Episode 95
2017-12-21
— open the full-size artworkShow artwork, December 2017HostsMelissa Erbacher Scott Trickett
Roving reportersGrette Wilkinson Lyndell Murray
GuestsAshni Millis Christine Timms Denise Clark Fiona Edmonds Glenn Turner John Lang Mark Connolly Tim Oberg
Show notes
The parkrun adventurers kick off the 2017 finale festivities with a special intro by our Channel 5 News Crew. We buzz Netflix HQ to discuss ‘parkrun adventurers: The Netflix Original’, and parkrun AU CEO Tim Oberg stops in to share his highlights for 2017. Glen Turner, Press & Media Manager for parkrun UK & Ireland, brings us some heart-warming stories. And we wrap up the fun with another EPIC State of the Nation - eight parkrun AU Event Ambassadors give us all the latest and upcoming news for their State or Territory!
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptGuests
Tim Oberg
Annual Christmas visit from "the boss": his Fast 5K for Christmas 10-week training block with Eloise Wellings, 2017 highlights (parkrun at Parliament House in Canberra, his Jack starting to run, the staff team growing to include Renee Gimbert, Scotty, Nikki Waterfall and Carol Cunningham), 66 events launched in 2017 versus 48 the year before, the Medibank and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games partnerships, and a detailed explanation of why junior parkrun is delayed (a safeguarding policy that must clear each state's differing child-protection legislation and parkrun Global). Closes with a Christmas wish for happy and healthy parkruns and a bonbon joke.
Glenn Turner
An Australian working inside parkrun UK: what a press and media manager actually does, handling journalists who need "people and numbers", how the newsletters are now segmented by region, a forthcoming story about an African refugee who fled prison and now holds a course record at a southeast London parkrun, his own parkrun origin story at Bromley and founding Gladstone parkrun in a disadvantaged part of north London, his favourite events (Fell Foot on Lake Windermere, and Bere Island off West Cork as a bucket-list run), his Australian Christmas parkrun itinerary planned on his mother's spreadsheet, and the story of the UK's first prison parkrun, Black Combe at HMP Haverigg, with a second launching in Northern Ireland in January.
Ashni Millis
State of the Nation for Victoria, 16 events launched in 2017 for a total of 58; recent launches at Marriott Waters, Sunbury and Bannockburn Bush; Gardner's Creek, Bright, Lakes Entrance and Nhill booked for 2018; prospects at Ocean Grove, Rosebud, Warrandyte and Birdsland (Belgrave Heights); Port Fairy's first anniversary on 20 January; and Torquay closing for January.
Christine Timms
State of the Nation for Tasmania, doubled from three events to six (George Town, Railton, Windsor Precinct, the last launching the same day Launceston hit its 250th); Ben Brockman joining as a second event ambassador; winning the Physical Activity Award at the Tasmanian Community Achievement Awards and a Healthy Tasmania grant funding two more 2018 events; Burnie City Council funding a new event; and Queens Domain launching 20 January to take over from Hobart as the southern compass point, and as a rare Q for alphabet tourists.
Mark Connolly
State of the Nation for the Northern Territory, Palmerston turning one and Darwin turning four, Nightcliff launching on the Darwin foreshore at the end of February and becoming the new northern compass point, and long-running hopes for Katherine and Alice Springs.
Denise Clark
State of the Nation for the ACT, her own 200th parkrun that weekend; Christmas Day and New Year's Day events at Tuggeranong and Gungahlin staggered so runners can do both; Goulburn launching 10 February with Medibank support and Coombs, the ACT's first off-road trail parkrun, on 17 March (resetting who counts as a 'capitalist'); and growth from 650 to over 900 parkrunners a week across five events.
Fiona Edmonds
State of the Nation for Queensland, launches at Redcliffe (700 people), Oakey, Cloncurry, Lota, Miles, North Harbour and St George; Zillmere launching 20 January as Australia's first Z parkrun; Bargara near Bundaberg in turtle season on 27 January; and prospects at Forest Lake, Graceville Riverside, Oxley Creek Common, Victory Heights, Lake Wivenhoe, Woodford, Cardwell, Doomadgee and Roma.
John Lang
State of the Nation for South Australia, 10 new events in 2017 (doubling the state) helped by an Office of Rec and Sport grant, the newest being Reynella East the weekend just gone; Edithburgh and Port Broughton launching on the Yorke Peninsula, the latter with 4.5km on the beach and a tide table; Christmas and New Year's Day options including the Mount Barker-to-Strathalbyn and Mawson Lakes-to-Carisbrook 'run between the doubles'; early talk of SA joining the Longest Run. First-time guest, so the hosts also ask about founding Cleland, SA's first trail-based event, out of the Mount Barker crew.
