Living in inner city Melbourne means I mostly run on footpath or dirt track. It can get a little boring running the same route over and over again, which is why I really enjoy trail running. Recently we spent a weekend in Jan Juc – a few minutes drive from Australia’s surfing capital Torquay. While Andy was surfing, I hit the beach trails for a seven kilometre run.

I started my trail run from a residential street and ran along footpath to the Jan Juc Life Saving Surf Club and then headed east along the gravel track towards Torquay town. I turned around at the 3.5km mark and on the way back ran to a lookout and then along the cliff tops through thick sand until I joined the granite rock track again. A light breeze was blowing and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds. While running high above the early morning beach goers walking their dogs, it was great to be able to look out to the ocean and watch surfers catch waves.

If you’re headed down to Torquay for the weekend or the upcoming Easter long weekend I highly recommend this short but enjoyable trail run.

Here’s some snaps from the 7km Jan Juc to Torquay out and back run.

A map of my 7km run from Jan Juc to Torquay and back

The gravel running track from Jan Juc to Torquay

The view of Jan Juc beach

The boardwalk over the creek near Torquay beach

The sand running track along the cliff tops near Jan Juc

Running along the sandy cliff tops

Torquay beach