Parkrunners Podcast
Parkrunners Podcast shares real stories from the global parkrun community—runners, walkers, and volunteers whose lives have been transformed by movement and connection. Hosted by Catherine Stenson, each episode celebrates courage, belonging, and the quiet power of showing up.
Parkrunners Podcast
Lisa Millar: Big Life, Big Stories and Simple Joys
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For more than three decades, Lisa Millar has been one of Australia's most respected journalists and broadcasters.
From reporting around the world as ABC's Bureau Chief in Washington and London, to becoming a familiar face through ABC News Breakfast, Back Roads and Muster Dogs, Lisa has spent her career telling other people's stories.
But on Saturday mornings, none of those titles matter.
Like thousands of others, Lisa is simply another member of the parkrun community.
In this warm and uplifting conversation, Lisa shares her journey from a tiny Queensland town to international journalism, why she always knew she wanted "A BIG LIFE", and how parkrun became an unexpected source of friendship, routine and mental wellbeing during some of the most demanding years of her career.
We talk about:
🟡 Growing up in rural Queensland
🟡 Reporting from Washington and London
🟡 Discovering parkrun while living in London
🟡 Why parkrun became so important for her mental health
🟡 The power of volunteering and community
🟡 Albert Melbourne parkrun and life in Australia's most liveable city
🟡 Back Roads, Muster Dogs and returning to what matters
🟡 Why ordinary human connections still matter most
Lisa's warmth, humour and love for people shine through this episode, making it a conversation about far more than running.
Whether you're a parkrunner, volunteer, walker or simply someone who values community, this is an episode full of hope, kindness and perspective.
Enjoy!
Hosted by Catherine Stenson
The Parkrunners Podcast
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Hi there, and a very warm welcome back to the Parkrunners podcast. My name's Katherine Stenson, I'm your host, and today I'm joined by a wonderful guest called Lisa Miller, who has spent her life and career telling other people's stories. For more than three decades, Lisa Miller has been a frequent face on Australian TV on the ABC Network. She's been their bureau chief in Washington and London. She's now currently most popular on shows like Backroads and Mustard Dogs. She's interviewed world leaders, prime ministers, and covered major global events. And all the time she has built this reputation for warmth, authenticity, and has an extraordinary ability to connect with people from all walks of life. But on Saturday morning, none of those titles really matter. Because like all of us, Lisa is simply another member of the Parkrun community. A regular at Albert Park, Parkrun in Melbourne, she has spoken openly about the important role of Parkrun and what that has contributed to her life, providing friendship, connection, routine, and a sense of belonging amidst the pressures of a very demanding public career. So today we're going to explore the woman behind the cameras and the TV headlines, her journey from rural Queensland to international journalism, and how Parkrun has become an unexpected source of joy and connection. Lisa, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the Parkrunners podcast.
SPEAKER_00Catherine, I need no convincing to talk about Parkrun. I love it a match and I can't wait for this conversation. Thanks for asking me.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for joining today. So I'd love to start out with where you started in life, which is in Queensland.
SPEAKER_00What kind of community did you grow up in, Lisa? I definitely came from a small country town. It was called Kilkevan, and there were about 700 people who lived there. If you are lucky, they still like to argue over population size of a town that size. Mum and dad were dairy farmers, and then dad went into politics. I went to a school that was so small. I never learned how to play any team sports because we didn't ever have enough people to have two teams for anything. So I went through my whole life with never knowing how to play netball, which is one of the most popular team sports in Australia, especially for young girls. And by the time I went to a school that was big enough to have many teams, it was so intimidating that I was too embarrassed to tell them that I didn't know how to play. So I think you can kind of get the picture of what this town looks like. It's got one street and maybe five or six shops. The only time I did any running was when at the age of four I decided to run away from home. So and I headed off down the road. But of course, once you're on a dirt road and there's a whole lot of cows and dogs and foreign material, I turned around and ran back home again. So that was my childhood. We later moved to a bigger city and I went to bigger schools and then to university. And I've lived in big cities in Washington, DC, in London, and now I live in Melbourne. Five million people live here now. And yet my job as the host of these two incredibly popular shows, Backroads and Mustards, takes me to all of these country places all around Australia. So I'm constantly on the road traveling. Yeah. Which also means I get to see a lot of different park runs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you you you you become an obligatory tourist in in many ways. So when you were growing up, that and you've painted a lovely picture there, and I can just imagine that, you know, lovely kind of you know tiny town where everybody knows everybody. So did storytelling and journalism appeal to you from a young age?
