Biography
Farmer was born in the Sydney suburb of Ultimo, one of seven children to Mary and Frank Farmer and grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs, starting his working life as a motor mechanic (1977–1984) after attending Granville TAFE.
From 1984 to 2000, Farmer commenced his passion of ultra-marathon running while working with his brother Tony as a landscape gardener and later as a motivational speaker. In 1992, he married Lisa Bullivant and they bought land in Catherine Field, where they began building their family home. They went on to have two children, Brooke and Dillon. In 1998, Lisa, aged 34, died unexpectedly of Mitral Valve Prolapse and Farmer was left to raise his two children on his own.
During this period, Farmer set a number of ultra-marathon Australian and world records, which placed him in the elite of the sport. Before joining politics in 2001, he raised over $3 million for Diabetes Australia, Lifeline, Careflight International and the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research. Farmer is perhaps best known for his record breaking 14,964 km Centenary of Federation run around all of Australia in 1999, taking 191 days.These records were never ratified and are still held by Gary Parsons of Queensland. This event raised considerable funds for charity. He was named Achiever of the Year at the Australian of the Year Awards 2000, presented by Prime Minister John Howard.
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