Sanday runner William Sichel, opens his ultra distance running season with a 40 mile track race in Barry, South Wales on Sunday March 2nd starting at 10 a.m.

This will be the shortest event William has tackled for 3 years as William focuses now on the longer ultra events. It will also be William’s first appearance at this traditional season opening event at the popular South Wales venue. This year’s Barry race has attracted one of the strongest entries for many years with over 40 of Britains best ultra runners getting into their stride for 2003.

At the end of January William was confirmed as a double Guinness World Record holder (100 miles & 24hrs) after his treadmill performance, at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall at the beginning of December, was ratified by Guinness World Records in London.

William is currently well into his winter training which is going very well – in fact the best since 2001, as last winter was disrupted by a persistent shin injury.

“Following my run in the Barry 40 I will have 2 weeks warm weather training in northern Majorca. This will hopefully set me up well for the Basle International 24hr road race in Switzerland where I will be going for the UK Athletics’ European 24hr Championships qualifying distance of 140 miles.”

Following the Basle race William will be tackling the British 48hrs road record at the Cologne 48hr race in Germany in July. This will be followed by the main target of this year, the combined World & European 24hr Road Running Championships in Holland in October.

William was voted Orkney’s first ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in November 2000. 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 knitwear business in Sanday.

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

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: 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: www.williamsichel.co.uk and click on ‘Photos’.

24/2/03