SPEAKER_00Yes, absolutely. Yeah. When dad went into federal politics and became an MP, I remember I was only four or five at the time, and I remember when the local newspaper journalist turned up to interview him and take photographs. And I thought, I I can remember this feeling, right? This person gets to ask all these questions, and they get to talk and just be curious and ask and ask and ask. And that was the thing that sold me on it. So I got my own tape recorder and from the age of seven, probably began interviewing members of my family, including my poor sister, little sister, who could barely get an answer out before I would cut her off. And we've still got one tape recording of when I was 10, and I sang the ABC News theme, which your Australian listeners wouldn't know what it was. It was like da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And then I'd introduce myself and launch into an interview. And I was interviewing my dad, whose first name was Clary, about the boycott of an Olympics. And he was answering me in such a gracious way. He was treating me like a little adult. And I clearly got bored with the subject and said, okay, Clary, we'll have to wrap it up there. We've run out of time. Thanks for coming in. I was 10, right? So it has been something that I have just wanted to do my whole life. I couldn't wait to get through university, to get out there and be a journalist. I just knew it was what I wanted to do. And for now 38 years, I have been in a career that has given me the most incredible highs and lows, frenylin pushes, fears, excitement, but I would not swap a moment of it. I just feel so lucky that I knew what I wanted to do, I was able to do it, and it's given me so much fulfillment over the years.
SPEAKER_01And you radiate that passion even in how you answer that. I was going to ask you, looking back, how did those early years, you know, and your roots shape how you connect to people, but you've just beautifully explained that. And I also was a big fan of the like tape recorder, and I remember pressing play and record together and my little handheld mic. Yeah, it was, but imagine having that 10-year-old recording. That's that's special.
SPEAKER_00When we found the cassette tape after decades, yeah, we realized that it might only play once before it snapped because the tape itself would have been 40 years old. So I took it to someone who could digitize it on the very first plane because we just didn't want to risk losing it. So we've got the digital copy of it. And my mum and dad both passed away in the last decade, and it's just such a treasured thing that I have. And uh it's gorgeous. Because your dad's voice was tipping on it, right? Yeah, yeah. It's lovely. I've interviewed a lot of people since then, but that's where it all started.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and your career has obviously taken you all over the world, from Washington to London, and obviously into millions of Australian homes. So did you ever imagine that path unfolding? It sounds like you were training for it in any event.
SPEAKER_00I knew that I wanted a big life. I knew I wanted to do something big. But everything that has happened probably since my first Washington posting, when I got that, I thought, at the age of 32, I thought, great, my dreams come true. I wonder what's gonna happen for the rest of my life. And it just hasn't stopped. And I just keep thinking, it's bonkers, quite frankly, how extraordinary it has become. And I pinch myself often. And even this past weekend, we've had the release of the Kylie Doko. And people around the world have been watching these three episodes of Kylie Minogue and I love her. I grew up with her, and I started getting text messages from friends saying, Oh my god, you're in the Kylie Docco. And it just kept going. And can I tell you, that has been a career highlight of 2026 because I was such a fangirl of hers. I still am. I think she's amazing. And of all the interviews she's ever done in the world, they've used that tiny little bit of me. And I keep thinking, what would that little girl from Kilkiven say about that? Honestly, it blows my mind. I, you know, for what I've been able to do and the people I've been able to meet, whether it's the 95-year-old woman on a motorized scooter who we filmed last week for backroads, who was the spiciest, sharpest woman I've met. We put GoPros on her uh motorized scooter and we could film her moving. And she just wanted to know if she could hit flat out speed with the GoPros on. And her daughter is saying, Oh mum, no, no, don't go too fast. And she looked at her daughter and said, At 95, I don't have time to dawdle. Wow. So whether it's Kylie Minoke or Prime Ministers or beautiful women like that, I feel like every day I have encounters that enrich my life in ways that I never ever anticipated.
