Archived News 2000 - 2005

22nd December 05: New UK ultra running web site

A new ultrarunning web site has been set up recently focussing on UK ultra running.  This is a much needed focus for the sport in this country and congratulations must go to the web master and inspiration behind the idea Ed Milbourne.  You can find it here.

14th December 05: End of Season break

By Friday will have had a 3 week break from running.  Have kept active with race walking, table tennins and some weight training.  Looking forward to starting again at the weekend.

28th November 05: Monaco Result

Sanday runner, William Sichel, finished 5th overall (3rd in age group) from 45 starters in last weekend's "No Finish Line" 24 hour road race held on a one kilometre course around the harbour in Monaco.  William ran a distance of 102miles/165kms in the cold, blustery conditions as the Cote d'Azure suffered a rare cold spell.

William slowly worked his way up through the field to 3rd place by half way (72 miles).  William was then forced to overcome some mid-race difficulties to finish the race in good shape and complete another good season.

William will now have a well deserved end of season break of about 3 weeks during which time he will do no running but will continue with cross training activities such as walking, cycling and swimming whilst he considers lessons learned during this year and makes plans for 2006.

21st November 05: Monaco's "No Finish Line" 24 hour race

I'm fit and looking forward to travelling to Monaco for the first time.

12th November 05: Award winner

Last night I was presented with the award for Orkney's 'Veteran Sportsman of the Year' at an awards dinner in Kirkwall last night.

31st October 05: Looking to Monaco

Now back at a good level of training and looking forward to testing out my nutritional plan in a standard 24hr race.

27th October 05: Award Nomination

Have been nominated for the Veteran Sportsman of the Year award.  Final winners will be announced at the Orkney Sports Awards dinner in Kirkwall on November 11th.

24th October 05: Recovery

It's taken longer than usual to recover from the Spartathlon.  The duration of the event combined with the severity of the course have taken their toll.

10th October 05: Results SPARTATHLON

Certainly one of the great classic ultras and certainly the hardest thing I've done so far.  The hills were incredible and the trail sections were very difficult for me, a confirmed road runner.  I finished strong averaging 9kph over the last half marathon.  My stomach was one of the best ever - I used a liquid food supplement, Complan, throughout plus 600mls of water per hour - brilliant.

2nd October 05: Results SPARTATHLON

William finished in 33hrs 14 mins 20secs. He was the first ever Scottish runner to finish, and the second British runner this time. Baking heat to start with and torrential rain towards to end of the race. 37th overall from 230 starters of whom 102 finished.

19th September 05: World's Longest Race - 153 miles/246kms

All focus is now on my attempt to be the first Scot to finish the SPARTATHLON on September 30th/October 1st.  Furthermore, I will celebrate my 52nd birthday during the event!

16th September 05: Opening of Sanday's Healthy Living Centre

I am honoured to have been asked to open the Isle of Sanday's new Healthy Living Centre/Fitness Suite next weekend.  This will be a huge asset to the small commuity here on the island.

6th September 05: Orkney International Science Festival

Gave a short talk yesterday at the above event during a "Fusion" Innovation Day.  My talk was 'The Will to WIn in Business & Sport'.

23rd August 05: Spartathlon Preparation

Busy in planning for my first attempt at the Spartathlon - the world's longest point-to-point race run from Athens to Sparta (153 miles/246kms) starting on the last Friday in September every year.  I have been in contact with previous experienced competitors.

22nd August 05:  New articles

Delighted that I have now been able to post 3 new ultra advice articles on the "Ultra Links & Info" section of this site.  See above.  Thanks to the Road Runners Club of Great Britain and to the indivdiual authors for permission.  I thought these articles merited a wider audience, such is there quality.

2nd August 05:  Newspaper Column No2

William's second newspaper column for The Orcadian newspaper is now available on-line

http://www.orcadian.co.uk/features/articles/sichel2.htm

31st July 05:  Dehydration the problem

Following analysis of data collected by my handler, Alan Young, it has become clear that dehydration was my problem in Austria.  My Basic 24hr Race Plan has now been corrected and this shouldn't happen again.  From that point of view it was a 'mistake worth making' although it never feels like that at the time. 

This was one of the first 24hr events where I have come away with accurate data of fluid and energy intakes.  This information is like 'gold dust' and will hopefully speed up my progress at this incredible event and help to make me more consistent in a variety of conditions.

19th July 05:  Disappointment for William

Had a brilliant first 12hrs but then had to stop after 17hrs with about 146km due to persistent vomiting.  Will feed back what we think the causes were when we have analysed intakes of food and fluid.  Battered but unbowed:)

12th July 05:  World 24hr Championships in Worschach, Austria

This is the longest annual world title event endorsed by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) and recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). 

Everything is now ready for my run this weekend in Austria.  I'm running in the 'open' or 'solo' race as no GB men's team has been entered as no one has achieved the minimum 225km qualifying mark for team selection.  My preparations have gone well and I am entirely injury free and ready to go.  I have a good race plan and my handler Alan Young is paying his own way to support me in the race.  Weather conditions are forecast to be 28deg C during both days dropping to 12 at night.  I have 'heat trained' in readiness for this.  i want to have a good finish; a strong 'performance' and run the best possible distance on the day.

Results:  I'll try and get me result posted here ASAP after the race.

