SICHEL GETS SECOND CHANCE AT WORLD CHAMPS QUALIFIER

Orkney's international long distance runner, William Sichel from Sanday, has an unexpected second chance to achieve the UK Athletics qualifying distance for the World/European 24hour Championships as they have now been re-scheduled for October in the Czech Republic giving more time for achieving the qualification standards.

Originally the qualifying dead line was March 22nd as this major Championship event was scheduled to be held in Apeldoorn, Holland on May 21st /22nd. However the organisers ran into financial problems and had to withdraw as hosts of the Championships. The Apeldoorn race is still going ahead but as an open individual race and as the Dutch Championships.

By competing in Apeldoorn William thus gets another chance to run the required 140 miles (team qualifier) or 143 miles (individual qualifier) as the selection window will now remain open until July. UK Athletics haven't yet confirmed that they will send teams or individuals to the Championships in October but it is expected that they will do so.

"It's great to get a second bite of the cherry. I have had an intensive period of preparation since my last race in March correcting problems that occurred in the that event. My feeding plans have been radically altered and I'm now going 'back to basics' using normal food and watery drinks in order to prevent dehydration but remain well fuelled. All the modern gels, liquid foods etc just don't seem to work for me. I'm also changing my pacing tactics as well in order to try and run more even pace. This means I must run much slower and easier in the early hours so as to prevent fade in the later stages. I'm really looking forward to trying out the new plans in this top event."

The Apeldoorn 24 hour road race is one of Europe's best run and most prestigious events and always attracts a quality field and this year is no different. Close to 90 runners from over 15 countries will start this 25 th edition at 2pm on Friday afternoon May 21 st . Run in a large park in the city of Apeldoorn , the one mile lap meanders along tree lined avenues and is one of the best venues in Europe for this type of ultra endurance event.

Runners wear computer chips on their shoes which record their lap time when they run over special mats at the beginning and end of every lap. A screen then displays all the information the runner needs to know as the race progresses.

Warm conditions are expected and William has been doing 'heat training' to ensure he can perform at his best in such an environment.

"It is always cooler at night and if you have paced yourself correctly you can pick up speed during the fresher night hours."

William has already represented Great Britain eleven times at ultra distance running, four of these 'vests' being for the 24 hour event.

William's race result will appear on his web site www.williamsichel.co.uk on Saturday afternoon 22nd May. William will be staying on in Holland for a short holiday before returning to Orkney on June 1 st.

William is a long term member of the Orkney Athletic Club and in December 2002 William set new Guinness World Records for both 100 miles and 24hrs on the treadmill. With his wife, Elizabeth, he runs the Orkney Angora mail order knitwear business in Sanday, Orkney.

William is grateful to sponsors Orkney Meat (main sponsor), The Ayre Hotel, The Orcadian and Crantit Dairy (Orkney Ice Cream) and Loganair.

William's running web site, which is being developed as a resource for ultra running in general, can be found at www.williamsichel.co.uk

Making contact:

William Sichel, Upper Breckan , Sanday , Orkney KW17 2AZ. Tel/Fax: 01857 600421. Mobile (whilst travelling only) 0794 128 3506. william@williamsichel.co.uk Running web site: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/

Photographs:

Newsline Scotland (Press Agency). Tel 01224 594000. photos@newsline-scotland.co.uk

Ken Amer , Orkney Photographic. Tel 01856 873574, Mobile 07808 961780 info@orkneyphotographic.co.uk

William Sichel, ‘Free to use' photographs can be down loaded from my on-line photo album. Go to: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/ and click on ‘Photos'.

17/05/04