshie (19:55):
Yeah, sorry, I don't think I reciprocated your
shout-out.
I think you say, go, Josh, youalways focused.
There's a bit where it's reallyshady, and I have trouble
spotting people there.
SPEAKER_12 (20:06):
Yeah.
Joshie (20:07):
Well, thanks for giving me an excuse.
Well done today.
Well Brett, how was it?
It's Brett, isn't it?
How was that?
Number 50, congratulations.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_11 (20:21):
Um ways it was easier than I expected,
otherwise harder.
Yeah.
Been doing a few three kilometreruns, so yeah.
That was just that.
A bit further.
Yeah, I felt good overall.
Yeah, you looked like you wereprobably around the 26 around
that, 26, 27.
Well, according to my phone, butI don't know if I started it at
the right time.
It was about 29.
(20:41):
29.
You don't run with a watch bythe looks of things.
I do, but I ran out of batteryovernight and I for number 50.
Joshie (20:47):
I'm not in practice, so you have to come back and do it
all again next week.
SPEAKER_06 (20:50):
I will, I'll be here.
I'll be here.
Joshie (20:52):
Well, congratulations today.
Awesome 50 milestones.
Well done.
I appreciate it.
Cheers.
SPEAKER_10 (20:59):
How's that, Steve?
How'd you go?
Yeah, pretty good actually.
Yeah.
Considering very warm, but yeah.
Really, I was pretty happy withhow I ran.
Nice and got a bit faster as Iwent.
And uh yeah.
Joshie (21:12):
And we got we got uh Brett here who just ran number
50.
He's been sitting on 49 parkruns for 18 months, and today
reeled out number number 50.
SPEAKER_10 (21:20):
What happened today?
The majority um school holidaystarted.
That is literally it.
Thank you.
Joshie (21:30):
Yeah, well done.
Congratulations again, Brett.
That's a big achievement.
Cheers.
My top is completely sticking tome now.
Hopefully it gets rid of thecreases.
I'm not sure about the qualityof these uh tops.
What do you think?
See how yours isn't as badlycreased as mine.
Matty (21:46):
That's because it's mine has a mess, uh scrunched up in
my door mate off all my clothes.
Joshie (21:50):
You probably ironed it before you came here as well.
I did uh I may have designed itwhen I first got it.
SPEAKER_12 (22:04):
But you look at it.
Yeah, you all look very sharpthis morning.
Well, thank you very much.
And you're unbelievablesinglets.
Joshie (22:11):
They do look alright, don't they?
I was the only one on course, sothese guys decided that they'd
do some promo at the finishline.
SPEAKER_02 (22:19):
No, I know.
Joshie (22:20):
Oh, we've got Aaron over here.
SPEAKER_10 (22:22):
Have you ever registered it?
Joshie (22:24):
Yeah, he's I wonder if Aaron would want to have a chat.
SPEAKER_05 (22:26):
Hey, well done.
I jogged most of it.
Then I actually what I'dprobably almost consider like
running.
Yeah.
Well, I actually widened mystride so I actually was running
rather than just like shuffling.
Joshie (22:38):
Oh that's all you know I'm re I'm recording.
Is that okay?
SPEAKER_05 (22:41):
Yeah, sorry.
Joshie (22:42):
Um you know I've noticed that you've been not just
running, but you've beensmashing the cross training
lately.
I've seen on Strava you eitherswimming or doing gym sessions
every day?
SPEAKER_05 (22:50):
Yeah, yeah, pretty much, yeah.
Yeah, I tr I have to forcemyself to have a day rest every
week.
Yeah.
Usually I feel there's a time Ifeel burnt out a bit, so then
I'll take the morning off andjust go for a walk.
So when did you get the bug?
Like what was it that sort ofgot you?
I've always dedicated as well aswhat you were now.
I've always done stuff.
So since the only time I everstopped was briefly when Luke
(23:12):
was young.
Yeah.
And when I was like a uni, Ididn't do as much.
Yeah.
But I've always done something.
Cycling, swimming.
Swimming was probably got backinto it when I did my kneeing.
Yeah.
And I had to go to the pool anddo walking.
Yep.
Up and down the pool.
Yeah.
And so then I um then I wentback into swimming again.
(23:32):
Yeah.
And then I slowly built back upinto being able to walk.
Yep.
Because when I first did it, Iwas doing park run, but I'd only
walk like 100 metres and backagain.
Oh.
And then just like slowly justbuild up distance over time
walking.
And how did the knee feel?
Joshie (23:47):
So have you met um Matt, have you met Aaron before or
not?
Matty (23:51):
Matt Aaron, last mate, yeah.
Joshie (23:52):
Matt's a good friend of mine.
Um sits with me on the on thepodcast.
Yeah, he's one that cracks allthe funny jokes up.
Aaron had a very very comp veryuh Aaron had a very complex knee
operation uh a few years agonow.
Yeah.
