FantasyTri Interview with Eneko Llanos from Kona

By Oley Sheremeta
10/07/2009

Eneko Llanos Burguera – Just One Step Away

Eneko Llanos Burguera is a Spanish triathlete who is one step away from his goal of becoming the Ironman World Champion. Since 1993 Eneko has finished in the top 10 of 154 events including 67 wins, 35 2nd place finishes and 19 3rd’s. His victories include winning the Xterra World Championships in 03 & 04; the Lanzarote Xterra in 05 & 06; Ironman Lanzarote in 07 and “The Double” (the lowest time in Ironman World Championships and Xterra World Championships in the same year combined) in 06, 07 and 08. His second place finishes include Ironman Roth in 07; Wildflower in 08 & 09; Frankfurt in 08 & 09 and of course the Ironman World Championships last year.

FT: FantasyTri and its viewers want to thank you for agreeing to an interview from the Big Island just three days away from the Ironman World Championships here in Kailua-Kona. When did you get in from Spain and what have you been up to during your final days of preparation?     
EL: We arrived in Kona on Saturday one week before the event. We have been training a little bit and getting used to the weather and time zone.

FT: 154 top ten finishes with 67 wins! What keeps driving you to compete at this level?

EL:The desire to keep improving and becoming a better athlete after each race. I love my lifestyle so training and competing is what I wanna do right now.

FT: What’s the biggest obstacle that you’ve had to overcome during your career? Was it an injury, obtaining Sponsorship or something else?

EL:I've been lucky with injuries and sponsors. My sponsors treat me very well and I am happy to have the support they give to me. The biggest obstacle is to keep the motivation every day, to train when it is cold and rainy outside and to get trough the hard training periods.

FT: We understand that you have lots of passions outside of triathlon like surfing, rock climbing and hiking. How do they fit into your life as a pro triathlete?

EL:I like to practice them in the off season, but if I have time and the waves are good I grab my surfboard and go catch some waves!!

FT: You live in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the beautiful Basque region. Is triathlon popular there? Is it something that young people are interested in?

EL:Triathlon is the fastest growing sport there right now. A lot of people are getting interested in our sport and the license numbers are growing a lot from one year to the next.

FT: One of your brothers, Hektor who is also a pro triathlete (and racing with you here in Kona again this year) recently opened up a triathlon shop in Zarautz about an hour from where you live. How’s that going?

EL: It is going very well, there are not many Tri shops in our area, so people are showing great interest in the products we are bringing to the shop.

FT: Of your races to date which ones are the most memorable and why?

EL:There are many of them, but Ironman Lanzarote win in 2007 was very special, I met Rut there, my girlfriend and that changed my life.

FT: You’ve had some unbelievable races in the last three years where you had to settle for 2nd place to the likes of Chris MacCormack (Roth 07, Wildflower 08 & Frankfurt 08), Andy Potts (Wildflower 09), Timo Bracht (Frankfurt 09) and of course Craig Alexander here in Kona last year. For kicks, we added the margins up and you placed 2nd in those races by an average time of about 3 minutes. How have you prepared differently for Kona this year to try and keep those three minutes?

EL:We have done baically the same preparation that we did last year but I have introduced some changes in my training to make my run faster at the end of the marathon, I think they are gonna work.

FT: One of the standard questions that I have to ask is the one our viewers want to know the most and that’s who you think your biggest competition will come from this year?

EL:Craig Alexander and Macca, but the field is very deep and there are 10 strong guys who can win the race.

FT: Are you going to head to Maui after the race and go for the Hawaiian Airlines Double?

EL:Yes, I've been the Hawaiian Double winner for the past three years, I hope to score the fourth one this year.

FT: I had a chance to meet up with you in the San Diego area recently where I shared FanatsyTri with you. What do you think about it so far?

EL:I think it is an innovative idea, something new that people are going to like very much, it makes triathlon more spectator friendly.

FT: Eneko, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with FantasyTri. Have a great race!

EL:Thanks to you!!

You can learn more about Eneko on his web site at: http://www.enekollanos.com/

If you are in Spain, stop in at one of the only triathlon shops in the Basque region recently opened by Eneko's brother Hektor: www.hirubat.com & www.hektorllanos.com