Interview with Aaron Farlow – Australia’s Latest Challenge and Ironman Champion

Last week on the way to Falls Creek for the Australian Long Course Championships Trizone took the opportunity to catch up with one of our latest long distance triathlon professional champions. Aaron Farlow made people sit up and take notice last year when four days after competing in the Alp D’Heuz and finishing 3^rd four days prior, Farlow went two better in Ironman UK and won the event with a race record 2:41 marathon run.

Farlow then went on to race Ironman Wales which resulted in a sprint for the line and just being pipped for first. The following week he backed up to race Challenge Henley on Thames. This was another iron distance race and a week after Wales. Here he finished third.

Aaron Farlow’s most recent race saw him race at Challenge Wanaka in New Zealand where he came away with the win. This is his first big result in this part of the world.

One of my first questions was ‘why such a gruelling race schedule of long distance races last year’ “I train under Brett Sutton and the volume that I do prepares me well for this sort of racing. In addition I seem to be able to recover a lot faster than most”.

Farlow has done 30km track sets in training followed up by a decent bike ride to next day. He says this helps his body to learn to recover. “As a pro you can do this, go home, eat and sleep. This helps greatly and is something that as an age grouper or someone with a full time job can’t do.”

Aaron started in triathlons after a teacher at his country school talked him in to doing a triathlon. “I had done a lot of cross country running and rode his mountain bike to school. With a bit of swimming thrown in (not a huge amount as the local pool was only open a few months each year) that was enough to get me through the first race and then hooked on the sport.”

After this he moved to Canberra and started to learn how to run, swim and bike properly. “In 2004-2005 I raced some world cup races but found I wasn’t improving. I had a breakthrough in 2008 when Brad Bevan virtually gave me his ticket to Europe when Bevan found that he couldn’t go. I raced there until 2010.”

The big thing missing from his arsenal was consistency in training and a coach that knew how to get the most out of him. In 2011 Farlow started with Brett Sutton and Team TBB. This proved to be the perfect recipe and I have gone from strength to strength. “Brett has added constancy to my training which I didn’t have before. I very rarely have a day off but we do have a lot of easy days.”

“Prior to teaming up with Brett I was always stressing about what to do. I needed to have faith in someone and this is the case with Brett. It helps massively.”

Last year Aaron spent three months in Switzerland with Sutton and Team TBB. This year will see him join up with the team and Sutton on the Sunshine Coast for three months in a couple of weeks.

Right now Farlow is focusing on Ironman New Zealand. If he is the same form as he was last year then he would have to be one of the favourites. “I am up against some big names and it won’t be easy. This is Cameron Brown’s race and he looks in good form. In addition to Brown I will be up against Marino Vanhoenacker and possibly Michael Raelert.”

Farlow has still been working one day a week at a structural engineering company but has just finished up and will now focus on 2012.

“My plan for 2012 is to constantly improve. I am not sure about Kona at this stage. My main focus is earning a living for my family. Danielle and I have another child on the way which is due in July. That will mean I am now responsible for two children.”

Up until July Farlow will stay close to Australia. He will race in the Somui triathlon in April then Challenge Cairns plus a few other races around Asia.

“I have joined with the Philippines TBB team. This is sponsored by Alaska Milk amongst other sponsors.” Alaska Milk is the company behind the ever popular Philippines 70.3. TBB was been split up in to countries last year to have more of a regional focus. Outside of TBB team sponsors the athletes are allowed to have two personal.

As far as triathlon toys go Aaron is looking forward to getting the new P5 this year.

We look forward to seeing Aaron on podiums at more races this year.