Gold Coast Running Academy

Gold Coast Running Academy GCRA is a JUNIOR and YOUTH running squad headed by Athletics Australia qualified coach Melanie Black. GCRA looks forward to seeing you out on course soon.

Cross Country , Track (MD & LD) , speed & agility , and private/small group sessions available. Current Sessions
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JUNIOR SESSIONS (7 -11 years)

Monday
4pm - 4:40pm Endurance
Betty Diamond Sports Complex Tugun

Wednesday
4pm - 4:40pm Sprints
Betty Diamond Sports Complex Tugun
________________________________________

YOUTH SESSIONS (11 YEARS plus)

Monday
4:30PM - 5:30PM En

durance
Betty Diamond Sports Complex Tugun

Wednesday
7am - 8am Sprints
Salk Oval Palm Beach

Wednesday
4:30pm - 5:30pm Endurance
Betty Diamond Sports Complex Tugun

Friday
7am - 7:50am Advanced
Coaches Approval Required


$7 per session or $20/family/afternoon

(No Bookings Required, Casual Payment made by cash or card at session)

Sessions will incorporate a mix of running specific drills, technique training, speed & endurance to help each individual achieve their goals within sprints, middle distance & cross country events. Whilst we have runners competing at a State and National level in running, Sessions are open to ALL SPORTS and often utilized by AFL, Nipper, Soccer, Touch, Tennis & League athletes for physical conditioning for their preferred sporting discipline. GCRA has been operating on the Gold Coast since 2016 and Coach Melanie Black is a Level 2 qualified coach with Athletics Australia. She also holds relevant First Aid, Blue Card & Insurances to own and operate the business. Prior to this whilst living and racing in WA, Mel started her coaching journey working for Olympian Sarah Jamieson at the Perth Running Club. Her own running experiences has seen her win national medals as a junior in running, cross country & triathlons. More recently after having 3 children she has added state open medals & national qualifying times to her list of achievements and hit the sand in surf life saving in 2019 to become a dual Aussie medalist in Beach Flags and 2km events.

Awesome results rolling in from South Coast Regional Track & Field for our GCRA crew! Congratulations to everyone who go...
27/08/2026

Awesome results rolling in from South Coast Regional Track & Field for our GCRA crew! Congratulations to everyone who got out there and competed.

A few standout performances πŸ‘‡

πŸ”₯ Eva & Neve | 13G
Dominance in the mid-distance events, going πŸ₯‡πŸ₯ˆ in both the 800m & 1500m β€” with less than a second separating them!
So proud to see both girls bounce back after Ballarat and produce the form we see in training every week. πŸ‘

πŸ”₯ Jensen | 12B
A great tussle in both the 800m & 1500m with his relay partner from the weekend, Jonah β€” and BOTH boys going under the South Coast record in both events!
Jensen taking πŸ₯‡ 800m & πŸ₯ˆ 1500m. Awesome racing, mate! πŸ’ͺ

πŸ”₯ Emerson | 10B
Very happy to be back on the track and out of the mud! πŸ˜‚ Taking the wins in both the 800m & 1500m. πŸ₯‡πŸ₯‡

And plenty more PBs, medals and South Coast qualifiers across the squad. πŸ™Œ

A solid effort from our crew as always β€” GCRA getting it done βœ…

Weekend ventures πŸ“·
27/08/2026

Weekend ventures πŸ“·

Mud β€” the ultimate beauty routine for cross country girls. πŸ˜‚πŸ€ŽπŸƒβ€β™€οΈ
24/08/2026

Mud β€” the ultimate beauty routine for cross country girls. πŸ˜‚πŸ€ŽπŸƒβ€β™€οΈ

24 hours to process our National Cross Country efforts.Firstly, a huge congratulations to Kendall on taking home a bronz...
23/08/2026

24 hours to process our National Cross Country efforts.

Firstly, a huge congratulations to Kendall on taking home a bronze medal in the U11 2km. πŸ₯‰ What a phenomenal effort β€” and I truly believe this is only the beginning of what lies ahead for this one.

For most of us, we fell short of the expectations we had for ourselves, and honestly, that was unexpected from my end. Knowing the work that had gone in, how well we had been training, supporting one another and working together as a team, it was a tough one to experience. As a coach this is the first XC Nationals I’ve walked away from feeling flat.

But, as I said to a few of you yesterday β€” and as I’ve had to do myself β€” feel the feels, regroup, refocus and move forward.

There is plenty for me to take away and learn from this as a coach, just as there is for each of you as athletes.

And on a much more positive note, watching the way you all continue to get around each other, support one another and still find a smile amongst the heartbreak speaks volumes about the young athletes β€” and people β€” you are. This outweighs any results. So thankyou , it’s an honour to coach you.

πŸ₯‰ BRONZE FOR OUR GCRA U14 TEAM!A fantastic bronze medal for our GCRA U14 team this morning in Ballarat! πŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸƒβ€β™‚οΈCongratu...
23/08/2026

πŸ₯‰ BRONZE FOR OUR GCRA U14 TEAM!

A fantastic bronze medal for our GCRA U14 team this morning in Ballarat! πŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸƒβ€β™‚οΈ

Congratulations to Jensen, Neve, Jonah & Stella for backing up after yesterday and taking on another gruelling 2km around the tough Ballarat course. What an effort! πŸ‘

A special thank you to Marty for helping bring this team together, with Jonah putting his hand up early to represent GCRA and Stella stepping in following Andie’s late withdrawal due to a broken foot.

Gold Coast runners coming together as one at the Australian Championships. πŸ₯‰

To ALL of our beautiful families who made the trip to Ballarat β€” THANK YOU. 🀍Your ongoing support, friendship and genero...
22/08/2026

To ALL of our beautiful families who made the trip to Ballarat β€” THANK YOU. 🀍

Your ongoing support, friendship and generosity mean the absolute world to me. As I sit and reflect on today, I’m reminded that none of this would be possible without you.

Thank you for showing up & supporting our athletes and being the most important part of this journey.

Forever grateful for our running community. 🀍

Ballarat got us good 😏 cold, mud, rain, did I say mud.
22/08/2026

Ballarat got us good 😏 cold, mud, rain, did I say mud.

This Saturday, 16 of our athletes will line up in Ballarat for the Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships πŸ‡¦πŸ‡ΊFr...
19/08/2026

This Saturday, 16 of our athletes will line up in Ballarat for the Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί

From our youngest competitors in the U11s β€” Emerson, Kendall & Myla β€” through to our senior athletes in the U18/U20 divisions β€” Matilda, Adela & Hailey β€” it’s such a special group to be part of.

I’m honestly so honoured to have been a part of each of your journeys leading into these championships, and I can’t wait to watch you take on the course on Saturday. Today’s final taper session was exactly what we wanted β€” relaxed, excited and ready to race.

Bring on the mud, the chills and those fighting spirits! πŸ’ͺ🏼

To everyone else, a reminder that sessions will not run this Friday or Monday while I’m away. We’ll return to our usual sessions on Wednesday 26 August.

Address

Tugun, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday 4pm - 5:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 8am
4pm - 5:30pm
Friday 7am - 8am

Telephone

+61416301503

Website

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