Episode 364 - Bumping Uglies

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Show notes

This week the swivel chair on Level 2 gets a workout as the uglies all combine to bask in the glory of Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day! As your hosts recap their parkrundays just gone and prepare for parkrun and podcast holiday season, we crack out the bon-bons, hear from the Office Lady and a most melodic Rachel, and we fill the podcast time capsule with 2023 memories, plus predictions for the parkrun year to come. Happy and safe parkrunning everyone, we'll see you all next year for more adventures!

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

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  End-of-year festive episode with Simon Mackley on Quandamooka Country and Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country, recording together for the first time and Ollie's first pairing with anyone other than Mel, before heading straight into something festive.

• Dad joke starts at 1:38

  Festive Christmas-bonbon joke bit running through the episode: Simon and Ollie pull crackers, put on the paper hats and trade parkrun-themed jokes ("Why did the runner bring a calendar to the Christmas party? Because he wanted to start the year off on the right foot" and "What did the adventurers say to the Christmas tree during their parkrun? I pine for the finish, but you're a tremendous companion for this parkrun"), again ("Why did the running shoes break up before Christmas? Too many miles between them"), and Mel and Ollie close the show with two more.

• International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day starts at 9:32

  The episode is built around the 2023 running of Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day (hence the title "Bumping Uglies"). Ollie reports a swathe of uglies at Shellharbour where he was run directing, daughters Ava in the budgies and Zali in the reimagined koala, and Kathy in his OG koala on photographer duty; Simon counted about ten uglies at Redland Bay and met a "twin" in the same visor and budgies shirt. Ollie sums up "great to see all of the festivity and all of the ugliness from Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day", and thanks the elves for getting the shirts out on time.

• parkrun news bulletin starts at 9:56

  Ollie signposts "in no way a segue, of course, now to our news and discussion" and reads a statistical curiosity from Tracy Leiper ("Tutu Tracy") in the Stats Geek group: New Farm, Kirra and Coomera launched ten months apart in 2011-2012 but held events 563, 562 and 561 on the same day, and will all reach event 566 on the first parkrun Saturday of 2024.

• Memories and predictions starts at 11:31end-of-year time capsule

  The annual end-of-year time capsule, taken in turn by each host pairing. Simon: becoming a regular co-host with TOC, and Sarah from the West Side's cameos; predicts Queensland will regain the alphabet lead by gaining a Q and a J. TOC: Cinque parkrun in Sweden with the ABBA warm-up and 727 finishers, Ekebergsletta in Oslo, and the pilgrimage to Bushy Park; predicts Australia reaches 500 events by Easter (491 now) and that Palm will be great. Mel: the trip to WA for palm23 and the release of the adventurers Tops; predicts parkrun India. Ollie: Palm 2023 and the Auslan roving report from Werrington Lakes; predicts parkrun dog wear and AI-written run reports.

• Level 2 with a View starts at 17:04

  The Office Lady's Christmas message from the comfy chair on level two with a view: she is taking the break to go adventuring in South Australia, thanks listeners for the year's social media engagement (Instagram episode posts, Friday "Where Are You Headed" and Saturday Dazza's posts on Facebook), invites suggestions for special days to celebrate in Dazza's during 2024, and says Dazza's returns on 13 January with the first 2024 episode not long after.

• Dazza's starts at 28:02

  Mel and TOC read the week's Dazza's post ("you are ugly, so ugly. Did you get your ugly on? Dazza and the elves have whipped up some ugly snacks and crappuccinos... hashtag in our budgies") and its comments: Alison King at Northern Pathway, Auckland; Sonja Pohlman with Peter at the beach in New South Wales; Michael Sharp at The Beaches; Andrew Johnston's "would that be considered bumping uglies?"; Andy Airey and wife Deb at Quinns Rocks, WA; Adrian Holmberg matching a PB of 28:11 at Rosebud; Tracy ("Tutu Tracy") at Main Beach; Calum Burrell and Lindsay at Burnage, UK; Geoff Glaab at Joe Creason, USA; Janet Reid photographing at "the mothership" Lochiel; and Tamsin Smith with Stuart and Moglin at Southampton.

• the Obi Award — Andrew Johnson starts at 36:12

  Mel calls for the Obi and TOC announces it after a drum roll: "the Obi this week is going to go to Andrew Johnston and the bumping uglies", for his Dazza's comment asking whether unexpectedly encountering other parkrunners in Ugly Christmas Shirts counts as bumping uglies, which also gives the episode its title.

• Club Corner starts at 38:45

  Rachel's Christmas Club Corner, delivered as "the 12 days of parkrun at Christmas" in a mock-sung final stanza: a First Timers Welcome, 2K for junior parkrun, three special helpers (the Office Lady, the informant and the quizmaster), four possible parkruns this Christmas, 5K at parkrun, seven sleeps between parkruns, nine new challenges, ten members of the Channel 5 News Crew (TOC, Johan, Tracey, Lyndell, PK, Cam, Greta, Alison, Sarah and Mark) and eleven years of age for parkrun independence. Signs off "be chill with parkrun. It's fun in the park. It's not a race."

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 41:46

  For Saturday 16 December 2023: of 524 members, 412 took part in nine countries across 186 locations, 32 UK events, four South Africa, one each Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore and America; locally 40 in the Greater State, 36 New South Wales, 33 Queensland, 11 WA, seven SA, six ACT, five North Island, four Tasmania, three South Island. PB: Zali Spake (A3487780) 1:03:45 at Shellharbour. Milestones: Steve Oreck (A2382406) 250th at Bells Parade, Kayleigh Hamilton (A5178431) 25th at Shellharbour.

• the Frond starts at 42:46

  Largest fronds of the week, read inside the Consolidated Club Report: internationally Northern Pathway parkrun in New Zealand (Andrew Capel, Scott Harrell, Helen Watson, Claire Taylor and Alison King); locally Shellharbour first with 17, Main Beach second with 16 and The Ponds third with 11.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 46:46"Where is the cake?"

  Mel announces one launch in Japan, Kitanagase (Kitanagase Mirai Fureai Sogokoen, Okayama), which she gives in anglicised form as "Kitanagase Community Park parkrun" and for which she enlists Andrew Johnston to pronounce the Japanese name. 25 participants, 21 of them running their first ever parkrun; the course takes in the multi-purpose plaza, Okayama Dome and the Lawn Plaza jogging course. It takes Japan to 39 events.

• Sign-off starts at 56:00

  Ollie said this week's episode would be the last for the year before a short summer break and asked Mel's plans: she was road-tripping to Jindabyne that Saturday, spending Christmas Day at her own home parkrun Toolern Creek with Brendan Peel and Jodie Maisie, then heading to South Australia for Copper Trail on the 30th, Port Broughton on New Year's Day and Memorial Park on the 6th, camping in the Clare Valley with Belinda Taylor flying in from Queensland and Martine and Andrew coming across with their caravan. Ollie said he would be at Shellharbour that Saturday either running, possibly paced by Zali, or volunteering, was run directing on the 30th and the 1st, and had no plan yet for the 6th. They pulled a figurative Christmas bonbon and swapped two cracker jokes, then Ollie gave the Facebook and email contacts, wished everyone a safe and merry Christmas and thanked Mel, The Office Lady, everyone behind the scenes, the Channel 5 News crew, all the guests, Rachel and the birthday boy for their part in 2023.