Napier Local Steps from the Sideline to the Start Line

This Saturday, 61-year-old Napier local Kathryn Marsh will tackle 21.1 kilometres of stunning road and trail at the 2026 ASICS Runaway Hawke’s Bay Marathon. Inspired to start running again while on the sideline of last year’s event, Kathryn will line up for her first marathon in more than three decades.

Watching on as a supporter during the 2025 event, Kathryn was tracking family members as they made their way toward the finish line on the warm autumn day. With just a couple of kilometres remaining, she stood roadside, watching the steady stream of marathon runners push through the toughest part of the race when she noticed one runner in particular – a young woman who looked visibly distressed.

The moment stirred an old memory Kathryn hadn’t thought about in decades. Thirty‑four years earlier, at the Rotorua Marathon, she too had come undone late in the race. Fit enough to finish, but completely depleted, she was helped forward by a stranger who recognised she just needed support to keep moving.

“I hit the wall at 11 kilometres to go, and an ambulance driver helped me. He knew I was fit enough to finish, I just needed some help to get me going again,” said Kathryn. “I felt I knew what this young girl was going through and did for her what he did for me all those years ago.”

Before she knew it, Kathryn had caught up to the young runner and walked beside her, helping her to cool her down, and stayed with her until she was ready to move again. When the moment came, they jogged together the rest of the way until the finish chute where Kathryn stopped to watch on as the 19-year-old, elated, crossed the finish line.

“She just needed a little helping hand,” said Kathryn.

As she took in her surroundings, seeing the emotion, relief, and celebrations of runners of all ages and abilities, Kathryn felt a deep sense of connection.

“The episode brought back the memories of my running days. I jogged beside her in my jeans, and it was hot, but I loved it,” said Kathryn. “When I left her to run up the finish chute, I felt extremely emotional. I was surrounded by happy, emotive athletes of all shapes, sizes and ages, and thought to myself, I would love to be able to do that again and get that feeling. From there the seed of running again was sown.”

Two days later, Kathryn went out for her first run in 19 years. She didn’t own running shoes and didn’t have a training plan – but she committed to a route and was determined to finish it.

Kathryn surprised herself that day. She had run for over an hour, covering nearly nine kilometres. What lingered most was not fatigue, but a sense of elation – the quiet satisfaction of having set a goal and completed it. Perhaps just as importantly, she woke the next day feeling good.

Kathryn credits years of mat and reformer Pilates for giving her a solid foundation to return to running, but she’s also quick to acknowledge that this chapter looks very different from her running days three decades earlier. Technology has changed and training knowledge has evolved. And with age has come patience – albeit learned the hard way.

“I thought to myself, if I am serious about this, I am going to have to start at the beginning and build gradually. I started following a back-to-running training program which enabled me to build up nice and slow and strong. All was going really well, I was hitting all my marks,” said Kathryn.

“On 29th December I did intervals as per my training plan, and at the end I felt a niggle in my leg. I ignored it and carried on the plan. Then, on 2nd January this year I went out for another 19-kilometre run. After 102 great runs, this one was the worse one ever – things took a turn, I had torn my hamstring,” she said.

The injury was both frustrating and confronting. Rehabilitation meant stripping things right back – to short run‑walk intervals, careful loading, and a lot of restraint.

Yet even here, Kathryn discovered something new. She found she genuinely loved the run‑walk method – not as a compromise, but as a smarter, more sustainable way to run. It allowed her to cover distance, recover better, and finish feeling strong rather than depleted. In many ways, she felt she had become a better runner than ever before.

“It has been really easy to commit to this goal [Runaway Hawke’s Bay Marathon]. My biggest challenge was initially restarting and not going out hard and fast. Now the challenge has been rehab. Under great guidance of my physio, I had to go all the way back to the beginning – run three minutes, walk one minute and so on,” said Kathryn.

“I am really surprised how I feel about the run-walk method – I love it! I feel I am actually a better runner being able to run 10 minutes, walk one minute. I have had my eyes opened to how I can actually run further and feel good at the end of the run.”

Now 61, Kathyrn will line up at the 10th anniversary edition of the Runaway Hawke’s Bay Marathon with a sense of gratitude and eagerness to test her limits sustainably.

“I am so emotional thinking about this approaching event. It has been my focus since 19th May last year,” she said. “My rehab has gone well, albeit slower than I thought – to the point that I had dropped down to the half marathon distance, but just recently I’ve reinstated to the marathon. So, I will be doing the ‘big dance’, using the run-walk method. I’m very excited, and a bit nervous.”