Roving reports
In this episode
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 0:04
The crew is all over this episode: they open it singing a parkrun-lyric Christmas carol as the intro music, and file festive sign-offs and cracker jokes across the show, PK from South Australia, Lyndell, TOC, Greta and Tim Oberg. Lyndell and Greta also file the episode's two full roving reports. In the wrap Mel and Scott formally induct Gary Murphy into the crew ("we told him that if he was willing to sing our Christmas carol for the introduction this week, that that would be his initiation ... Gary, you're in") and put out a call for 2018 applications: "take your phone, turn it upside down and press record ... Be hilarious."
parkrun news bulletin starts at 1:45
Deliberately revived for the year-in-review finale: Scott says "You know one thing I've missed, Mel? I've missed the news. Remember when we used to do the news? Well, let's bring it back." The bulletin is a joke wrap of 2017, 45 episodes released, listeners in 20-odd countries, 2,471 minutes of audio, 113 guests, 57 roving reports from the Channel 5 News crew, parkrun's four millionth global registration, Finland/Norway/Germany joining, Mel missing episode 71 to deliver baby Wes, and Scotty resisting changing the logo all year.
Christmas bonbon jokes starts at 5:56
Annual festive cracker-joke tradition. Scott notes "last year, Mel, I cracked open a bonbon in our Christmas episode" and Mel recycles an uncracked bonbon from last year; nearly every guest is then asked for one, Scott's dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa, Mel's "What do you call a man with a spade on his head? Doug", Tim Oberg's "tweetment", Glenn Turner's "crack putt", plus jokes from PK, Lyndell, TOC and Greta.
Netflix sponsorship running gag starts at 10:49
The hosts phone "Netflix head office" to ask why the company still hasn't come back with sponsorship money for the proposed Netflix Original 'The parkrun adventurers'. The receptionist mistakes Scott for Kevin Spacey and fobs them off with a promised call back from marketing; the gag pays off when Tim Oberg, the same voice, answers the next call with "Hello, Netflix". Named in the episode's own show notes.
State of the Nation starts at 1:05:12
Mel brings back the segment explicitly: "Earlier in the year, we did a little bit of a segment called State of the Nation, which went down a treat with all our listeners ... we're bringing it back." Event ambassadors for each state and territory give 2017 numbers and 2018 plans, Ashni Millis (VIC, 16 launches, 58 events), Christine Timms (TAS, doubled to six events, Queens Domain to become the new southern compass point), Mark Connolly (NT, Nightcliff to become the new northern compass point), Denise Clark (ACT, Goulburn and Coombs launching), Fiona Edmonds (QLD, Zillmere to be Australia's first Z), John Lang (SA, doubled to 10 new events), and the intern reading WA in Matty Trent's absence.
the Intern starts at 1:31:34
With WA ambassador Matty Trent off sick with "a bit of a man flu", Scott hands the West Australian state-of-the-nation report to "parkrun adventurer intern number one", who reads WA's 26 events, Port Hedland as Australia's most isolated parkrun, and the Margaret River launch on 6 January. The performer is never named.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:51:52"Where is the cake?"
End-of-episode rundown covering the summer break: launches on 6 Jan (Margaret River, WA), 13 Jan (Huskisson, NSW) and 20 Jan (Edithburgh SA, Gardner's Creek VIC, Queens Domain TAS, Zillmere QLD, four states in one day, with a Q and Australia's first Z). Anniversaries at Underwood Park (QLD) this week; Lawson, Quinns Rocks, Rocks Riverside and Tannum Sands on 6 Jan; Pioneer (WA), Shepparton (VIC) and Wandai (QLD) on 13 Jan; Lithgow, Point Cook and St Peter's on 20 Jan.
Sign-off starts at 1:53:44
With both sitting on 48 different events, the hosts said where they were headed over the break: Mel to Lota that weekend, the closest parkrun to her Brisbane family for an early Christmas, then volunteering at Nambour on Christmas Day, staying deliberately mysterious about the 30th, while Scotty was heading to Sydney, where he had run only Parramatta, and expected to add a new event over the New Year. They then wrapped up 2017, thanking each other for a year of podcasting, setting 100 episodes as the next goal after making 50, and wishing everyone a safe and merry festive season. Before finishing Scotty floated bringing in a 'B team' to fill the hiatus until their return on 23 or 24 January, Mel pointed listeners to the Listener Meetup location vote on Facebook, and they admitted Gary Murphy to the Channel 5 News Crew for singing the week's Christmas carol, with Scotty signing off 'see you next year'.