The crew
Meet the team.
Kinisi Running is run by people who run, roam and drink a lot of coffee. Between us there are ultras, ski patrol winters, remote corners of the world and plenty of long days in the mountains. Here's the crew behind the counter, out on the trails, and usually somewhere near the couches.
Ultra Runner, Gear Geek, Professional Snacker
Ian.
Ian grew up in the UK, always outside, climbing, camping and adventuring with his family, especially his dad. He spent years as a camp counsellor in Arizona and a few seasons skiing in the Alps, then discovered trail running before he moved to New Zealand.
Since then he's run a lot of ultras. He calls them eating competitions, so the longer the race, the better. His biggest so far is the Revenant, New Zealand's version of the Barkley Marathons, which only a handful of people have ever finished.
Ian loves his food, his enthusiasm rubs off on everyone, and he's a real gear geek. Ask him about kit and you'll get the full rundown.
Ask Ian about: gear, ultras, and what to eat on a long day out.
Remote Places, Snow Days, Overnight Missions
Jane.
Jane left Germany at 21 to travel where she found herself drawn to remote places. She's lived inside the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, travelled to Svalbard, and floated the Rio Napo from Coca to Iquitos in Peru, stopping at small villages along the way.
Snow has been part of it too, with ski seasons in Switzerland, Norway and Japan. These days yoga, snowboarding and cross-country skiing are her favourites, along with overnight hiking missions with the family. She's lived in New Zealand for many years now. Running is her way of taking time for herself.
Ask Jane about: remote travel, overnight hikes, and snow.
Multisport Natural, Mountain Kid, Nutrition Brain
Piper.
Wānaka born and raised, Piper grew up outdoors and got into multisport: running, biking and learning to stay upright in a kayak. She's now a sports nutritionist with her own practice, P's Practice, which she runs alongside her work on the shop floor, seeing clients in our consultation room. She loves yellow, running, people, and chocolate milk with ice cream.
Ask Piper about: fuelling for long days out, and what to eat before and after a run.
Ski Patroller, Christchurch Kid, Wānaka Regular
Scarlett.
Scarlett grew up in Christchurch skiing, biking, running and adventuring. She's spent the past five years in and out of Wānaka, working back-to-back winters between here, Canada and Europe as a ski patroller. This is her first summer in a while.
On the shop floor she brings a background in retail and a super calm manner, which comes in handy when you can't decide between two shoes.
Ask Scarlett about: winter in the mountains.
Former Netballer, Bird Nerd, Kiwi Handler
Paula.
Paula played professional netball in New Zealand for 12 years, a career that started when she was very young. She's grateful for everything sport has taught her, the people she's met along the way and the opportunities it's brought her.
Her other big passion is conservation. She's an absolute bird nerd, a kiwi handler and a huge advocate for the Predator Free movement. Ask her to pick a favourite bird and she'll struggle, though she has a soft spot for the bittern, kererū and kiwi.
Paula and her partner Boyd, parents to Willow and Winter, got into trail running over the last few years. It tied sport and conservation together nicely and brought them to Wānaka, where she's looking forward to getting to know everyone.
Ask Paula about: native birds, working with kiwi, and swapping the netball court for the trails.