The iconic Tan Track surrounding Melbourne’s Royal Botanical Gardens receives a modern upgrade with the installation of two new state-of-the-art digital clocks. This milestone marks a significant collaboration between the Bennelong Foundation, Run the Tan, and the City of Melbourne, further enhancing the experience for runners and walkers on this renowned track.
The Tan Track, loved by athletes and enthusiasts for over 30 years, now boasts new high-tech digital clocks to aid runners and walkers in tracking their lap times around the 3.827km course.
The original tan clocks were installed in 2012 as a gift from the Bennelong Foundation to the City of Melbourne. In 2019, Run the Tan was founded and established a central database of all official times and a set of rules and regulations for determining what constitutes an official time around The Tan. This process is used to inform any updates to the top 10 official fastest laps displayed on the clocks.
Now in its fourth year, Run the Tan’s annual showcase charity event has inspired Olympians and community members to challenge themselves to set new records and compare their performance against the top 10 and 100 rankings.
Four-time Olympian Craig Mottram holds the record for the fastest man around the course, with a time of 10:08 minutes, set in 2006. Olympian Jessica Hull is the fastest female with a time of 11:31, and the Para record holder is Michael Roeger (11:03), both set in the Run the Tan annual showcase event in 2023.
Collaboration between Run the Tan, the Bennelong Foundation, and the City of Melbourne has led to the design and installation of two new fully electronic digital clocks, unveiled today as a gift from the Bennelong Foundation to the City of Melbourne.
The new clocks not only display the top 10 fastest times for men and women but also feature the top 10 fastest Para records, an initiative introduced by Run the Tan in 2021 through its inaugural showcase feature event for Elite Para Athletes as part of their commitment to supporting and promoting inclusivity in sport.
Additional information and statistics can be found on the Run the Tan website (Hall of Fame), including the All-time Top 100 male and female and Top 10 by age category records, as well as an ‘unofficial’ ranking of the fastest AFL players and umpires.
“Run the Tan has not only helped reshape the historical books but has also inspired a new generation of athletes and enthusiasts to strive for excellence, all in support of mental health,” said Darren Templeton, founder of Run the Tan.
The next annual Run the Tan showcase charity event, presented by Liberty and supporting mental health, will be held on Sunday, April 21. The event includes five sub-events, including an Elite Showcase, Celebrity Challenge, Emergency Services, Battle of the Schools, and a Community Public Fun Run.
This article was also featured on: https://commsroom.co/high-tech-clocks-enhance-melbourne-track-experience/