SPEAKER_01Well, I am very jealous about the Kylie Mm. And I will be watching it because I was I was a big fan of hers, and I saw her play live in London at Earl's Court, and she was phenomenal. And yeah, but she also comes across as such a warm, connected person to you know, ordinary life as well as the showbiz life that she's had. And what you see is what you get with her. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That is Carly Manar.
SPEAKER_01You're you're in her document, so yeah. Kudos to you. And I love I love how you just express that that you you want a big life. Yeah. I haven't heard anybody use that expression before, but it's gonna stay with me because I think it's such a powerful thing to promise yourself. Like you just want to manifest that, and you have.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, when with purchases from particular phone companies, if you bought screens and tablets, you could get an inscription on the back, and a lot of people would get their name and their phone number in case they lost it. From the moment I got my first device, I would have inscribed big life. And big life can be traumatic and threatening and frightening. It can be a whole lot of things, but at least it's big, you know. I just didn't ever want to have a small life. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Even though you've come from that small town, your eyes were on a much bigger horizon. And wow, you got those horizons. So you did you first go to Washington and then London?
SPEAKER_00I went to Washington and then did three years there shortly after September 11. And then I came back to Australia for four years. Yeah. And then I was posted again to Washington, this time as bureau chief in 2009. I did six years there and then was directly posted from Washington to London, where I was the Europe Bureau chief. And that is where the parkrun story began for me in 2015. But yes, those pages of overseas um journalism.
SPEAKER_01Wonderful. And I was just about to lead you to London because I know this is where you started your first parkrun. Can you tell our listeners how how you how you got introduced and what that was like?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's a funny story that we still talk about in our family because a grown-up niece of mine, uh, when she learned that I'd been posted to London, she excitedly said to me, Wow, you're in the home of Parkrun. You can do a park run at Bushy Park. And I said, Uh, what's parkrun? And she looked at me. This is 2015, remember? Yeah. She looked at me and she went, Auntie Lisa. Anyway, she said, Will you promise me that when you go to London, you will do at least one park run? And it was my very first park run. And I followed through with that promise. And one of the things that worked for me was that Australia's time zone meant that I would wake up in London to all the encouragement from my niece and other pictures in the park run community because they'd already done it. And so I thought, okay, even if it was rainy and cold in London, I thought I'd better get up and go and do it. And so I went to South. I was living at Bermansey, and so South Parkrun was my first park run experience. Wonderful.
SPEAKER_01I know, I know what you mean about like the encouragement when you wake up because my son is living in Melbourne and he does um Parkville or Albert Park Parkrun. And we usually have a chat very late Friday night, if I'm about to go to bed to be up early for parkrun, and he's just finished, so I'm always so jealous.
SPEAKER_00Oh well, I hope he seeks me out at Albert Park when if he sees me there sometime. I hope I get a hello from him. I am gonna make sure he does that. We'll all be there this coming Saturday, even though they're saying 80% rain, but it never rains on park run day. Isn't that the case?
SPEAKER_01It's honestly it's pretty similar in at Bushy Park, which is my local one. We always say that, like this for some reason the rain always lifts and we we simply almost never run in rain at parkrun. It's the gods are aligned. Anyway, what do you remember about your very first parkrun?