How's the knee feeling at themoment, like running wise?
SPEAKER_05 (24:12):
It's not great because I've put on a bit of
weight in the past year, so it'sgot a lot of impact through it
at the moment.
When I was lighter, it felt alot better.
Yeah.
So the last year's been a realslog of trying to just keep
going.
Like I just need to get the dietback under control again.
Yeah.
And then that'll bring theweight back off, and then
that'll make more comfortablefor running.
(24:32):
Yeah.
Do you have any park run goalsfor next year?
Um, I do want to actually startgoing regularly.
I had a long hiatus off.
It took me like 10 years to domy hundred c hundreds.
Oh wow.
I want to actually start atleast, if not every park run,
every second park run.
Yeah.
It's good because I go and meetTony here and we give each other
a bit of stick, so you know itkeeps keeps me a bit motivated,
(24:54):
and I've got a routine now whereI go to the gym and then come
here.
Okay.
Whereas before like a year or soago, I was doing karate after
this.
Oh wow.
And it just completely burnt meout.
Like I'd go and then do karatefor two hours, and I just I
think that was actually whatcaused my downfall was too much.
I think I burnt my body out sobadly that it just didn't
(25:17):
recover properly.
Yeah.
But you it sounds like you'remanaging your volume a lot
better now.
Back on the volume of all of myactivities.
I still try and make itconsistent because I think you
need to do I always think atleast two to three times a week
you need to do whatever activityyou're doing to be proficient.
Yeah.
Like swimming, you definitelyhave to do three times a week.
(25:38):
Gym, it's good if you can gothree times a week.
And consistency is the key.
Consistency is the key.
It does I reckon it doesn'tmatter what you do when you get
there half the time.
Like if you do great, then it'sgreat.
If you get to there and dosomething, there's times when
you just go through months ofthat period and people just
stop.
But if you just keep going atit, things all start to move
again.
Exactly.
Because they keep showing up.
Joshie (25:58):
Yeah, showing up is exactly right.
Just like Maddie did today.
He's showing up.
That's it.
Thanks, Aaron.
Dude just came up to me andthought I was barcode scanning.
Maybe it was this hint that Ishould be volunteering more.
(26:19):
So it is Melissa, isn't it?
Yeah.
Um so what does um what does paruh parkrun mean to you?
SPEAKER_02 (26:25):
Oh, uh, it's a good sense of belonging, maybe.
It's probably the easiest way,yeah.
And to be honest, um, yeah, it'sprobably my favourite thing to
volunteer with because you getto talk to everyone and puts you
in a really good mood.
Joshie (26:36):
You seem to volunteer almost as much as what you run.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Oh no, I'm not as good.
There's a few around here thatdo that and they're more.
Joshie (26:44):
This guy does, yeah.
Some people are more competitivewith volunteering than they are
with running though.
So oh look, as long as you're acouple times a year, you're
doing great.
Thanks, Melissa.
Yeah, cheers.
SPEAKER_12 (26:57):
Yeah, I did a workout last night.
Joshie (26:59):
How was that?
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
Very hot, just humid.
But yeah, I got my positionbingo.
No way.
Yes, way.
Joshie (27:07):
So what was left on the um on the card?
SPEAKER_01 (27:10):
So it was 181.
Like complete that counts.
Yeah.
Matty (27:16):
We've got to get every number on a bingo card.
SPEAKER_01 (27:18):
No, a position.
So between between one andninety-nine.
Yes, I've still got it open.
So I've got some trophy warshappening here.
Okay.
Joshie (27:27):
81 was the last one.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
480, but 281.
Joshie (27:30):
Congratulations.
Yeah.
So, how long have you beentrying to get the last one for?
How long have you had that inthe case?
SPEAKER_01 (27:35):
Now I don't try, it just happens.
Like, I'm not one of thesepeople that counts the numbers.
Matty (27:42):
Oh, they do, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:43):
I don't do that, it had to just happen.
And I've had one for quite someyears.
Oh, sorry, I had two for years.
I got the second to last one.
Maybe nine months ago, somethinglike that.
And then there's just been thisone.
Joshie (27:58):
Well, congratulations, what are you gonna do to
celebrate?
I sincerely hope that you likethat.
In 2026, you'll hear from anincredible range of guests.
Life transformations, findinglove through running, and tales
of resilience that have to beheard to be believed.
(28:20):
In the meantime, if you have arun-believable story of your
own, we'd love to hear it.
And if you'd like to be a gueston the show, then hit us up.
Finally, if there's oneChristmas wish that we do have,
it's to please follow, rate, andshare this podcast with your
running mates.
It does something to thealgorithm which I truly cannot
be bothered understanding norexplaining.
(28:42):
So have yourselves a wonderfulfestive season, and we'll see
you for the next Unbelievableadventure.
Thanks, Matty.
It's been awesome fun.
Matty (28:57):
Thanks, Joshua.
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