Lachlan Kerin

Introduction

Lachlan Kerin - Scientific Triathlon Coach

Lachlan Kerin

TRIATHLON & ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE COACH

Lachie has been coaching endurance sports since 2014, and has been a Scientific Triathlon coach since 2019. Lachie has also been racing long-course triathlon professionally since 2013, and has had multiple podiums and top-5 results at major races. Lachie is from Australia, living on the Sunshine coast. 

Read More

Lachie has been racing long-course triathlon professionally since 2013, and been coaching since 2014.

Being a professional long-course triathlete since he was 18 years old, has provided Lachie with a unique opportunity to train with and race against some of the worlds best athletes across the globe. With over 50 professional 70.3 and several Ironman races as well as a vast racing resume from draft-legal sprint distance, Lachie brings with him a large bank of personal experience from which to draw upon.

The coaching philosophies that Lachie brings have been shaped through working directly with some of the best coaches in the world (including e.g. Alan Couzens and David Tilbury-Davis) who have allowed him to experience a range of coaching ideas. Lachie, first and foremost, believes that the foundation of any successful coach-athlete relationship is communication and creating an adaptable program that accounts for all the other stressors that an athlete may experience on a daily basis. 
Furthermore, he believes that coaching is about utilising available data in order to identify trends, measure performance and create goals but also understands that the ‘human’ element of the athlete must always be accounted for in order to ensure the program is a reflection of what is truly best for the athlete. Through his work in the squad setting, Lachie has been able to develop a diverse coaching skillset that allows him to be confident in working with athletes of all ages and skill levels.

Lachie is passionate about coaching athletes from all backgrounds and skill levels having worked with juniors, beginners and highly performance-driven athletes. Having experienced the requirements of professional long-course racing, Lachie is also passionate about working with professional athletes or athletes that are aiming to turn professional.
 

Lachie's coaching is a great example of blending the human element of coaching, practical experience, and effective use of science and data, all in the right proportions to consistently produce great improvements in his athletes. 

  • Nationality: Australia
  • Languages: English (native)
  • Education: Bachelor Degree in Commerce (Deakin University), currently taking post graduate certification in Data Analysis in Sports Performance (University of New England).
  • Coaching Certification: Triathlon Australia Certified Coach
  • Coaching Experience: Personalised coaching with a range of athletes since 2014. Coached swimming at Powerpoints Masters squad and I4 Triathlon, coached cycling at Caulfield Grammar School, coached cycling at SpinLabs (Watt Bike sessions). Scientific Triathlon coach since 2019. 
  • Athletic Accomplishments:
    -Professional triathlete since 2013
    -Bike course records – Geelong 70.3, Taupo 70.3, Shanghai 70.3
    -3rd place – Challenge Shepparton 2016
    -4th – Huskisson Long Course 2017
    -4th – Challenge Shepparton 2018
    -5th place – Challenge Asia Pacific-Champs 2017
    -6th Place – Ironman Busselton 2018
    -6th place – Geelong 70.3 2018

Testimonials

A collaborative journey


Kirsty Sheehan 42, Brisbane, Australia

Having Lachie as my coach makes me feel that I'm not on my own and that I have support, it's taken some of the thinking out of training for me and has given me time back when I don't need to deliberate over training and progress so much. Communication is easy and I know I can always speak to Lachie if I need to. It's been a good, collaborative journey.

Consistency and accountability


Steven Davies 61, Sydney, Australia

I'm really enjoying the process of training and being coached with Lachie. The consistency and accountability it has brought to my training have helped me a lot as an athlete, and not having to think about exactly what I need to do in training is highly beneficial.

Professional, personal and adaptable


Johan Falkenberg 44, Stockholm, Sweden

Lachie's coaching is professional and feels like an exclusive and personal experience. He has helped me to remain injury-free and to really look at the long term goal and work towards that, which reduces stress from one-off bad days and the temptation of doing too hard workouts. Lachie adapts the program, volume and intensity to life circumstances like family and travel, and I've really benefited from the feedback on every workout and explanations about why we're doing a certain workout.

More focused, individualized training and better communication!


Darren Brown 46, Malaysia

With coach Lachie I'm getting a training plan that is more focused around my individual circumstances and better communication (quick responses and independent follow-up) than with my previous coach, which is exactly what I was looking for from this coaching relationship.

