Every year, we pack the bags and go run somewhere

We pick a race, build the training block around it, then all get on a plane or in a car and go do it together. Same warm up, same nerves, same very long lunch afterwards. Nobody has to be fast. Everyone gets cheered.

RD Run Squad at the finish line of the Kangaroo Island Running Festival
2011 – 2023

Great Ocean Road Half Marathon

Lorne, Victoria
The squad at the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon in Lorne, 2015 The squad at the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon in Lorne, 2017

The one that started it all, back before RD was even the coach. It began as an Ipsen family trip and turned into a squad institution. Lorne in May, the road closed to traffic, and a course that hugs the coast the whole way.

Roll call

  • 2011RD and the family. RD’s first full marathon.
  • 2014RD and the family, full marathon again.
  • 2015Tessa, Benita B, Sarah S, Jacqui and RD
  • 2016Sarah S, Tessa, Benita B, Laura T, Delia, Rita, Emma W and RD
  • 2017Rita, Emma W, Laura T and RD
  • 2018Rita, Benita C and RD. Dinner with Rusty, Dee and Kirsten.
  • 2019Rita, Emma W, Laura T, Maurie, Benita C and RD
  • 2020No event
  • 2021Benita C, Emma W, Emma CR, Rita, Tessa, Benita B, Jane and RD
  • 2022Benita C, Jane, Tessa, Benita B, Emma W, Rita, Liz and RD
  • 2023Benita C, Jane, Tessa, Benita B, Emma W, Rita, Nat and RD
APRIL 2024

Canberra Marathon

Canberra, ACT
RD Run Squad by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra

A quick flight up and a proper change of scenery after all those years on the coast. Turns out Canberra is a lot hillier than it looks on the telly.

Roll call: Benita C, Benita B, Jane, Tessa, Emma W, Rita and RD

NOVEMBER 2025

Queenstown Half Marathon

Queenstown, New Zealand
RD Run Squad at the Queenstown Half Marathon in New Zealand

Our first time taking the squad overseas. Lake Wakatipu on one side, mountains on the other, and probably the prettiest 21.1km any of us have run. The lunch afterwards went on for hours.

Roll call: Laura, Sarah V, Ann, Benita C, Benita B, Emma CR, Jane, Tessa, Caz, Emma W, Nat, Rita and RD

AUGUST 2026

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island, South Australia
RD Run Squad lined up at the finish line of the Kangaroo Island Running Festival

Sixteen of us flew across for this one, RD included, running it rather than watching it. Susie and Paula both ticked off their first ever half marathon. Big weekend, big island, big smiles.

Roll call: Laura, Sarah V, Jen, Ann, Benita B, Benita C, Celesti, Christine, Jane, Mo, Susie, Tessa, Emma W, Paula, Rita and RD

What an away run actually looks like

  • We pick the race about six months out so there is time to train properly
  • Your training plan is built backwards from race day
  • We travel together, stay together and eat together
  • No pace pressure, no minimum distance, nobody gets left behind
  • The photos and the lunch matter just as much as the finish time

Want in on the next one? Come to a squad session and find out where we are heading. Your first week is free.

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The Squad on Tour