SPEAKER_00Like, did you feel well not sure what to expect? I dragged two friends along with me, I didn't know what people wore, I'd feel out of place, I didn't know where to stand or if I had to tell anyone I was there, like signing up for duty. All of the things that people tell us about their first park runs. And so I didn't really meet anyone at that first park run because I was with these two friends and I did the it was a loop around Southern. And then they'd set up people could go and have coffee at this pub later. And I didn't do it because I didn't feel like I could everyone kind of knew each other, I felt, and I felt like a bit of an outsider, to be honest. They would be horrified knowing that that's how I felt because they go out of their way to make everyone feel super welcome. And now that I'm part of the in-crowd of people who know each other, I realize that it could possibly feel a bit intimidating when you see all these people chatting to each other like they've known each other for 20 years, but they might have only just met volunteering last Saturday. I know. So that was my first impression. And then my work got really busy, and I remember that the Paris terrorist attacks happened just a few weeks after that first park run for me. And so then it was a bit of a struggle to get back to those park runs because it was one big world story after another. But I knew that I wanted to get back, and I can remember this one Saturday when I had been working around the clock for the Australian time zone, covering pretty traumatic stories. Yeah. And I thought all I want to do is run or walk. I often just walked and be part of this group. And I can remember my international editor from Sydney rang me as I was halfway through, and I actually started crying because I was so tired and overwhelmed and stressed. And I can remember saying him, can't you leave me alone for 35 minutes? I don't know if he remembers that. Yeah, but it was certainly very real in my mind. And that's when I started associating park run with mental release, that it was always for me so much more about my mental health than about my physical health. I felt good getting up and moving, but I realized it wasn't about the physical side of it. It was because what that exercise and movement and connection with people on a Saturday was doing for my mental health. And so for the next three years that I lived in London, I got to parkrun as often as I can, which was, you know, not super often. It was a, you know, really terrible time as people who were there from 2015 to 2018 would remember. But I tried, but it that's when it became important to me, Catherine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I'm so pleased that you've spotlighted the value of parkrun for mental health and mental wellness, if I could call it that, because I think that's so important. And I chat to lots of people, and many, many people, you know, feel the same way. So it's just that decompression zone that you can have where you take yourself out. And like you say, it doesn't matter if you run, walking or sprinting for a PV, like decompression looks different for all of us.
SPEAKER_00Or volunteering. Yes, exactly. Which that was the thing that really opened my eyes as well, because I realized volunteering was the secret to making friends and building that community. That if you get there and you just do your 5Ks with your head down, you don't talk to anyone, and well, of course you're not going to meet anyone, you're not gonna build friendships. But if you start volunteering and you're seeing the same faces and you realize that you're all in it together and you feel like you're giving back, I say to people, how good is a Saturday morning volunteering at Parkrun when you have people going, thanks Molly, thanks Molly, you know, thanks Marshall. It's like it's 9 a.m. and you've already been thanked and felt the love of all these people. What a way to start the weekend. And do you know the I love having people come up to me and say that they're at Parkrun because they heard me talking about it on television or radio. Um that means a lot to me. I really, you know, I just think, yes, I'm getting through if it's one person or two. There was a fellow in his 80s called Bill who was encouraged to come along after his wife had died and he was feeling very lonely. And he used to walk around the lake and see all of us, but he wasn't part of us. Right. And his children encouraged him to actually join us, which he did. And so he would have his good trousers on and his pressed shirt and walking shoes, but he would set off and he would walk with all of us. I would say, Hi Bill, how you going, Bill? And someone else would say, G'day, Bill, great to see you, Bill. And he said to me that it was sometimes the only time in the week where he heard his name said on that number of occasions, in that way, in that joyful way. And I've never forgotten that, that just saying someone's name at Park Run can have an impact. And there's another woman in her, I don't want to do her a disservice, I think she's actually 89, called Leslie at Park Run in Melbourne. And she said to me she was only there because she'd heard me talking about it. And every Saturday when I see her, my heart is full. I love it. So yeah, they're just a couple of little stories about why. I mean, friends joke and say, Oh, God, Lisa's part of a cult. She won't stop talking about it. But you know what? I just see how it changes lives. I just think it's so important. It's been important in my life. I've seen it change other people's lives. I know.
