Farlow, Moeller take Ironman UK

Aaron Farlow of Australia devastated the men’s field with race record 2:41:45 run and 8:24:33 finish and Kirsten Moeller ran past fellow German and early leader Diane Riesler late in the game to take a 6:37 margin of victory at Ironman UK.

Either milder than usual weather or a course change that removed some of the teeth of what is generally considered to be the toughest Ironman bike course resulted in record times for both the women and the men.

Farlow, 30, the winner of the 2011 Noumea Triathlon. 3rd place at the 2010 ITU long course event in Weihai China and two-time Canberra Half Ironman champ, won almost wire to wire with a 45:00 swim, 4:53:06 over Bolton’s rugged, hilly bike, and a smashing 2:41:25 run that gave him a 16-minutes 52 seconds margin over runner-up Romain Guillaume of France and 26:58 over third place Nick Saunders of Great Britain. The only blemish on Farlow’s virtually perfect day was the swim in which he came out of the water just three seconds back of eventual 5th-place finisher Oliver Simon of Great Britain.

After a swim led by defending champion Yvette Grice of Great Britain (50:32) late entries Moeller (56:17 swim) and Riesler (53:24 swim) overcame the early deficits to dominate the rest of the race.

Riesler, whose best previous finishes include 3rd places at Ironman South Africa and Austria (8:53) this year and 4th place finishes at Ironman Frankfurt and Ironman Australia last year, led until she started to fade later in the run. Whereupon Moeller, whose best previous Ironman finish was 2nd last year at Wisconsin, blazed past to a 9:19:04 finish and a 6:37 margin of victory over Riesler.

Grice may have smashed her winning time last year by 20 minutes, but her 9:37:32 finish only brought her a 3rd place finish this day. Her 3:02:46 run and final time were more indications that Ironman UK’s fearsome bike of old has been a bit declawed.

Ironman UK
Bolton, England
July 31, 2011
S 2.4 mi. / B 112 mi. / R 26.2 mi.

Results

Overall Men

1. Aaron Farlow (AUS) 8:24:33 * new course and run records
2. Romain Guillaume (FRA) 8:41:25
3. Nick Saunders (GBR) 8:51:31
4. Domenico Passuello (ITA) 8:51:54
5. Oliver Simon (GBR) 8:54:28
6. Miguel Platero (ESP) 8:57:39 * M25-29
7. Gregorio Morales (ESP) 9:01:43
8. Paul Hawkins ( ) 9:03:40 * M30-34
9. Toby Radcliffe ( ) 9:04:23
10. Rob Creasy ( ) 9:05:27 * M30-34

Overall Women

1. Kirsten Moeller (GER) 9:19:04 * new course record
2. Diane Riesler (GER) 9:25:41
3. Yvette Grice (GBR) 9:37:32
4. Joanna Carritt (GBR) 9:59:20
5. Claudia Johnston (SUI) 10:07:55 * F35-39
6. Elizabeth Hutson (GBR) 10:12:31 * F30-34
6. Elizabeth Hutson (GBR) 10:12:31 * F30-34
7. Karen Smith (BER) 10:30:49 * F40-44
8. Tine Holst (SUI) 10:33:59 * F30-34
9. Bethan Fowler (GBR) 10:34:39 * F30-34
10. Kerri Renshaw (AUS) 10:35:24 * F35-39