NEWS from Orkney’s William Sichel
Orkney-based ultra marathon runner, William Sichel (62) heads to Oslo this week to compete in the Bislett International Indoor Endurance Festival 48 Hour race which starts at 9am UK time on Friday 20th November finishing at the same time on Sunday 22nd November.
The indoor track, which is an unusual 546 metres long, is located underneath the famous Bislett Athletics Stadium in the Norwegian capital.
The Festival has attracted a capacity entry including 47 in the 48 hour race and hundreds more in the 6, 12 and 24 hour events. Staggered starts will be used to avoid congestion but it will still feel crowded during the first day. It is expected to be the largest indoor ultra marathon event Europe has ever seen.
“There’s no doubt that the 2 lane track will feel a bit busy in the first 24 hours as there will be close to 200 runners on the circuit, as the 24 hour and the 48 hour events both start at the same time. I’ve been warned that it will also feel warm and stuffy being a steady 18C.”
William has an overall 48 hour best distance of 213.92 miles set in Brno, Czech Republic in 2007, but all his best road 48 hour distances were set as splits during much longer races.
“A lot of my 24 and 48 hour performances have been dogged by stomach problems which have ruined my overall distances. I have a good, tried and tested plan for this event and I’m looking forward to having a good run. Being an indoor event there are a number of record opportunities which I’m looking forward to having a go at.”
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.justgiving.com/William-Sichel
William is working on Project165.com in which he is attempting to set 165 ultra running records before his 65th birthday on October 1st 2018. His current total is 160 records.
For more information check out:
www.williamsichel.co.uk
www.williamsichel.co.uk/blog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WilliamSichelAthlete
Twitter: @williamsichel
Youtube:www.youtube.com/user/William30179
