Three new athletes are joining the Saint Clair Vineyard Half Marathon team for 2019 to provide us with a heap of tips, tricks, training plans and even recipes to help you prepare for the race on May 11.
We’re bringing it home with the first two Marlborough born trainers, Megan Craig and Sophie Mackenzie, who have both competed internationally in their respective sports and have a passion for good nutrition, good training and all things good health.
Keep an eye out for the third trainer in the coming weeks, we’ll be launching him in a wee while.
In the meantime, get to know a little more about Megs and Soph from the women themselves below:
MEGAN CRAIG
I was a professional squash player for five years, travelling the world training & competing. I now run a personal training business here in Marlborough, working with people one on one – which I feel very grateful to be able to do. It is super inspiring helping people improve their quality of life.
In August I became a mum to a beautiful wee girl and am absolutely loving being a mum!
You’ll normally find me at the squash courts, in the kitchen, on the couch breastfeeding or as a last resort you’ll find me in the hills running or walking with the front pack haha. I absolutely love running, I find it very therapeutic and a great way to get outdoors.
I’ve done a few half marathons with the Saint Clair being my absolute favourite! The Saint Clair is an incredible experience and a lot more than just a run. It has a fantastic vibe with lots of people dressed up in all sorts of colourful things . It is absolutely stunning showcasing some of the beautiful views Marlborough has to offer. Lastly the bands and food pit stops along the way. Who doesn’t like ice cream in the middle of a long run!
My favourite way to refuel post training run is a choc protein ball or banana and mango smoothie.
Choc Protein Ball Recipe here.
Banana and Mango Smoothie recipe:
1 banana
1/2C frozen banana
1 scoop vanilla nuzest protein
1/4C coconut cream
Scoop collagen powder (optional)
Sprinkle cinnamon
Almond or coconut milk to cover
Blend all ingredients until smooth and serve.
SOPHIE MACKENZIE
I grew up in the high country of Marlborough being an outdoorsy girl with a passion for sports. Eventually this lead to rowing which took me around the world competing and to the Rio Olympics in 2016. After the Olympics I decided it was time to give my body a rest from the high demands of elite sport and began teaching yoga and training for fun on the side, this was when I started doing a couple of half marathons. My first was on Waiheke and I hit my goal of finishing in less than two hours and the next one was an off-road in Rotorua where my goal was to beat my first time, which I did!
I love running because you feel so free, you have endless possibilities about where to train and all you need are shoes, if that sometimes.
Over the years I have been studying constantly from the time I left high-school in 2010 so have completed my personal training course, yoga teaching course, health coaching, business diplomas and a social anthropologist (yeah, I know didn’t expect that one either). Now I am currently on my last few assignments to becoming a holistic nutritionist and back training full-time for rowing in the hope of making it back to the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
I love flying into Marlborough over the beautiful patchwork vineyards view from the sky when I get some time off, I especially love getting up in the mountains and go for long runs up the valley (Waihopai Valley). I have had the Saint Clair Half on my list for a number of years now since Megs took out the title in 2017.
My favourite post-training fuel is a Chocolate Smoothie.
Chocolate Smoothie Recipe
1 cup almond or oat milk (you can use whatever milk you desire)
1 Tbsp cacao powder (contains magnesium great for sore muscles!)
½ tsp maca powder (super herb for your hormones)
1 banana, fresh but frozen is best!
1 Tbsp peanut butter, almond butter or tahini (my favourite is Chantel organic tahini, Meg’s would definitely choose Pic’s Peanut butter though)
ice, especially if it was a hot sweating run 😉
2 scoops/1 serve of choc or vanilla protein powder – we use Nuzest Clean Lean Protein as it’s a great dairy free option
Blend it all together on high until super creamy and smooth. Pour into a big glass and drink mindfully.
tip: sometimes I’ll top it with muesli and cacao nibs which makes the drinking part much slower as I have to eat it instead with a spoon.
Each of our trainers have produced their own 10 and 16 week training programmes for the Walk, Run and Hybrid categories, which you can find on their individual training pages.