I remember hating this last time. I've looked at the walkthrough and even a video, but no luck. The closest I got to success was just to keep running but it wasn't enough. You're supposed to duck but the dragon still gets me. You're also maybe supposed to veer into the wide spot and duck, but that does nothing at all. In the wide spot and using the right key to duck has absolutely no effect at all.

Any pointers? THis is getting really annoying and I'd like to get on with the game.

When the QTE comes up you should just press the button and release. Don't hold the button or tap it multiple times.

Also, forget trying to read the button letters. They always come up in the same layout as on the keyboard (W is high center, S is low center, A is left, D is right), so just react to where the QTE comes up on the screen. It's probably best not to even watch the fight, but simply stay focused on the center of the screen and react to the QTE's. With (very) little practice, you should be able to win fights without taking a single hit.

I found that the "trick" to fighting is to ... sit back from the monitor - looking at the "background" rather than on your character or your opponent. Makes it much easier to see the W, S, A or D when they popup on screen. Don't forget that they popup in the same places each time - A on the left side, W at the top, D to the right and S at the bottom.