Episode 316 - InSantagram

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reportersMark Scarborough Sarah Jefferson

Show notes

It’s the office Christmas party and there’s merriment a plenty! In our final show for the year we hear from Sarah at Dawesville (opens in a new tab) parkrun while Mark catches up with Lyndell at Mount Ainslie (opens in a new tab) parkrun. We have listeners and news crew dropping in with bon bon jokes, ugly Christmas shirts galore plus mail, obi’s and looking back on future predictions.

The podcast feed and the Facebook post carry the same notes.

Roving reports

1Dawesville2Mount Ainslie

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:26

  Christmas party episode, Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri land and a tired Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country after getting up at 1.30am for the kick-yay World Cup final, which Argentina won; they pull a bonbon and read the first cracker joke. Mel walked Peppertree parkrun on Wadawurrung land to surprise ED Adrian on his 100th volunteer, chauffeured by Craig Ryan and joined by Kev and Donna Markwick, her ankle still sore; Ollie RD'd Ugly Christmas Singlet Day at Shellharbour in wintry weather with buffs worn as shorts and about 150 to 160 attending, with Chris Fraser on photos. Feedback: Cooks River and Panania got their fee waiver with support from Active Canterbury Bankstown.

• International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day starts at 11:26

  Ollie gets on the front foot to thank "the elves behind Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day", stressing that the podcast promotes it but does not run it. Ugly singlets and shirts are the theme running through the whole episode, including Dazza's and the Obi.

• parkrun adventurers time capsule starts at 12:03crystal ball predictions

  A callback to the time capsule filled by Melissa Erbacher and Scott Trickett in episode 215 ("Bon Bon Voyage"), opened two years on. Predictions reviewed: parkruns in Switzerland, Fiji and the International Space Station (wrong, only Austria has joined, Helbrunn in August 2021); parkrun entering the public psyche; parkrun known as a social movement with a running problem (partly); and 500 Australian events including Alice Springs (436 events, nothing new in the NT). The hosts invite listeners to email predictions for a new capsule.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 19:28"Where is the cake?"

  Baxter parkrun launches in Carnarvon, Western Australia, event number one. It takes over from Marina as the westernmost parkrun in Australia, and the hosts head off confusion about Baxter Park being 4,200km from the town of Baxter and roughly 900km from Perth.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 21:28

  Two roving reports back to back. Sarah Jefferson at Dawesville parkrun (WA), interviewing Run Director Jamie about the event, the estuary course, its full volunteer roster and the Mandurah Giants, plus a bonbon joke and a follow-up piece on the Lake Clifton thrombolytes. Then Mark Scarborough at Mount Ainslie parkrun in Canberra, the only trail parkrun in the ACT, where he meets Lyndell Murray in person for the first time and walks her through her newly completed Peel Club (a parkrun in every Australian state and territory).

• Dazza's starts at 36:03

  Christmas edition, themed "show us your uglies, welcome to Dazza's where ugly is the new black". Posts from Bec Bailey (Pegasus parkrun 300th, NZ, most likes), Jo McLean volunteering at The Ponds, Tracy Jensen's 50th volunteer and a PB at Portland, Belinda Taylor at St Lucia celebrating Janice's Queensland States lady status, Lisa Atkinson at Fodder Forest, Johan Duvenhage on his Beskutfontein trail run, Jen Arney at Bathurst where the Tail Walkers were married straight after parkrun, Lynette Anne at Castlemaine, Tamsin Smith at Weymouth (UK), Geoff Glaab at Joe Creason (USA), and Parth Bommakanti at Des Connor junior parkrun.

• the Obi Award — Jo McLean starts at 46:01

  The last Obi of the year. Calum Burrell is thanked for presenting last week's from Burnage parkrun in England, and the envelope travels to South Africa, where Johan Duvenhage finds it strapped to a rubber ducky mid-river during his Beskutfontein trail run. Awarded to Jo McLean for her Ugly Christmas Singlet and Christmas headgear while volunteering at The Ponds parkrun.

• Christmas bonbon jokes starts at 48:34

  Christmas-party bit running through the episode: the hosts pull a cracker on air and read jokes, and listeners and Channel 5 News crew send in recorded ones, Greg ("what did one wall say to the other wall?"), Tracey Wood ("a Christmas tree with bad breath"), Johan Duvenhage (Santa and Mrs Klaus, "reindeer"), and a two-hander car-trip skit about a statistician scared of negative numbers. Mel closes the show with the episode's title joke: Father Christmas posts his dinner on InSantagram.

• Emails starts at 51:14

  Mail from Lee Cabarita, last week's Obi recipient, on porn names, her kitten "Sexy", and an idea for the time capsule (barcodes, shoe or key tags, or the stories of Australia's earliest barcodes). Then Michael Gentle with results from the 62nd Zatopek 10 at Lakeside Stadium, Leanne Pompiani, Isabel Batdoyle, Rose Davies, Jack Rayner, Andre Waring and Amy Bunnidge, with their parkrun course records, plus a shot fired in the Greatest State rivalry (NSW has hosted two PALMs, Victoria none). Mel counters that Western Australia is the greatest state.

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 57:15

  For 17 December 2022: Adventurers out at 144 locations, 349 members with 279 taking part. Internationally 18 UK events, two South Africa, two USA, one Italy, one Austria. Locally 32 in Victoria, 31 Queensland, 25 NSW, nine SA, seven WA, six North Island, five ACT, three Tasmania, two South Island.

• the Frond — Shellharbour parkrun starts at 58:04

  Largest frond went to Shellharbour parkrun, Gordon and Julie Turner, Gaillyn Cooper, Michael Gentle, Karen Hamilton, Paddy Oshimo and Sue Keane, with young Kayleigh standing in for Helen while celebrating her junior 10 and her birthday. Mel suspects the junior events at Eynesbury and Des Connor Park actually out-fronded it.

• Sign-off starts at 59:57

  Mel asked whether Ollie was at home next Saturday: he was run directing on Christmas Eve and would be absent from parkrun on Christmas Day, while Mel was taking a road trip west to Edenhope to join Victoria's newest parkrun at Lake Wallace, camping overnight, before going local to Toolern Creek on Christmas Day with family coming for lunch. They thanked the Office Lady, revealing she is an English teacher who had just rewritten the New South Wales English syllabus and who tidies up their Facebook page, and extended Christmas thanks to the whole community, the Channel 5 News crew, the art director, the fill-ins and stand-in co-hosts, The Informant and the Channel 2 News crew. They swapped new year plans - Mel hoping again for a tourism trip taking in a rodeo, Ollie hoping for New Zealand parkruns around Women's World Cup matches - told a bonbon joke about InSantagram, and Ollie thanked Mel for another year of podcasting, wished everyone a happy and safe Christmas, gave the contacts and said they would see everyone next year.