Run Group at Williamstown Beach
Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5:45am. A welcoming running group for women and everyday runners in Melbourne's inner west — with a coach who actually knows your name.
📅 When Tuesday & Thursday 5:45am — 6:45am
📍 Where Williamstown Beach foreshore Inner west Melbourne
💰 Cost Casual: $8.50 5-week block: $75 First week: Free
What happens at Williamstown
Williamstown Beach is one of RD Run Squad's favourite locations — and once you've run the foreshore path at sunrise, you'll understand why the early alarm is worth it.
Sessions here use the flat coastal path along the foreshore, making Williamstown ideal for tempo runs, confidence-building efforts, and deload weeks where the goal is rhythm and consistency rather than effort. The stone wall path, the bay on one side and the open sky on the other — it's a genuinely beautiful place to run, and it makes the early start feel like a reward rather than a punishment.
Most Williamstown sessions focus on controlled effort — tempo running, fartlek work, and sessions where you learn to hold a pace comfortably rather than just surviving it. If you're building your base, returning to running after a break, or working toward a first event, Williamstown is where a lot of that quiet progress happens.
Who is this for
Run Squad at Williamstown is for anyone who wants to run with a group and actually feel welcome from the first session.
Most of the squad are women — some new to running, some returning after years away, some training for a specific event and some who just want to keep showing up consistently. There's no set pace, no minimum fitness level, and no moment where you'll feel like you should have trained more before you came.
Walk breaks are always an option. Easier versions of every session exist. You'll never be left behind, and you'll never be made to feel like you're holding anyone up.
If you've been thinking about joining a running group but haven't found one that feels right — this is worth trying. Your first week is completely free, and there's no pressure to commit to anything until you're ready.
About your coach
Dale Ipsen — known as RD — is an Athletics Australia Level 2 accredited run coach with 15+ years of running experience, including 10 marathons and a 100km ultra event.
What makes Dale different isn't the qualifications — it's that he genuinely cares about every runner in the group. He knows where you're at, remembers what you're working toward, and adjusts sessions around real life rather than expecting real life to adjust around training.
RD stands for Race Director — a nickname earned from the runners he trains with, because he's the one who organises the weekly long run and makes sure nobody gets left behind.
The other locations
Williamstown is one of three locations RD Run Squad rotates through each week. Depending on the session goal, you might also find us at:
Newport — flat waterfront running along the bay, ideal for speed work and finding your pace without hills getting in the way.
Farnsworth Avenue, Footscray — the hill sessions. A long, steady climb that builds strength, power and the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from doing something hard and finishing it.
Sessions rotate week to week depending on the training focus. Follow RD Run Coach on Instagram or Facebook to see where we're heading each week — or just get in touch and we'll keep you in the loop.
Ready to run at Williamstown?
Your first week is completely free. Come and see what Run Squad is about — then decide if it's for you.