NEWS from Orkney’s William Sichel
Orkney-based ultra marathon runner, William Sichel (61) is currently intensifying his training for the World's Highest Ultra-marathon which starts on August 16th in Ladakh, Kashmir, India.
The race has an average altitude of 14,500 feet/4400m with three mountain passes to cross which are around 18,000 feet/5000m. This puts immense strain on the respiratory system as the oxygen content of the air drops to around 40% of the sea level value.
“Putting it simply, at those altitudes, it is much harder to breathe so your lungs and diaphragm have to work much harder to supply the necessary amounts of air compared to when you are at sea level.”
William is making use of a special mask that restricts air flow into the lungs making it much harder to breathe in, creating a sensation very similar to what he will experience in the extreme high altitudes of Ladakh.
“It's not a very nice experience fighting for breath through the mask but it's a case of being prepared and training the breathing muscles to be able to cope with 18,000 feet.”
William will leave Orkney on July 31st in order to complete his final preparations on site in Kashmir with a series of graded treks designed to optimise acclimatisation.
William hopes to high-light the benefits of exercise for the over 60s as well as raise money for the CLAN cancer support charity, with over £10,000 having been raised by William and those involved in the “Challenge William” project last year.
William's dedicated web page can be found here: www.williamsichel.co.uk and his blog can be found at www.williamsichel.co.uk/blog/
The fundraising page is at: www.justgiving.com/William-Sichel
