Melbourne's Best Runs: The Tan Track
The Tan Track is Melbourne's most popular running track; it loops around Kings Domain and the Royal Botanical Gardens, south-east of Melbourne's CBD.
The offical start point of The Tan is at the Pillars of Wisdom; the 3.8km gravel track goes clockwise with distance markers every 250 metres and there are plenty of water fountains along the way. It's mostly flat, except for an uphill section along Anderson St, with the rest of the loop consisting of flat or gentle slopes.
The surface is mostly gravel and was originally built as a horse racing track. The name "Tan" refers to the tan bark sufacing of the original equestrian track, which was originally only 1 mile long. Equestrian activities had largely ceased by the 1950s and the current track was established in 1974, resurfaced with a mixture of rock and gravel.
The Tan is very popular for runners, walkers and cyclists, and can get pretty busy at lunch time and the early afternoon, but it's wide enough so you can do your own thing.
The top 10 fastest times around the track are displayed on the Tan Digital Clocks next to the official start of the course, with the current records of 10:08 set by Australian long distance and middle distance runner Craig Mottram in 2006, and 11:31 by Jessica Hull in 2023.
Check out the Hall of Fame on the Run the Tan website.
Melbourne's Best Runs
Check out more of Melbourne's best runs here.
Fun runs on The Tan Track
- Athletics Victoria Tan Relays
- Sri Chinmoy Tan Team Relays
- Victorian Road Runners events
- Run The Tan Showcase
Melbourne Fun Run Calendars
- Melbourne Fun Runs
- Melbourne 5km Fun Runs
- Melbourne 10km Fun Runs
- Melbourne Half Marathons
- Melbourne Marathons
- Melbourne Trail Runs