Pete Johns - Blog entries of the highest uptodateness

16 May 2026 Anniversaries

Pete Johns — Sat, 16 May 2026 10:54:14 +0000

Today marks two significant (to me) anniversaries.

Coburg parkrun - 16 May 2015

Eleven years ago today I was timekeeper at Coburg parkrun # 1. It was a big monment saying “go” and seeing about a hundred people head off together on Merri Creek Trail for the first time, but I had no big how big and important that community would become to one another.

It was great to be back at Coburg parkrun for the event today and to be timekeeper once more. It was dry today and there are generally fewer people at Coburg than Parkville, so it was a relativly relaxed affair.

Cardiac Arrest - 16 May 2020

In the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, when we were confined to our 5km bubbles and an hour of exercise per day, I went out for a 5km “(not)parkrun” with the kids, taking in some of the Coburg parkrun course. Shortly after this I collapsed at home and woke up in intensive care four days later.

The quick and effective response of my family saved my life. Today’s the day I remind you to learn CPR! You never know where or when you will be a lifesaver.

OpenAEDMap is an open-data project which shows all Automated External Defibrillators (AED) around the world. Please take a moment to find out where your nearest one is, or, if you already know where you nearest AED is, ensure it’s on the map.

It’s good to be alive!

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Conquer Cancer - Hour Two

Pete Johns — Wed, 13 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Our 11-year-old was keen to be a part of the Conquer Cancer Australia World Record attempt, so he was up before me this morning to join the runners and joggers and walkers taking one-hour shifts. He’s not old enough to be registered as a runner, but he was able to join in the fun and run with his Dad.

Having completed an hour last week, I was prepared for the second stint and off we went to Princes Park. One of the organisers was walking with the baton when we got there at 05:40 and we narrowly missed the window to take the baton, which meant we had to wait for another lap to be completed, which gave us a chance to chat with the official in the tent. D asked a bunch of questions about the event, and it was really pleasing to see him so engaged with the endeavour.

The baton came in around 06:20, and after a smooth handover, off we went, into a dark, misty morning. D was very chatty around the first lap and it seemed to go very quickly. D was tiring by the start of the second 3.2km loop and began to walk rather than run before long. It was really pleasant walking around Princes Park as the sky turned blue and the mist began to lift. Then with maybe 400m to go, he took off like a rocket and we ran to the flags, where the next baton carrier was waiting, so our second and final lap finished around 07:10.

I’m very proud of D and his effort this morning. There wouldn’t be many grade sixers running around parks with their as the sun rises as part of a fundrasing effort. Will he join me for my third and final stint next Wednesday morning at six o’clock? We shall see. He’s very tired this evening!

And now it’s time to rattle the tin…

Please give generously. I’ve lost two good friends to brain cancer, so this is a cause that means a great deal to me.

Thank you.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Minute Cryptic Crossword Workshop

Pete Johns — Tue, 12 May 2026 05:53:38 +0000

One of the things I have been really enjoying during my career break is learning to tackle cryptic crosswords. I am still not very good at them, but I can solve clues today that were dark to me a year ago, and that’s pleasing progress.

I was delighted to see that the authors of the Minute Cryptic book I mentioned on National Crossword Solvers Day are about to release a second book and were hosting a workshop at Melbourne Writers Festival at the weekend. I pedalled down to the city after timekeeping at Parkville parkrun on Saturday and had a lovely time hearing about how Minute Cryptic got started and how it’s growing.

One thing I have come to appreciate about cryptic clues is that there’s a very fine line between some clues and ~~Dad~~ bad jokes. Perhaps that’s where some of the appeal comes from. There were a lot of audible groans in the room during the workshop as solutions were revealed to clues like:

One goes into debt flying private jet? (5)

You can see the solution to this in the Minute Cryptic YouTube channel.

(Yes, DJ, I met a “YouTuber”!)

After this experience, I was inspired to have a go at writing a couple of clues this week, which I am sharing here for you.

