
Pat Farmer has transformed his interest of ultra-marathon running into a professional career – setting and breaking world records at events globally, while simultaneously raising funds for charities and medical research programs.A high profile leader, acknowledged for an enviable media following, ...
Pat Farmer has transformed his interest of ultra-marathon running into a professional career – setting and breaking world records at events globally, while simultaneously raising funds for charities and medical research programs.
A high profile leader, acknowledged for an enviable media following, positive “brand” awareness, and the influence to unite and inspire action for a vision or solution. Pat spent nine years as a successful federal politician, supported by an internationally renowned athletic career that transitioned into motivational / inspirational public speaking engagements.
Raised brand awareness for sport and sponsors, gaining a reputation for entertaining addresses; with his trademark combination of enthusiasm, drive and commitment. His open communicative leadership style creates a team vision of growth, harmony and a culture of success.
Pat has achieved The Greatest Run in History – an incredible trek from the North to the South Pole – 14 countries, over 21,000km. Two marathons per day, no days off, for almost a year. He completed the run from the North Pole through Canada, USA, Mexico, Panama, the Darien Jungle, the deserts of Peru, Chile and the Antarctic. Apart from this amazing run, Pat’s goal is to raise awareness for clean water in the world which in turn will greatly assist the Red Cross.
Pat Farmer is an incredible motivational speaker. Pat has an extremely engaging and humble style that appeals to the audience. His remarkable determination is best summed up by his statement, “You can do anything you want to do in life, if you don’t want to do it you will just find an excuse”.
He challenges audiences to go beyond what they think are possible. This is backed by his extensive ultra distance achievements prior to the Pole to Pole Run.
"Sam Knowles is one of the most interesting and engaging speakers I have ever seen – Full Stop. I first had the pleasure of witnessing the wonder of Sam at the 2018 Media Research Group Conference in 2018 in Bratislava, where Sam was the keynote speaker. Sam captivated the attention of the audience and presented new ways of thinking about data and insight in a way which demonstrated how the theories could be applied and more importantly how be turned into actionable results."
“Since then, I have been a great fan of Sam's work, and after reading his fantastic publications Narrative by Numbers and How To Be Insightful, I reached out to Sam to ask if he would be interested in presenting his work to the membership of the IPA. Sam kindly obliged and delivered an incredibly popular webinar which drew on his previous works and talked of how agencies and brands alike could apply the thinking to navigate the unprecedented times we are living in during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Needless to say, Sam's presentation was fantastic, evidenced by continued audience engagement throughout, so many audience requests and questions we couldn't answer them all due to time constraints and also the lowest audience drop off rate we have seen. The feedback from attendees was exceptional with one attendee stating that the webinar was 'mind altering' and 'completely changed the way they understood data and insight' and many others asking where they could see Sam present again as he was so good."
“The great thing about Sam is that he presents in such a great way that he makes what he presents so understandable and applicable for the audience he is presenting to. His speaking style is very engaging and his personality and enthusiasm make you feel like you are on a journey of discovery, while making sure you never feel lost or overwhelmed. As you can tell, we're huge fans of Sam and his work at the IPA and we very much hope to work with him again in the future. If you get the chance to see Sam speak, take it without hesitation – I can assure you, you won't be disappointed.”
‘Pat Farmer’s Pole to Pole run is surely one of history’s great endurance feats and what makes Pat’s efforts all the more commendable is that, because of the funds he has raised, life is going to get better for thousands of people in impoverished and devastated communities all over the world.’