Parkun 182 - Maureen gets a call from the Queen

Good morning and welcome to our 182nd parkrun.

There is lots of excitement all around, apart from the crazy weather. This week we have the official Aldinga Beach parkrun launch followed by the Adelaide marathon tomorrow. Next week we have the offical Port Lincoln parkrun launch followed by the Kangaroo Island marathon.

Anyone doing any of these events?

So, do we have any first timers? What about visitors? Well,keep up with the river until you see the flag near Bald Hills Rd, then turn around and come back. Finish on the grass get a token and scan it against your barcode to receive an email with your time. And tonight check our FB page for pictures of all of us.

Thanks to our major sponsors and the indigenous custodians of this land, the Peramangk people.

Can we please also thank our volunteers today Phil, Paul K (everyone’s favourite cousin), Daniel, Jo, Paul B, Maureen.

Maureen is our tail runner and what’s special about this role is that it counts as both a run and a volunteer position. So at the end of today’s event Maureen would have done 100 parkruns and would have volunteered 25 times, so she qualifies for the coveted black and purple parkrun T-shirts at the same time.

Maureen got hooked on parkrun in early 2014 in Strathclyde Scotland, which is somewhere in that direction.

She was so serious about running that she had multiple non-essential inner organs removed in order to not slow her down.

[The above line was the queue for Daniel to call my phone]

[Phone rings a funny tune] [Pretending to be embarassed I answer the phone]

Me: Hello? Queen: … Me: Your Majesty! Queen: … Me: Yes, she’s here. Queen: … Me: Yes, today will be her 100th run and 25th time volunteering. Queen: … Me: Would you like to talk to her? Queen: … Me: You don’t understand her accent? Queen: … Me: Oh, OK. Queen: … Me: Sure, I will. Queen: … Me: Bye then, live long and prosper! Queen: …

That was her Majesty the Queen of Scotland. She says “hello” to us and “congratulations” to Maureen. She also mentioned that Maureen’s best friend Barbara is running her 100th parkurn later today at Strathclyde. How exciting is that!

Maureen, what do you love about parkrun (and we only have 3 minutes)? Why is Mount Barker parkrun your favourite one? What’s your favourite volunteer role and why? Who is your favourite run director? Nah, I am just kidding, you don’t have to answer that one. “It’s not a race”.

Well, congratulations Maureen and with that please lead us to the start line! Over to you Phil.

Enjoy your run!