“Fe-female!”, made heavy metal fans run to the hills! (4, 6)

Complete lack of lighting at the weekend made concertgoers paranoid (5, 7)

Let me know how you go!

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Timekeeping at Parkville parkrun event #456

Pete Johns — Sat, 09 May 2026 01:07:34 +0000

It’s been a very parkrunny week, which involved me presenting at a Volunteering Australia webinar about Community-Led Volunteering and my parkrun experiences. Some people have said nice things about the presentation and the recording will be available soon.

I didn’t have time to run or walk at parkrun (or more specifically to get showered and changed after a run) this week, as I had a session booked at Melbourne Writers Festival (more on that later), so I looked at a few local volunteer rosters and put my hand up to help out at Parkville parkrun. Typically, when I email an event team to volunteer, I say that I am happy to cover any role. The team asked me to be timekeeper for the event and I was very happy to oblige as I know many volunteers would rather do literally any other role than timekeeping! Having performed this role a number of times before, I am perfectly comfortable with it and thought I’d share a few thoughts with you, so if you’re one of the parkrunners who are a little nervous about timekeeping, read on!

What is the role of a timekeeper at parkrun?

The Timekeeper is responsible for recording the finish times of all participants at the event (using the Virtual Volunteer app). Usually the timekeeper will announce the start of the event, “3. 2. 1. parkrun!”, and hit “Start” on the app. As each participant crosses the finish line, the timekeeper will tap the app to record their finish time, associated with the finisher’s position number. After the Tailwalker has crossed the finish line, the timekeeper will hit “Stop” on the app. Times are submitted using the app and a unique QR code for the event, held by the Run Director, leaving the times in parkrun’s Event Management System (EMS) for the Results Processor to process alongside the submissions from the Barcode Scanner volunteers to ensure finishers who brought their barcode get their results emailed through to them.

Personal observations on timekeeping

Saturday morning was damp, much like the previous time I volunteered as a timekeeper (at Cruickshank Park parkrun). I cannot recall who gave me this tip, but it was a good one: I put my phone in a clear plastic bag, which I keep in my bag for such occasions. This prevents raindrops from hitting the screen and registering as taps, adding additional finishers to the event. I tap the screen directly, with my hand inside the bag.

In low-traffic periods, I’ll call out positions as people cross the finish line so that the Funnel Manager, Number Checker or Finish Tokens volunteer can ensure that the finish tokens are in sync with the times. At times when there are lots of runners crossing the finish line, I’ll just record the times as they cross the line and check in with the other volunteers when there’s a break in the action.

In higher-traffic periods, I find it easier to focus on the ground between the flags at the finish line rather than looking at faces, so that I can keep track of how many people cross the line when groups of runners cross the line together. On Saturday morning, we had a period between 23 minutes and 31 minutes where at least 27 parkrunners crossed the line per minute, which isn’t the most intense parkrun experience but it was enough to keep me focussed!

A few tips for timekeepers

parkrun has a video that explains the role of a timekeeper, which I recommend watching before volunteering in this role for the first time. I also recommend downloading the Virtual Volunteer app and familiarising yourself with it before the event to ensure you know how to start the timer, record each finisher, stop the timer and submit the results. parkrun Virtual Volunteer app: Timing describes this well. And don’t forget to charge your phone before heading to parkrun!

One thing that I don’t think is well-understood about timekeeping at parkrun

It’s possible to have multiple timekeepers at a parkrun finish line performing exactly the same role. If you’re nervous about making a mistake, your phone running out of charge, or similar, why not bring a friend? The Results Processor can select either submitted set of times to process and you’ll both have the full volunteering experience, including volunteer credit.

It was always about the coffee

Due to time constraints, I didn’t make it to Naughty Boy Cafe with my fellow parkrunners but I do look forward to returning there. The fancy mushroom toast is a delicious post-parkrun treat.

Next week…

I’ll be timekeeping at Coburg parkrun for their eleventh anniversary, much like I did at their launch (but back then we had stopwatches with dodgy USB cables)!

