After years of travelling across Victoria, the final piece is in place. McIvor Creek Trail became my 127th of the 127 current Victorian parkrun locations—completing my Victorian Statesman journey for now. The day began with a 5:00 am departure from Wodonga and a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Heathcote. What followed was far more than another five kilometres. Friends were there to regain their own Statesman status, 14 volunteers delivered a warm country welcome, and I completed my 320th parkrun as Tail Walker. In this episode, I explore Heathcote’s story—from Taungurung Country and the McIvor gold rush to the railway, wine region and community of today. I also discuss previous visitor reviews, the two-lap creekside course, trail conditions, suitable footwear, the morning’s results, brunch at Gaffney’s Bakery and five nearby places worth exploring after parkrun. The course may not be my preferred style, but this became one of my most meaningful parkrundays. The location completed the map; the people completed the story. EVENT DETAILS McIvor Creek Trail parkrun Heathcote, Victoria Event 9 | Saturday 12 September 2026 Official event webpage: https://www.parkrun.com.au/mcivorcreektrailheathcote/ Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mcivorcreektrailparkrunheathcote/ WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION YouTube: https://youtu.be/cO_8zcvYwCA?si=gKJ_WlJa_QHKp6iv If you enjoy 5K Yarns, please follow the podcast, leave a rating and share this episode—particularly with anyone planning to visit McIvor Creek Trail parkrun. Every barcode has a story. The barcode is just the beginning of the story. MUSIC ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DISCLOSURE ‘Titan’ by Scott Buckley — released under CC BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Track information: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/titan/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The music in this episode is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). All credit goes to the original artist, Scott Buckley. This podcast is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with or sponsored by Scott Buckley. Great music. Great community. One incredible journey. 5K YARNS DISCLAIMER 5K Yarns on the Road to parkrunday with BILLO is an independently produced podcast and video series. Unless otherwise stated, all views, opinions, commentary, observations and experiences expressed are those of the host and participating guests. They should not be interpreted as official statements, policies or positions of parkrun Australia, parkrun Global or any individual parkrun event or volunteer team. References to parkrun events, volunteers, participants and locations are made in good faith for the purpose of storytelling, education, community engagement and entertainment. Some images and visual elements used in 5K Yarns may be AI-generated, AI-assisted, digitally altered, or created for illustrative and graphical purposes. Such imagery should not be considered an accurate depiction of actual people, places, events, historical scenes, conditions, or circumstances. No claim of factual, historical, geographical, or visual accuracy is intended or implied. Event details, course conditions, facilities and access arrangements may change. Always check the official event webpage and local event communications before travelling.