More easy sessions and rest has been a game changer


Felix Koehler 37, Basel, Switzerland

With Lachie's guidance I've done more easy sessions and gotten enough rest, and I've finally realized that easy does me very good indeed. It's been a game changer for me. Having someone taking in the feedback and adjusting the coming sessions if necessary is also very helpful. I used to push through the scheduled sessions until I couldn't. It's been pretty awesome working with Lachie.

Ready for an Ironman


Jeffrey Peebles 56, Southlake, TX, US

Lachie is an excellent coach for me! I signed up to get ready for an Ironman, and the plan with great planning of workouts, effort levels, and periodization has got my fitness to a level where I feel that I am ready.

Knowledge, communication, responsiveness and flexibility


Paul Flynn 38, Tokyo, Japan

I came at this coaching relationship with a strong desire to improve my knowledge and understanding of the sport, physiology, key performance metrics, use of equipment such as power meters, and Lachie's approach and guidance and support with respect to these is very solid, which has resulted in great improvement in my own knowledge and confidence. Lachie is also very responsive and communicative and he is happy to amend schedules at short notice, which is appreciated and pretty important when life regularly gets in the way of training.

Big investment but worth it!


Baris Goc 41, Brooklyn, NY, US

Coaching is a big investment, but it's worth it. I love the program I get from Lachie, it is very flexible and it has helped me avoid overtraining and injury. You guys are awesome, glad to be working with you!

Structure, purpose, and science-based training


Jeffrey Peebles 57, Texas, United States

Lachie helped me do workouts with more structure and purpose, and the training he prescribes is based on science which I enjoy. Communication is great, his availability is really good. Overall, it's been an excellent experience working with him and well worth the investment.

Knowledge, purpose, and feedback


Kim Smith 51, Montgomery, TX, US

Coach Lachie is great! The greatest benefits are his knowledge and his ability to explain my training (i.e. the reason/purpose behind workouts), and I also like that fact that he knows what the workouts he gives me are supposed to "feel" like. Also, the feedback that Lachie gives me about most of my workouts in Training Peaks and our coaching calls have been invaluable to me as an athlete.

Exceeded my expectations!


Anonymous

Being coached by Lachie has exceeded my expectations! The plan is very personalised and high touch, and I have much more variety in training than before. Also, now I no longer have to spend hours researching training methods and session ideas, Lachie does it all for me and tailors the workout guidance and power and heart rate targets to me specifically.

The best coach I've had so far in my triathlon career!


Craig Millman 45, Brisbane, Australia

I've had several coaches before Lachie and this was the first time I felt like I had a professional, knowledgeable coach who also really cares about what I'm doing. I felt right from the start that Lachie knew what he was talking about and he explained why we were doing certain things. He also helped me lose the mentality of just doing more and more, and got me just as fit and strong on 4 hours less training per week. I was very happy with the communication too. We exchanged lots of texts and emails, and he was only too happy to chat on the phone if that's what I wanted.

Invaluable advice, feedback, and improvement in all three disciplines!


Douglas Rocha 39, Summit, NJ, US

Lachie has helped me improve in all sports, and I can see and understand the rationale of the plan. I had a coach before, but I find Lachie more experienced and his advice is invaluable. I'm always getting feedback on workouts and the fact that Lachie is a professional triathlete himself also generates some invaluable tips.

Lachie's coaching in 3-5 words

Caring, process-driven, and analytical

Learn more about our coaching services (including pricing) here, or contact us to book a no-obligation discovery call here.

Get To Know Lachie

Where are you from and where do you live?

I live on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, and I'm originally from Melbourne. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Coffee first thing when waking up, always. I wake up early, and I tend to train first, then come home, have breakfast, and start my first block of work. Then I train again, come home and work through the afternoon until dinner. 

What's your favourite workout?

I love a long ride. Like a long, steady, 40 km/h ride on the TT-bike for five hours. 

What's your least favourite or most dreaded workout?

Recently I've been doing 5 x 5 minutes, basically as hard as you can go, with 5 minutes recovery. I always get nervous about that because I know my W' isn't great so after one or two reps things start getting pretty tough. 

What (if anything) do you listen to when training?

I tend to listen to podcasts. Joe Rogan is great for long workouts as those tend to go on for three hours. Also, I obviously listen to That Triathlon Show. When it gets windy out on my rides and I can't listen to podcasts (because I don't hear what they're saying) I listen to music. Recently I've been into the Best of 2000's on playlist on Spotify. 

What's your favourite book, blog or resource related to triathlon or endurance sport?