Maybe I’ll see you there.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition

Pete Johns — Fri, 08 May 2026 01:07:34 +0000

K recently joked that were I to appear on Mastermind, my specialist subject would be Iron Maiden. She may be right. They’re certainly the band I have paid the most attention to over the years. Throughout the 90s they were the band I listened to the most, and this led to me discovering more bands. As a teenager my bedroom walls were plastered with posters of Eddie and even today my office walls have framed records of their eponymous debut album and The Soundhouse Tapes. So I probably know more about this band than the average person on the street. But I also know there are plenty of Maiden fans more obsessive than me, so I wouldn’t put myself out there on Mastermind.

2025 marked 50 years since the band formed and they have, of course, celebrated with a lot of merchandise. I have enough “stuff” but I couldn’t resist the Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams – The Official Visual History hardback book, which has so many wonderful pictures in it. This shouldn’t be mistaken for the paperback Infinite Dreams: Iron Maiden by Dave Bowler and Bryan Dray, which was published in 1996! If you’re a Maiden fan, there’s a lot of really great material to nerd over in their hardback, including excerpts from Steve Harris’s diaries, handwritten lyrics, and a bunch of photographs that I’ve not seen published anywhere else.

Then there’s the reason for this blog post, a new biopic: Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition, which was released around the globe yesterday. I was among maybe a dozen fans at my local cinema yesterday for the opening of this film. There was a lot less ceremony for this than there was for Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which was showing in the screen next door, which seemed apposite for a documentary about a rock band whom, for all their successes, have never enjoyed much in the way of mainstream media promotion. It seemed very strange to see the band on such a large screen outside of a concert venue, even more peculiar than when I saw Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage or even GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now.

I felt absolutely immersed in the first part of the film. The story was familiar, of course, and I had seen photographs of those early years in the East End of London and the tours of the early 1980s, but to see and hear so much live footage was a real treat for a long-time fan. Video footage wasn’t so easy to get hold of in the 90s when I was obsessing over this band: the only material I had was a copy of Maiden England on VHS, which is a concert film from 1989 with the “classic” five-piece line-up.

As the film went on, I was still tapping my foot to the music but there were far fewer (ahem) revelations. There were a whole lot of previously unseen computer-generated videos, which didn’t excite me. There was also an original orchestral score, which was great but perhaps unnecessary in a film about a band with more than enough music to provide the backdrop to a 106‑minute film. There’s even an Iron Maiden song with the same name as the film, which didn’t seem to get a look-in! What a strange world we live in!

It was great to hear some perspectives from past members of the band, including those who were live after death for the purposes of this recording.

When I walked out of the cinema, after what felt like a rather rushed ending, I found myself wondering who the target audience were. Fans, I suspect. Perhaps some newcomers to the genre? If you like Iron Maiden and heavy metal, I reckon you’ll enjoy this as much as I did. If you don’t, I wouldn’t expect this to change your mind.

Playlist: a track from each album

Here’s a playlist I put together with a single track from each of Iron Maiden’s seventeen studio albums for you to enjoy. It’s almost the same duration as the film (shorter if you include the trailers and advertisements). Make of it what you will.

⚒ Iron Maiden: @johnsyweb’s Top Track from Each Album on Apple Music
Curated by Pete Johns.
Prompted by the release of their seventeenth studio album, this playlist takes a stroll down memory lane and relives some of their best works.
17 songs • 1 hour 52 minutes • Featured artist: Iron Maiden

⚒️ Up the irons! 🤘🏼

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Conquer Cancer - Hour One

Pete Johns — Wed, 06 May 2026 03:58:54 +0000

As you know, this month I am taking part in a World Record attempt, as part of Conquer Cancer Australia.

These legends have been moving a baton around Princes Park since Saturday, with runners, joggers and walkers taking one-hour shifts. Some are even doing multiple hours back-to-back. They are supported by an amazing team, who are very well prepared and organised.

