About Us

The mission of RUN THE TAN is to:

• Promote a healthy & active lifestyle for ALL Australians and raise awareness of the positive impact that running and exercise have on Mental Health and well-being.
• Promote our great City of Melbourne and its iconic Tan Track as well as providing a  ‘central source of truth’ of all official recorded run times around the Tan (including the All-time Top 10 and Top 100 fastest times for men and women) and other interesting statistics;
• Celebrate the amazing times that our own Australian athletes and other international athletes have achieved around The Tan and how they compare to our sporting idols in other sporting codes such as AFL and Soccer; and
• Promote and raise awareness of some of the great athletic organisations and running groups in Melbourne, whom you can find training at the famous Tan Track.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Tan Track is located and would also like to pay our respects to all Elders past and present.

When you visit Melbourne it is a must that you either walk, jog or run Melbourne’s iconic ‘Tan Track’ around the beautiful Botanic Gardens.

The ‘Tan Track’, better known as The Tan, derives its name (depending on whom you ask) from its tan colour; from its former tan bark surface; or as an abbreviation of “BoTANical Gardens”.

Suitable for runners of all abilities, The Tan has become one of the most popular running tracks in the world.

RUN THE TAN was founded in 2019 and has established a central database of all official times (source of truth) and set of rules & regulations for what constitutes an official time around The Tan.

These Rules and Regulations are used to inform all athletes and the general public of any updates to the top 10 and 100 times, as well as provide a view of all official recorded run times around the Tan. Refer to Hall of Fame.

Elite athletes pride themselves on having their name on The Tan Digital Clocks and the general public are inspired by these times.

RUN THE TAN is also the Host of the iconic annual Run the Tan showcase charity event held at the Tan Track each April and delivers a local community Run Club session at 8 am every Saturday at The Tan.

Originally established as a grass-roots event, Run the Tan is now organised and operated by Run for Mental Health Ltd (ABN 66 668 224 100), an Australian charity that promotes the prevention and control of diseases in human beings, focussing primarily on mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

The Tan Track is located around the perimeter of the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.

The Tan Track is 3.827km long with distance markers every 250m and is fully floodlit from 5am until midnight each day.

It is suitable for runners of all abilities and comprises of a gravel track except for a bitumen footpath along Anderson Street.

In 2011 two digital clocks were installed at Melbourne’s iconic Tan Track to help runners and walkers record their lap times as they make their way around the ‘Tan’.  A gift from the Bennelong Foundation to the City of Melbourne, the clocks provide practical encouragement to Melbournians and visitors alike to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle – a key focus area of the Bennelong Foundation.

The Tan Track is the home to many of Melbourne’s most well-known running clubs and groups including:

• Melbourne Midday Milers
• OXAC / de Castella Runners
• The Crosbie Crew
• Melbourne Track Club
• Melbourne Front Runners
• Melbourne Marathon Spartans
• Pulse Running
• The 440 South Yarra
• LilBig Run Club
• Run the Tan – RUN CLUB

If you know of any other running clubs or groups who train at The Tan then let us know so that we can add them to the list.

It is also the home of some key athletics competition races ran by the following organisations:

• Athletics Victoria – XCR Tan Relays
• APSOC – Dyson Relays

We are always looking for great people to join our team who are passionate about running and health and want to make a difference.

Volunteers:  If you are interested in volunteering to help support the delivery of Run the Tan 2024 showcase event then let us know.

Run Champions: If you are an accredited Running Coach (with minimum Level 1), community-minded, highly organised, want to help people, and have a passion for running, health & fitness then you might be interested in joining our team as a “Run Champion” to lead and support the Run the Tan – RUN CLUB each Saturday morning at The Tan.  For more detail click HERE.

If you’re interested and think you have what it takes then we would love to hear from you. Contact us at:   info@runthetan.com.au

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