SPEAKER_01And um it's it is funny because I'm always trying to recruit people to park from, but like I'm very um enthusiastic about it. My mission for doing this podcast is to share the parkrun joy with as many people around the world as possible.
SPEAKER_00Well, also the poor camera crews who travel with me around Australia. There's probably a staple of five that I travel with. Yeah. And they're like, are we doing parkrun on this, you know, week-long trip? And I'm like, yes, we are. And I've said to the producers, you really have to try and organise the schedule so I can do parkrun because it's great for me. And it's also great for these small towns that we go and visit and film in. I'm thinking of a place like Gainder in Queensland. Gainder's got about 3,000 people. Yeah. 16 people turned up at parkrun the day we went, and there was me and my camera colleague, my camera operator, and the sound o and the producer stayed in bed and we still tease him about that. But the three of the three of us went off to do Gainder Park Run, and I just I love it. It's like I've become an accidental tourist park runner. That wasn't my intention. And I've tried sometimes to actually volunteer at other park runs. So I've I'll send them a note the night before and say, Look, I'm in town. Do you need any last minute volunteers? I'm happy to volunteer. But often by then they're super organized and but it's great. I've discovered some beautiful park runs around Australia. And I also like putting out on social media on a Friday night, you know, where are you all park running tomorrow to my followers? And so they all respond and you know, they say, Oh, you've got to come to this park run. It's the best park run ever. And I love that interaction that I have, which is completely different to the audience I might have for the other work I do. Whereas this is not work, it's you know, it's great. Got my my fiance proposed to me six months ago, and I said the only reason I'm saying yes is because you have thrown yourself into Park Run. You passed the test. I joke. I did not. I love him very dearly, but he uh came along and volunteered a couple of times, ended up being the barcode scanner or the photographer. He's I don't know that he's ever gone and done it without me. He he's not gone and done it by himself yet, but he's certainly into double figures, and for that I should be happy.
SPEAKER_01Well, Lisa, there's no escape for anybody's around you, whether it's the film crew, sang crew, or your fiance. And congratulations on thank you very much your engagement.
SPEAKER_00Well, there has been there have been certainly been a couple of park run weddings. So I I would probably at least do a park run on the morning of my wedding. We haven't worked out when or where or how we are going to get married, but I can tell you now there'll be a park run in the morning.
SPEAKER_01Lovely, because I interviewed a lovely couple from the UK who had a parkrun on the morning of the wedding. And the very first Bushy Park volunteer, Nick Blanchard, he looks after our funnel magnificently in Bushy every week. And he went to Parkrun on the morning of his wedding about five, six years ago. And we saw him and he was thrilled. So he said it was like not the best part of his day, but it was very central to the enjoyment of his day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So at what point did the Saturday morning ritual of Parkrun become just that? Like really important to you?
SPEAKER_00Well, you've got to remember the COVID years in particular for Melbourne, for your listeners, were quite difficult to put it mildly. We became known as the most locked-down city in the world. So wherever you were during COVID, no one was having a fun time. I realized that. In Melbourne, it was particularly difficult. And the job I had, I was a presenter of a breakfast news program then. And so I was still having to get up at three o'clock in the morning and go to work with my papers in case I got pulled over by the police to show them that I was allowed to be out and traveling at that time. And COVID park run closed down as it did, you know, in so many places. And every now and then we'd be able to open up again. And it might only have been for a week or two, and then we'd get closed down again. And I think when it is taken away from you, when anything is taken away from you, you then appreciate it even more. So I loved Parkrun and I truly appreciated everything it had brought it had brought into my life. But wow, having lost it, not having that Saturday morning was just made me go, I'm never going to take for granted a Saturday where I can go to Parkrun. And there are Saturdays where I can't, it's not physically possible. I am traveling a lot, I'm in places where there aren't park runs. Yes. But if I'm here in Melbourne, I'll be going to parkrun.