This morning, as the sun was rising above Parkville, I arrived nice and early and was briefed on the mechanics of the baton handover at the start of the stint, where to run, and what to do if I arrived back at the handover area before the next baton-holder. I was given a bib with the number 4 on it, a running belt with a phone which would record my effort to Strava, and a bodycam, which will be used to verify that I kept moving for the whole time I had the baton. Before setting off, I recorded a short video message verifying my details and the date and time for future verification, and then I waited in the handover area for the baton to come in, which it did just after 06:45.

I was off.

The camera promptly dropped from the running belt, but I kept moving and a team member came and reattached it as I walked out of the handover area and onto the main track around Princes Park.

This is one of Melbourne’s most popular running circuits and there were plenty of runners of all paces doing laps in either direction at this time of day. It felt good to be a part of this. About one kilometre into the lap a bunch of athletes cheered me on, recognising the baton and the bib, and I heard one of them say that we’ve been running for five days. I thought, “I’ve been running for five minutes!”

By the end of my first lap, it was full daylight and I could see a friend waiting for me. He’d said he’d hoped to join me, jet lag permitting, and it made my morning to see him standing there. My pace picked up a little with the cheers from the Conquer Cancer team and my new running companion for motivation. The next two laps went past in a flash as we ran and chatted, and as we came to the end of lap three, I could see the next runner ready to receive the baton, which was absolutely perfect.

The world record attempt is only one part of this important endeavour. The most significant factor is raising much-needed funding for brain cancer research and to assist those in need while dealing with this awful disease. To those who would like to donate, you can do so on my fundraising page, and I will be very grateful to you. And a huge thank you to my current sponsors: Anonymous, Marcus & Mum for your generosity! 💓

I am looking forward to my second stint next Wednesday morning at six o’clock.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Coburg parkrun event #517

Pete Johns — Sat, 02 May 2026 05:02:16 +0000

This morning I was one of the 283 finishers at Coburg parkrun event #517, and K was one of the 14 volunteers.

From last weekend’s post and the previous weekend’s post, it may seem that I only go to parkrun to participate in challenges, but one of the biggest influences as to where I’ll parkrun is where my friends are going. And this was the case today as a bunch of friends, including one from overseas, were headed to my home event at Coburg parkrun. This meant that I could sleep in and cycle to parkrun.

It was great to be back at our home event and to see folks I’d not seen in a while. The plantar fasciitis that has been plaguing me for the last couple of months seems to have largely subsided, so I was able to run quite comfortably with my friend from overseas for about 4 km, laughing and joking all the way. At the base of the hill, 4 km into the course, I ran out of fitness and slowed to a walk.

At this point I got chatting with the parkrunner who’d been behind me and who was also walking the hill. There’s something about the parkrun environment that makes this introvert very chatty, which meant that my new friend and I had crested the hill and were running together towards the finish in what seemed like no time at all.

It was the fastest time that I had clocked on that course since 2024!

I’ll be back at Coburg parkrun in a couple of weeks as timekeeper for the eleventh anniversary. Perhaps I’ll see you there.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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What is going on with Apple's User Interfaces?

Pete Johns — Sat, 02 May 2026 02:04:07 +0000

One of the things I was told before I got my first Mac was that Apple’s user interfaces were the most intuitive. Back in the early 2000s, I think that was probably true (compared, for instance, to Microsoft Windows, where you’d tap the “Start” button to shut it down).

This morning when I was sending an email and wanted to put my initials in italics, which is my wont, and I typed ⌘I, I was surprised to see the word “Oblique” appear in the toolbar.

Meanwhile in the icon-embellished “Format” menu, I is for Italic as nature intended.

Surely this is a regression and will be fixed before the next release?

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I'm taking on Conquer Cancer and I need your support!

Pete Johns — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:36:08 +0000

I’m proud to be part of a Guinness World Records attempt, running in a non-stop four-week relay around Princes Park to help conquer cancer. It also happens that my little brother ran into the record books this weekend.

