Sichel joins “Spartathlon” elite with stunning Greek run

Orkney’s international ultra distance athlete, William Sichel, obliterated his own Scottish record for the world longest point-to-point race – the Spartathlon – by slicing four hours and 13 minutes off his 2005 debut to finish 9th overall, from 325 starters in a time of 29 hours 1 minute 29 secs.

This classic Greek ultramarathon re-creates the 153 mile journey of the Greek messenger Pheidippides when in 490BC he ran from Athens to Sparta to seek reinforcements for the battle with the Persians.

Despite being run in record high temperatures William worked his way through the field to record the best British performance in this event for 12 years and became the fifth fastest British man in the 25 year history of the race.

Leaving Athens on the long road to Corinth the temperature soared to 34°C and even when going down into Sparta the next morning the mercury hovered around 32°C.

“I had a fantastic race and my meticulous preparation paid off handsomely.  The sauna training sessions prepared me for the brutal conditions and the Highland Training Camp helped with the mountain crossing in the night.  I hoped to go faster than 2005 but to knock over 4 hours off my time is stunning.”

The brutal course and weather conditions took a huge toll on the athletes with only 125 of the 330 setting off from the Acropolis in Athens on the Friday morning arriving in Sparta by the Saturday evening.

The race threw up many challenges for William including some that he doesn’t often come across on his Orkney island home.  These included almost treading on live snakes and having to fend off two wild dog attacks.

Following a short recovery William will begin his preparations for his first serious British record attempt at the Monaco Six Day road race on November 17th.

William is grateful to sponsors: Myprotein, Loganair & The Orcadian

End.

4/10/07