Canberra’s newest running track is… inside a shopping centre?

Posted on 4 September, 2026

Forget the footpath. This September, runners will take on 5km inside Canberra Outlet – with a free, professionally timed race promising a very different kind of PB.

There are plenty of places you might expect to find a 5km running race in Canberra. Around the lake, perhaps. Through the suburbs. Along the footpaths of the Parliamentary Triangle.

But inside a shopping centre?

That’s a new one.

On Saturday 26 September, Canberra Outlet will be transformed into an indoor running track, with runners taking on 10 laps of a 500-metre course through the centre as part of a new event from local running community DK Society.

The idea came to DK Society founder Karla Maganto after, somewhat appropriately, she dreamed about it.

“I had a dream about running inside the centre,” she says.

“I woke up and I was like, ‘Oh my god, imagine if we could do this.’”

The idea appealed partly because it was different.

Karla wanted to create something that wasn’t another traditional road race or trail run – something unexpected that could make running feel a little more exciting.

Then she started thinking about Canberra Outlet itself.

“I’ve always been there and walked through there and I was like, well, why couldn’t we turn this into a running course?” she says.

It turns out the centre was surprisingly well suited to the idea.

“It’s long, wide… the layout naturally lends itself into a looped course,” Karla says.

The course will be protected from the weather, while giving runners the distinctly surreal experience of tearing past shopfronts rather than trees, houses or the usual Canberra scenery.

“Usually [you’re] walking around with shopping bags. Instead, you’ll be running around trying to get water,” Karla laughs.

From freezing Friday runs to a Canberra running community

The event is an extension of what Karla has been building with DK Society since 2024.

What started with a handful of people running together in freezing Canberra weather gradually grew from two, four, six and eight runners before officially launching as a run club in early 2025.

The idea was simple: create a free, welcoming running community where people could come along whether they were experienced runners, complete beginners or didn’t want to run at all.

DK Society runs every Friday morning at 5.30am, with runners and walkers meeting afterwards for coffee and connection.

“No one gets left behind,” Karla says.

She has watched the club evolve into something bigger than running – with friendships forming, confidence growing and members continuing to connect long after the Friday morning session is over.

10 laps, five kilometres and a lot of fun

For the Canberra Outlet event, the team has mapped out a 500-metre circuit through the centre.

Runners will complete it 10 times for the full 5km, wearing race bibs and timing chips along the way.

And this isn’t just a novelty run: runners will receive an official finish time.

There will be timed waves catering for a range of abilities, including an elite/under-20 minute group, sub-20 to 25 minutes, sub-25 to 35 minutes and a 35-minute-plus social run.

There’s also a Junior Dash for children aged five to 12, with kids completing 1km around the centre.

Everyone who participates will receive a medal – giving runners something to take home alongside their Strava activity.

And there are prizes to be won, with further details still to come.

There’s no blueprint for this

Turning a shopping centre into a race track has, unsurprisingly, involved rather more work than simply drawing a line around the building.

There have been course walks and planning sessions, along with safety planning, course mapping, registrations, wave allocations, signage, music, hydration and recovery services.

Karla is also fitting it all around a full-time job, running DK Society and her own training.

“There’s no blueprint… for hosting a race inside a shopping centre,” she says.

“It’s all detail from beginning to scratch.”

And on race morning, Karla says she’s most looking forward to watching the first wave take off – seeing the shopping centre come alive with runners, music and supporters after months of planning.

“I think it’ll be such a special moment,” she says.

And if the sight of 250-ish runners charging around a shopping centre doesn’t make you want to lace up your sneakers, we’re not sure what will.