SPEAKER_01And I'm like, I think when when you do build it into your routine and it becomes part of what makes you feel good, even kickstarting a weekend, you quite happily build it into routine. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00There's so much there's there's so much around it, isn't it? It's not just parkrun for me, it's what comes afterwards. It's catching up with a coffee with friends. I go to the beautiful markets that are near Albert Park and uh I buy a bunch of flowers and a cup of coffee, and it's the bunch of flowers that I might have for the week.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't spend a lot, I don't have money on treating myself with things, but I see that as the treat. So Saturday morning becomes this steady progression of treats, which during those years that I presented News Breakfast, six years of that, was so important because it was hard work, three hours of live television every morning and waking up at 3 a.m. And I didn't didn't I wasn't with my partner then, so I was single. And so you're kind of solo in a city that was not my home. I came down to Melbourne when I came back from London. I'd never lived here before. So I was starting at ground zero with building friendships and routine and and all the rest of it. So having the extra stress, I guess, of having a job that didn't allow you to have a social life at night because you had to be in bed by 8 p.m. That that kind of made that Saturday morning connection even more important if you're and something, something that you can look forward to because I can't even imagine how grueling a 3 a.m.
SPEAKER_01climb out of bed is. You know, you're lucky in a way where you live. I mean, just for the benefit of those listening, I think time out voted Melbourne the best city in the world to live in of 2026. Yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER_00Wild, grey, windy, rainy weather right now as we speak, though, Catherine. By night.
SPEAKER_01My son's partner always says the weather's very moody in Australia, Australia, which is is probably not an expression we use a lot in in the UK, but I think it's it perfectly sums up Melbourne weather. Yeah. So one of the lovely things that you've spoken about is discovering the people who are at the back of the pack, for the want of a better word. Can you talk to me a little bit about like what what you've learned from volunteering at the back of the pack or tailwalking?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've never been a tailwalker, actually.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Because that job always gets snapped up so quickly.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it does.
SPEAKER_00Everyone loves that. Oh, look, I think the older I get, Catherine, the more I realise you can never, ever judge a book by the cover. And you never see someone and assume you know their story. And I've always been very curious, but I've certainly been guilty at times of making assessments without actually having digging deeper. And so it's just lovely to be able to have that time to talk to people, like the characters that I told you about, Bill and Leslie. And Vin, who is one of the great volunteers at Albert Park in Melbourne. He's volunteered more than 500 times. He does the write-up for us each week. And so Vin will often do Park Run and do the write-up for everyone. Because we get, I don't know that we mentioned this, but of course, Albert Park, Parkrun is one of the largest in Australia. It is the largest in Australia, actually. And during summer, when we've got visitors, especially the Barmy Army, thanks very much. And we will sometimes get 15, 1600 people. So the smallest number of people I've ever seen is probably on a rainy day in the middle of winter when it might have been 650. So it's a big park run I'm talking about here as my home park run. And we have beautiful swans and it's a view of the city, and it's gorgeous. It's a it's a parkland that is just absolutely divine.
SPEAKER_01It is, I can I can attest to that because I have been fortunate enough to be taken there. And it's also the venue for the Formula One. Yes.
SPEAKER_00And so we're always very grumpy when uh the Grand Prix moves in. And I think we have three weeks where we can't actually hold Parkrun because they've moved in and they've started creating the atmosphere for the Grand Prix. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm curious about the fact that you live and have always lived really a very public professional life. Yes. So what in what way does Parkrun offer you a space where really nobody particularly cares? I mean, I was chatting to Sophie Rayworth from the BBC, and she said, you know, for for months of being there, nobody really mentioned what she did. She was just allowed, just be there as part of Parkrun community. How how has it been for you?