Every dollar I raise will support Camp Quality’s programs for kids facing cancer and fund vital research at The Florey Institute.

Please donate if you can. Your support helps bring hope, laughter and life-changing breakthroughs to families impacted by cancer.

Every donation, big or small, will help keep the baton moving and make a real difference.

If you want to come along to Princes Park and run a lap with me, cheer me on, or just have a laugh at me, I’ll be there at the following times:

07:00 - 08:00 on Wednesday, 6 May 2026
06:00 - 07:00 on Wednesday, 13 May 2026
06:00 - 07:00 on Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Thank you ever so much for backing me! I really appreciate it. And the best of luck to everyone taking part in the World’s Longest Relay to Conquer Cancer.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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Studley parkrun event #466

Pete Johns — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 07:25:47 +0000

One of the aspects of being a parkrun ambassador that I really enjoy is jumping in the car or on the bike on a Saturday morning and heading to a parkrun event. I have blogged before about using my NENDY to decide where I should go, which is all well and good, but it’s not the only way I choose. Each event can only be your NENDY once. I also very much enjoy returning to events and the “p-index” is a good heuristic for deciding which event to head back to.

What is the p-index?

Simply put, a parkrunner’s p-index is the number of different events (p) that they have completed at least p times. When you complete your first parkrun, you have a p-index of one. To increase this to two, you must complete that same event once more and another event twice. To increase this to three, you must complete those two events once more each, plus another event three times. Computer scientists may look at this and think, “this is an O(n²) problem!” Scientific researchers may look at this and think, “this sounds like Hersch’s h-index!”

The earliest reference to the p-index I can find is when Andy Taylor added code for the “p-value” to the Running Challenges Chrome extension on 21 May 2018. If you know of the origin of tracking this, please do contact me!

My p-index history

1. Westerfolds parkrun, 14 June 2014 (+1)

The first parkrun I completed was at Westerfolds parkrun in June 2014 and if the p-index existed as a concept then, that would have been one for me.

2. Coburg parkrun, 25 July 2015 (+34)

Westerfolds was my home parkrun for almost a year, until establishing Coburg parkrun in May 2015, and by then I had completed Westerfolds parkrun 28 times.

I had enjoyed a few other courses when I had been away. At this point, I was looking for parkruns where I was travelling, not looking to travel where there were parkruns!

As parkrun was getting established in my home suburb, I was volunteering for the first few weeks and ran at the seventh and tenth events to take my (yet-to-be-coined) p-index to 2 after my 35th parkrun.

3. Darebin parkrun, 20 October 2018 (+127)

If 35 finishes over 13 months seemed like a long journey to complete four parkruns, then 162 over 51 months to complete these nine specific parkruns must be an odyssey! Most of these parkruns were at my home parkrun of Coburg. It’s great to have an event on my metaphorical doorstep.

By this time, I had discovered the joy of visiting other parkrun events, inspired by listening to Scott & Mel on the parkrun adventurers podcast. I also saw it as important that, as Event Director, I should not be at Coburg parkrun every week. As with my professional life, I like to eliminate key person dependencies in my teams. Indeed, I had stepped aside as Event Director in August 2018, after a three-month handover period with my successor to ensure the continued sustainable running of the event.

The concept of the p-index wasn’t something I remember being aware of at this juncture. I certainly don’t recall deliberately heading to Darebin parkrun for a third time to improve this stat. It was far more likely that I had gone for a gentle parkrun with friends while recovering from Melbourne Marathon. Many of my running buddies who I met in the early days of Coburg parkrun, before Darebin was established, live closer to this course and it’s an event we love to go back to.

4. Sunbury parkrun, 13 July 2019 (+39)

I became a parkrun Event Ambassador (EA) in January 2019 and Sunbury parkrun was one of the four events I was supporting along with Coburg, Darebin and Mernda parkruns. By this stage I was also using the Running Challenges browser plugin, so was aware of the p-index. It would have been around this time that I started using the p-index to help me choose where to head on a Saturday morning. Clearly I had been to Coburg and Darebin parkruns more than Sunbury or Mernda. And so I set out to gain a p-index of five.

