SICHEL WARMS UP WITH SHEFFIELD 6HR RACE

Orkney’s GB international ultra distance runner, William Sichel, travels down to Sheffield this week to participate, as an individual, in the George Littlewood 6hr Track Race being held in the Don Valley Stadium on Saturday afternoon/evening the 28th April.

William is using the race as a build up to one of his major targets of the year, the European 24hr Road Running Championships to be held in Holland on May 25th and 26th. The Great Britain team for this event is due to be announced on Monday 30th April.

“The 6hr event is a nice event to run before a 24hr, it isn’t as demanding as doing a 100km but far enough to be a good workout prior to a demanding event like the 24hr. Also the Sheffield race is placed well, being just a month before the big 24hr Championships.”

The race is part of Sheffield’s “Festival of Sport” and is followed on the Sunday morning by a mass participation marathon. The event is run to commemorate the phenomenal achievements of the British ultra runner George Littlewood. His British record for the ‘6 day event’ (623 miles) set in Madison Square Gardens, New York in 1888 still stands today, 113 years later. This type of ultra racing enjoyed enormous popularity at that time.

A maximum entry of 42 runners will get underway at 6 pm, following the conclusion of a track & field meeting in the Don Valley stadium. This stadium is a major athletic facility having been used to stage the World Student Games a few years ago.

“If weather conditions are reasonable I hope to run about 50 miles in the 6 hours, but I’ll just have to wait and see how it goes on the day.”

This will be William’s first race since finishing 5th (with 117.2 miles) in the Soochow 24hr track race in Taiwan at the beginning of March. William’s run in Taiwan was spoilt by repeated bouts of nocturnal hypothermia which robbed him of a better performance, although he both started and finished the race strongly.

William was voted Orkney’s first ‘Sportsman of the Year’ last year. He is a member of the Moray Road Runners and the Orkney Athletic Club. With his wife, Elizabeth, he runs the Orkney Angora mail order craft business in Sanday.

William is grateful to sponsors Orkney Meat (main sponsor), The Ayre Hotel, The Orcadian, Crantit Dairy (Orkney Ice Cream) and Saucony UK. William also receives a grant from the sportScotland Lottery Fund.

23/4/01