SPEAKER_00Not so much that, but I think maybe because I've used my profile to build the profile of Parkrun. So I then can't expect that I turn up on a Saturday and not want people to come and say hello to me. And I'm really happy to say hello to people. I love it. It's fine. People will come up and ask for a selfie, and I'm like, sure, no worries. We can have a selfie. When are you volunteering next? It's like one selfie for one. What's a volunteering shift? And sometimes we've got a microphone at our park run because it's just so big. And so I'll get on the microphone and I'll say, you know, hello everyone as you're coming across the finish line. Yes, you know this voice, and I'm holding up the shift sheet for the next month of volunteering. So come along and see me. Because we need something like 40 volunteers every weekend just because of the size of it. Yeah. It's rarely a park run where someone doesn't come up and say hi or want to maybe discuss the programs that I work for, but it's because they love it and they love those programs. And so I see that as a wonderful thing for the organization, the ABC that I work for. So I don't mind at all. And then there are plenty of park run times where, you know, no one, no one sort of says anything, and that's great too. Like that's the wonderful thing about park run, don't you think, Catherine? You can level to people if you want to talk to people. It's a total leveller. Total leveller. I mean, I was talking to a woman that I got to know quite well, and you know, it was a long time before I then discovered she was one of the leading obstetricians in Australia and is now the president of the obstetrician association. So when I see her at Parkrun now, I say, how are all those babies going, huh?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's nice to be able to make those connections. So how important are those ordinary conversations in everyday community interactions to you in maintaining like life's perspective?
SPEAKER_00I just think it reminds me that when you can feel a bit dismayed at the state of the world and you feel like you're consuming a lot of bad news, especially when I was on news breakfast and every morning it was a lot of bad news that I was then having to deliver to people. Yeah, you realize when you have those ordinary conversations that people are just getting on with their lives, they're doing good things, they're kind, they have a lot of gratitude, and is reassuring, I think, is the best word to use.
SPEAKER_01That is a good word because I think in a world that is 24-7 news and generally they seem to prioritize the bad news. But as you say, Lisa, when you go to Parkrun, you see that people just want to connect with each other. So yeah. I certainly commend Parkrun for for for that. So it's it's it's clear really from what you're saying that Parkrun has has been a great antidote to the pressures of broadcasting. And in recent years, you've shifted into fabulous new projects, I must say, because I did take I did take the opportunity to look at a couple of episodes of Backroads, and I really loved the one on the snowy river.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Oh yeah, that was where they put me in a put me in a kayak and expecting me to deal with some rapids that look, I never know what I'm going to end up doing on this programme. In fact, I'm about to head up to the Dane tree in Cape York in Australia, and the producer sent me a note today saying, uh, do you have a life jacket? And you better bring the snake first aid kit. I'm like, oh great. Okay, what are we going to do now? Discovered that I had managed in the first few months of having my gorgeous new engagement ring that I had damaged it. And the jeweler said, What have you been doing? And I said, Spoon playing. And the jeweler said, you know, you know what? Two spoons, banging them together, making music. Well, that I had to do it with one of the characters in the program. And of course I throw myself into everything and didn't realize I was banging the back of the ring. Like the jeweler said to me, Oh wow, we tell women not to lift weights with their ring on, but now we're going to tell people not to spoon play with them. Wow.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure that was the first time they've heard that, Lisa. But it definitely seems like backroads and mustards, they feel like deeply human, community-centered programs. So has that helped you evolve what your definition of what success looks like since taking on those programs?