Sunbury parkrun was well established when I first visited as EA in March 2019. I had been to one of their trials and, let’s just say, the hill had not enticed me back! Now I endeavoured to get there about every five weeks on a cycle with the other three events I was supporting along with a weekend for adventuring.

Sunbury is somewhere I still like to head of a weekend. I actually managed to run the whole hill in March 2020.

5. Mernda parkrun, 29 February 2020 (+30)

Like Sunbury parkrun, I had been to Mernda’s trial event. I had also been to Mernda in 2018 as I think it may have been my NENDY and I loved the course, and was glad to have a reason to keep returning.

My third visit there was the Saturday before we set off for our big European adventure in 2019 (I feel a little sad that I didn’t blog while we were overseas). We got to enjoy 14 parkruns across the UK, Ireland, Italy and even France on that trip, none of which count towards my p-index. Two of these events are no longer operating (there are tourist challenges around these but I don’t really see the point of such things).

I got back into a cadence of returning to Mernda, Coburg, Darebin and Sunbury at the start of 2020 and reached a p-index of 5 on the 29 February. One for the Date Bingo enthusiasts!

6. Aurora parkrun, 30 April 2022 (+38)

For various reasons, not least a pandemic and a cardiac arrest, it would be over two years before I reached a p-index of six, despite only needing to visit Mernda once more and the new parkrun at Aurora four more times.

I had supported the event team at Aurora parkrun through the prospective parkrun process in 2019. Unfortunately, the launch was scheduled for while we were in Italy, so I didn’t get to visit the event until the morning we landed back in January 2020. Aurora joined the rotation with Mernda, Coburg, Darebin and Sunbury parkruns, but of course things came to an abrupt stop the day I ran the hill at Sunbury. And a couple of months after that I woke up in an intensive care unit.

parkrun, like many gatherings, was on-again-off-again through 2021, so it took a wee while for me to make this increment.

7. Albert parkrun, Melbourne, 27 January 2024 (+83)

The other thing that changed during the pandemic was that our Regional Ambassador stepped aside and I was encouraged to apply for this role; supporting Event Ambassadors around Victoria, which I did. I have been enjoying this role since September 2021.

This has meant that I have a wider range of events that I’d like to understand in order to be effective in my role. Albert Melbourne was one of a few events that could have been the seventh event in my p-index, which goes some way to explaining why it took so long to increment from six. There were more events in the rotation.

Albert Melbourne is one of Australia’s longest running parkruns. It is also one of the largest parkruns globally. At the time I became a Regional Ambassador, it was the only 5km parkrun event I had been to that had a finish funnel. And a lead bike (this role was retired in March 2023). It’s also in an iconic location, inside the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. I love returning during the period where they’re setting up for the race.

One of my most memorable visits to Albert Melbourne was not a contribution to my p-index but volunteering at Albert parkrun, Melbourne 21/10/2023 | #555 on Finish Tokens and handing out 797 little pieces of plastic as folks crossed the finish line at a rate approaching 60 per minute. This was one of the most intense experiences I’ve had (and just after the then COO had appealed for an end to the so-called “Nelson Club”). The team at Albert Melbourne now have two people handing out Finish Tokens in batches of 30, which helps keep things simple, safe and sustainable.

8. Warringal Parklands parkrun, 24 February 2024 (+4)

Just four events later Warringal Parklands parkrun became the eighth event in my p-index. Warringal Parklands parkrun started five weeks before the pandemic closure and during the closure period went through a change of event teams. Many of the people who help keep this event going are friends I made through Westerfolds and Coburg parkrun events and so it’s certainly an event I enjoy returning to.

I don’t have “favourite” parkruns but for a while I had a favourite post-parkrun breakfast and the Panko Eggs at the café Warringal Parklands parkrunners went to was it for a few years. Unfortunately, the establishment changed hands, the service went downhill quickly and then the menu changed.

