These are stories submitted by or about members of Team Qwik Kiwi
Thinking about your first half marathon? Tayla’s Christchurch Half Marathon journey shows what newer runners can learn from early race experiences. From building confidence to smarter pacing and race-day preparation, this article highlights why your first few half marathons are stepping stones to bigger goals and stronger performances.
View More Thinking About Your First Half Marathon? What Tayla’s Christchurch Half Marathon Can Teach You
Want to run a faster half marathon? Learn practical lessons from Jess Bray’s New Zealand championship-winning performance. Discover how pacing, threshold fitness, endurance, and finishing strength can help you achieve your next personal best and race smarter over 21.1 kilometres with proven coaching strategies that work for everyday runners.
View More How to Run a Faster Half Marathon: Lessons From Jess Bray’s New Zealand Championship Win
Tayla’s Christchurch Half Marathon was more than a race result. As her second half marathon ever, it marked another step forward in confidence, pacing, and experience. This debrief explores why early races matter so much, and how each event helps build stronger, smarter, more resilient runners over time.
View More Christchurch Half Marathon Debrief: Tayla’s Second Step Forward
Started too fast, missed race nutrition, and battled late. Jason’s Christchurch Half Marathon debrief reveals three common mistakes that cost runners time. Learn how smarter pacing, better fueling, and stronger race-day mindset can help you run a faster half marathon and unlock your next personal best performance.
View More He Started Too Fast… 3 Half Marathon Mistakes That Cost Time (And How to Avoid Them)
Jess Bray claimed her second straight New Zealand Under-20 Female Half Marathon title in Christchurch. This race debrief looks beyond the result, analysing pacing, late-race fatigue, courage, and the key lessons from a championship-winning performance that reveals both current strength and exciting future potential ahead.
View More Jess Bray’s Christchurch Half Marathon Debrief: What a Championship Win Really Looked Like
This week, I finally started to feel more like myself in my trainings after a slight rough period post 10km race where my body struggled to keep up along with other areas of my life being changed. Coming back from mid term break it was nice to go into lectures with up to date lecture notes. To understand the building of the story they unfold, but with another mid term exam upcoming the first Wednesday back it was definitely a stress added already.
View More Monday’s with Jessica [Ep 96]: Balancing Study & Training
The break finally arrived and I couldn’t have been more happier, this year for my uni our mid semester break was 1-2 weeks later than usual due to the line of Easter being later this year. Even though the break was here, that didn’t mean the work didn’t stop. With all my recent mid term exams I was in need to catching up on lecture notes in all areas, while most uni students went home straight away I stayed back a while longer allowing me to be able to completely catch up on my work without any distractions and for when I did go home to not be so overwhelmed with the pressure too.
View More Monday’s with Jessica [Ep 95]: Change In Zones
From stress to rest is what I put this last week into being. Coming into this week I had just raced in Christchurch on the Sunday and woke up early the next Monday to start my road trip home to Dunedin to make my 11am class, safe to say by the end of the trip my bum was more than sore and I was ready for the walk into class, but not the sitting obviously.
View More Monday’s with Jessica [Ep 94]: From Stress to Rest
This past week has been non-stop and managing everything was definitely a learning curve. Coming into the week I knew I had a lot on my plate and trying to balance what I knew was coming was daunting. Starting on monday I was completely sick with a virus, struggling with brain fog and not having sufficient sleep, not a great start to a long week of mid term exams and racing I know… I had been struggling with the cold for almost a week and was hoping it would resolve itself as at first it didn’t seem so terrible, but once I got the point where I couldn’t think, concentrate, remember things, or breath from being fully congested I do have to admit a few break downs were had.
View More Monday’s with Jessica [Ep 93]: Christchurch 10km
This week had both ends of the scale when it comes to how I felt during training. Coming into the week I had Monday and Tuesday double day training, Monday started off better than ever and although I have to start in the cold dark morning my mental game was awake and ready to push through the negative thoughts of having heavy legs and cold limbs, having a Level III fartlek run was on the cards and pushing through the warming up on the first rep I felt strong through the rest, still having to work but I was ready too and I did.
View More Monday’s with Jessica [Ep 92]: A Rough Week