SPEAKER_00Such a good question. I actually feel that, especially with back roads, when I'm meeting all these people who are living lives that are maybe under the radar, but they're big in their own way. They're doing things that they feel drives them and give them purpose, that it makes me question what I want my next chapter of my life to look like. And in particular, we were just in Tasmania in the Hewan Valley, and I was interviewing people about having a meaningful life and what that looked like. And it still sits with me, the conversations that I had. We haven't put that story to air yet, but I can't wait till it goes to air because it's just this seeing people making choices that enrich other people's lives as well as their own, that they manage to make the world around them a better place makes me want to do more, you know. So yeah, these programs are having a fundamental effect on me all the time. I feel like I'm growing all the time. How wild is that at the age of 57 to say that I feel like I'm still growing with that emotional intelligence, I suppose, when it comes to looking at how do you make the world a bit better.
SPEAKER_01It is both fascinating and unsurprising because you really connect and communicate that curiosity, you know, willingness to learn and have all those new experiences. I I I love that about you. And this it comes across here and it comes across in the programs that I watch you in. And I can only imagine you on the podium at Albert Park Parkrun. So we're gonna we're going to wrap up with a quick fire round. Okay. What would you say to someone who's nervous about coming to their first park run?
SPEAKER_00Find the run director straight away in the blue and white jacket, normally with run director on it, and say, hi, I'm new, I feel anxious. That person will immediately put you at ease and probably get you to talk to one of the volunteers if you've got questions. So don't stand back. Immediately go and say, I have never here been here before. I don't know how it works.
SPEAKER_01Rate advice, Lisa. And favorite post-parkrun coffee or favorite thing to do after parkrun?
SPEAKER_00Well, a flat white coffee in Australia, because we make the best coffees here, and a bunch of flowers from the South Melbourne markets. And if I've ridden my bike to Parkrun, which doesn't happen very often, then being able to keep the flowers upright on the bike by the time I get home. Fantastic. Um, is there a parkrun moment that you'll never forget? Yes, my 50th parkrun because I ran it and it did rain that day, there was sideways sleet coming at me, and it was cold, and it was in um Melbourne, and I ran it with my niece Eva, who was a teenager at the time, and we held hands, and the situation was so extreme, we just laughed. We laughed in the face of this sleet coming straight into our eyes, and I'll never forget that was my 50th.
SPEAKER_01So you had you definitely experienced the moody Melbourne weather that day.
SPEAKER_00And then, of course, it was very exciting to get my hundredth because that was a black t-shirt. And Melbourne are renowned for always wearing black clothes. It's like if you're if you're fashionable, you wear black in Melbourne. So I thought, well, gosh, I'm gonna have to get my hundred so I can get the black t-shirt.
SPEAKER_01And Lisa, you've completed now 159 park runs. And volunteers volunteers.
SPEAKER_00So that's another t-shirt as well, I'm sure. I'm very proud of the volunteers. I really want people to know just how rewarding it is and where the friendship circles can begin. Brilliant.
SPEAKER_01And one final question from me. Do you have a bucket list park run destination?
SPEAKER_00Well, bushy, of course. I'd like to do bushy. I did Singapore and it was so humid that I could barely get around the second lap. So the short answer is no, because I often think there are park runs out there that I don't even know how wonderful they are. The Margaret River wine area in WA, I did that park run glorious through this beautiful national park. Wow. I thought that is the nicest park run I've done so far. So I don't even know what's out there, Catherine. There's so many parkruns to explore.
SPEAKER_01Lisa, it's been absolutely joyful talking to you. Your energy about life, about parkrun, about embracing new experiences. It's all been absolutely phenomenal. You've given our listeners so much to think about and to look forward to. And I am sure you will have encouraged even more people with the stories that you've shared to try Parkrun, to try volunteering. Catherine, it's been such a pleasure. Thank you for the invitation. You're very welcome, and I can't wait to uh share this story with everyone. Thanks for joining us on the Parkrunners podcast. I'm Catherine Stenson, and I love sharing stories from our amazing Parkrun community. So today's conversation has inspired you. Why not share it with a friend? Or better still, bring them along to your next parkrun. Don't forget to hit follow so you never miss a new parkrun story. Until next time, keep moving, keep smiling, and you have to start.