9. Warringal Parklands parkrun, 21 September 2024 (+28)

Having nudged the p-index to 8 at Warringal Parklands parkrun, I had four events sitting on eight finishes and three sitting on four. It was unclear at this point whether Studley, Parkville or Brimbank parkrun would be the ninth event to contribute to the index.

I had first been to Brimbank in September 2018 and had enjoyed the hill almost as much as the one at Sunbury! Oh my word, that’s a tough climb. The views at the top are spectacular. It’s a lovely place to run with native flora and fauna.

In April 2023, I returned to Brimbank as it was DJ’s NENDY. He loved it so much that he asked to go back later in the year to celebrate his 50th parkrun. The hill hadn’t become flatter. The Run Director (RD) on the morning appealed for locals to join the event team as there were just two RDs on the team after another event had been established nearby. I volunteered as a guest RD a couple of months later to give the team a rest.

Brimbank parkrun became somewhere I returned a few times over the next twelve months and there were still just two RDs on the team. After talking with them, their EA, and parkrun Australia it was agreed that I would help out as a temporary RD and endeavour to recruit some more RDs. I treated Brimbank much as I would my home event and over the next year I was a regular volunteer and participant. This left Studley and Parkville behind as candidates for my ninth p-index event.

I completed nine events at Brimbank parkrun as well as one each at Aurora, Albert Melbourne and Mernda parkruns before I returned to Warringal Parklands, which meant that this was the first time I had incremented my p-index twice at the same venue. I also celebrated with a personal best (PB) at this event.

10. Parkville parkrun, 21 December 2024 (+10)

It won’t surprise you that it didn’t take that long to increase my p-index from nine to ten, given how close Studley, Parkville and Brimbank parkruns were. I also had quietly set myself a target of getting my v- and p-indexes into double figures in 2024. So I was focused!

Parkville parkrun is another of Melbourne’s iconic events, running, as it does, around Princess Park, just North of the CBD. It’s also a short bike ride from home, which makes it a great place to meet a friend for a trot. This is usually how I get to enjoy Parkville parkrun. It also has a great post-parkrun café and I recommend the Fancy Mushroom Toast.

Much like Albert Melbourne, its proximity to the city, easy public transport location, and flat looped course around a park, all make Parkville a popular destination for parkrun tourists. Also, like Albert Melbourne, the team run a well-oiled machine.

11. Kirkdale Reserve parkrun, 27 December 2025 (+48)

It may then surprise you that it took me nearly a year to go up to eleven! It may also surprise you that Kirkdale Reserve hasn’t yet been mentioned and yet here it is, overtaking Studley parkrun into my p-index.

Kirkdale Reserve parkrun was a prospect that I helped with in my time as an EA. It came up during the pandemic and despite the start line being within the 5km radius within which I was allowed to move, I couldn’t reach the South end of the course! The event launched in June 2022, and being so close to Coburg parkrun, was supported by many Coburg parkrunners and members of Merri Creek Running Club.

One of my goals for 2025 was to cycle to parkrun more, which makes Kirkdale a great destination, straight down the beautiful Merri Creek Trail. Breakfast at nearby CERES is also a delight.

Studley parkrun event #466

This weekend I found myself without plans and without a running buddy. I consulted my p-index and saw how I had been neglecting the beautiful Studley parkrun, along the banks of the Yarra River. It’s not that far from home (all of the events in my p-index are within 27km of home as the unladen swallow flies), so off I went. It was while I was enjoying running this lovely trail course on Anzac Day morning that it had occurred to me that I had recently blogged:

Maybe I’ll work on my p-index in the mean time. More on that in another post, I am sure.

And that was the inspiration for this long blog post.

And this chart.

And the goal to ensure that Studley parkrun is included in my p-index by the end of 2026.

It has been fun to reminisce on these experiences. I am glad I resurrected this blog.

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Pete Johns (/piːt ʤɒnz/ - he/him/his)
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