6-Day World Trophy 2015 – William 500km+ & updates

Internet problems here are still making posting difficult but here’s a round-up of the latest news from the race.

Here’s a breakdown from Alan of how William did during the first four days.

Day 1 – 173 km / 107.5 miles
Day 2 – 120 km / 74.5 miles
Day 3 – 107 km / 66.5 miles
Day 4 – 76 km / 47 miles

As you can see, William’s daily mileage fell considerably – and far more than we would have hoped or expected. Usually William is a remarkably consistent runner and would be aiming (and achieving) a high daily total throughout the race.

Midway through day 3, William developed very painful shin and ankle problems. I don’t have any real details other than that although this doesn’t seem to be a serious injury, it has impacted on his performance considerably.

William was forced to abandon running altogether and only walk on day Day 4 (the results of which can be seen in the figures above).

William - forced to walk, but not giving up.

William – forced to walk, but not giving up.

Prior to the shin & ankle problem, William had not been lower than the top eight at any stage of the race, and was the firm leader in his age group (M60). As I type, William has dropped down to number 31 position. But characteristically, William isn’t going to quit if he’s still able to put one foot in front of the other.

As Gyula in Hungary wrote :

“William Sichel, one of the most experienced multiday athletes in the field, had a terrible day 3 and day 4 with plenty of problems to solve …. but his stamina is simply compelling. He never gives up races and won’t break this great habit in Balatonfüred. According to him, if the race turns bad and the predetermined goal cannot be reached, you still have the chance to learn from the situation and to train for the next race.”

Which pretty much sums up our racing philosophy really.

William reaching 500km / 310.5 miles

After resting the shin and ankle during a longer break, William manged to push on to reach the 500 km point. And naturally, he kept going.

As I type, we are 5 hrs and 40 mins into the last day of the race. William has currently covered 519km / 322.5 miles and will aim to carry on until the finish.

Just for once, this performance won’t be winning William a place on the podium – but it will earn him the satisfaction of knowing that he achieved everything he could this time round.

More soon.