Hmmm, last time I said "Endure" (by Alex Hutchinson) and since then so many people have said the same thing that I want to come up with something different. I do want to get my hands on Dan Bigham's new book (NB. "Start at the End: How Reverse-Engineering Can Lead to Success")... In terms of resources I think the podcasts that are out there now are good, like That Triathlon Show, Endurance Innovation, and some other physiology podcasts that are out there. 

What's your favourite food and beverage?

Coffee, one hundred percent! And for food... I never really liked popcorn, but I've been really into popcorn lately. 

What do you like to do when you're not coaching or training yourself?

At the moment (NB. August 2021), watch the Olympics. I love the track cycling in particular at the moment. The level of innovation is so high, to see world record after world record is just crazy, to see how far it's come. But other than that, I'm back studying again now, so that's the other main thing I do. 

If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would it be?

Right now I would actually say Dan Bigham, that would be super interesting. Michael Jordan would be pretty awesome - but I feel you'd end up having some kind of competition with him, and then he would win. And I actually think I would add Tiger Woods as well now, with what he's been through and all that, it would be pretty interesting. No actually - I would take Woods out and say Freddie Mercury. I would love to know what it's like to stand in front of like - they had events in Russia back in the day with 500 000 people! 

What's your educational background? 

I started a physio degree but changed to doing my Bachelor's in commerce (NB. Business/Business administration in the UK and US). And currently I'm doing a post-graduate certificate in Data Analysis for Sports Performance with an eye on moving into a Master's degree in Sports Science from there. 

What's your sporting background? Do you still race actively? 

I grew up playing Australian rules football until I was about 16. My grandpa was a professional cyclist and my uncle was a lightweight rower on the Australian national team. I did a bit of rowing myself but didn't really like it to be honest. It's really super boring... I played a bit of water polo for the school and stuff, and in Australia you just grow up swimming, it's just part of school so it's not super foreign to get in a pool and swim. So I started triathlon when I was 16 I think (NB. around 2011), and went professional for long-course triathlon just before I turned 19. And I do still race actively.

Who are your coaching role models or coaches you've learnt a lot from? 

I have to just come back to people I've worked with, like my first coach in Melbourne in a club/squad environment. He was fantastic in teaching me a lot of soft skills and people skills. He really took me under his wing, so from what he gave me, I feel a bit of an obligation to give back to the sport, and work with juniors and so on. More recently David Tilbury-Davis has been very interesting for me to work with in terms of for example communication skills. Alan Couzens as well with his physiology background. A lot of mu programming is influenced by him. 

What types of athletes do you coach? 

Across the whole spectrum really. At the moment I don't have any pure beginners really, but people from the earlier stages of their triathlon journey all the way up to people trying to be at the front of their age-group. There's a good spread of different ages and male and female athletes. 

What do you expect from athletes you coach?  

I expect good, open communication. We can only do our job based on the information we have, so I'm a big proponent of the more information the better. So that's number one. Number two is that they just give their best. Whatever that means on a daily basis, that depends. Some days giving it your best might be "I'm tired, I'm sore, I need to take a rest day" and that's absolutely fine. But that all hinges on communication. 

What should athletes expect of you? 

They should expect that I am very passionate about what I do. And that I'll always be learning. So the implication of that is that sometimes we will just try things. Science is often a step or two behind what's happening at the front line, so some things you have to learn and figure out from experience and trial and error. And just like I expect good communication from the athlete, they should expect the same from me. Also, that since I have a lot of experience within the sport, I can help them with the small but important things like laying out the transition area. In addition, I know what it feels like training the way they do and what the sessions and fatigue levels should feel like, and if that's not the case we can adjust the training accordingly.

What are your special interests or areas of expertise within coaching, training, physiology and sports science?

I have a strong grasp on cycling, both within triathlon and as its own sport. Whether it's things like aerodynamics, equipment choices and so on, I stay up to date because I'm passionate about it. I'm also developing my analytical and data analysis skills through my current studies. 

Describe your coaching in three to five words
  • Caring - I care not just about your training but that you're happy, enjoying the process, and about what's going on in your life. 
  • Process-driven
  • Analytical

Schedule A Free Discovery Call

Interested in hiring Lachie as your coach? 

Contact us here, or email mikael@scientifictriathlon.com and lachie@scientifictriathlon.com to set up a free, no-obligation discovery call with Lachie to see if working with him seems like a good fit. 

Lachlan Kerin - Working

Explore our products and services

>