22nd June 05:  Liver Fuelling

The correct nutrition for optimal performance is always a primary consideration for me. Following an item on John Beattie's Sports Weekly radio programme regarding “Race Fuelling” I got in contact with Mike and Stuart McInnes from IsoActive in Edinburgh . Mike is a pharmacist who has come up with a theory that promotes the idea of liver fuelling for improved sports performance. He believes that fuelling the liver and hence the brain, by means of fructose based foods and products is a forgotten area of sports science. He has advised me on methods to correct this for my 24 hour performances.

6th June 05: Plans

Rapidly returned to full training after Basel disppointment.  My 'continuous run plan didn't work, then with the severe weather it made my mistake worse and then the calf problem - it was simply the right decision to pull out.

Now working on my plans for the World 24hr Championships 'Open' race on July 16th.  Will be progressing with my run/walk system that was successful in Brno and Phoenix.  This time I will be doing 25mins run and 5 mins race walk.  I will eat and drink during the 5mins walk.  Am planning this in my long Sunday runs with extra load which are over 3½hrs at the moment.

8th May 05: Basel Results

Orkney ultra distance runner William Sichel from Sanday was to forced to pull out of the Basel 24hr race after 12hrs with a calf muscle injury. William was lying in second place at the time from a starting field of 70 runners and had covered 118kms/73miles. Runners had been battered by torrential rain and high winds for much of that time making conditions very difficult for runners and race organisers. William decided to play safe by stopping thus preventing making the injury any worse and will now focus on recovery and will then try to achieve the UK Athletica qualifying standards at the World 24hr Championships in Austria in July.
"It's always difficult deciding whether or not to stop in these events but sometimes you must let your head rule your heart and this was the right decision on the day."

William Sichel
Basel
8th May.

2nd May 05: RESULTS

I plan to get my Basel result posted here as soon as practicable on Sunday May 8th.

1st May 05: William to become a newspaper columnist!

Following discussions with my media sponsor The Orcadian I will be moving away from the sports pages into the main paper this year as I am to write four diary columns this year for them - the first one to appear on May 5th.  Hopefully they will aslo be made available via The Orcadian web site.

30th April 05: Taper

Had an excellent last few weeks tapering down to Basel.  I'm in good form and looking forward to a good run.  For the first time I'm taking my own handler, former 24hr runner Alan Young from dion_networks, which is great.

29th April 05: Appeal rejected by UKA

My appeal to UKA has failed and I will not be given the chance to achieve the selection distance in Basel for this year's World 24hr in Austria in July.
I was informed on March 25th that the selction deadline was April 13th!  I had informed UKA, in writing, in January of my competition plans for 2005 including that I was intending going for the 230km plus in Basel and received no response.  My appeal was based on this fact and I asked that my Basel result be allowed for this year. 
I must achieve over 230km this year in order to qualify for another GB vest next year.
I will run in Austria as an individual.

15th April 05: Final Preparations

Had an excellent training spell in Majorca although the 'warm weather' bit only applied to about half of it! Just focussing on final preparations for Basel now.

25th March 05: Warm Weather Training & UKA criteria

I'm off to my training base in northern Majorca on Monday for two weeks training in hopefully warm conditions.  Having said that, Majorca has had a cold winter and is only warming up rather slowly at the moment. This will be my last 2 weeks of hard training prior to my taper down to my big race in Basel on May 7th.

UK Athletics have, at last, announced their selection criteria for the World 24hr Championships in Austria in July.  Distances are the same as last year, 225km for team selection and 230km for individual selection.  The bad/rediculous news is that the selectin date is April 13th!  In other words runners have been given just 3 weeks to choose races, plan training etc a complete nonsense.  I informed them in Janaury of my plans and have asked that my Basel result be taken into consideration - am awaiting a response!

14th March 05: Progress

Since resuming training at the end of January, after my 3 week end-of-season break, everything has gone very well with consistent, good quality training sessions and some steady increases in the load in the weight vest - now just over 4kg (approx 7% of body weight).  One more 5% increase in load is planned for next week and that will be the last one for now with races approaching.  Long Sunday runs are now well over 3hrs with the weight vest with excellent recovery.

7th March 05: More Sponsors renew support

Excellent news that the Ayre Hotel in Kirkwall and Orcadia Design in St Margarets Hope have both renewed support for this year.

23rd February 05: Feature

Had a great feature in the Press & Journal newspaper which serves the whole of the Highlands & Islands.  Read it here.

21st February 05: Airline sponsor renews

Great that I can report that my blue-chip sponsor ' Loganair - Scotland's Airline' have renewed their sponsorship for 2005.  Hugely helpful that Loganair can fly me to the central belt free of charge for some of my trips.

18th February 05: Media Sponsor renews

Excellent news that my media sponsor, the local Orkney paper and news web site -The Orcadian - has renewed my sponsorship for a 5th year.  I must be doing something right:)

26th January 05: Welcome to new sponsor

I'd like to welcome a new Associate Sponsor dion_networks the Dundee water company.  They are already involved with sponsoring some of the Nepalese hill runners and have now signed me up for 2005.  I look forward to a good working relationship with their MD, Alan Young, during this year.

24th January 05: Resume Training

I started running again on Saturday the 22nd after a 3 week, end of season, 'no running' break. During the 3 weeks I keep active with walking, cycling, pilates exercises etc etc but don't run.  I like to break all my habits just once a year and then resume my routines with new enthusiasm afterwards.  During the break I assess the past 12 months and make plans for the forthcoming season.

17th January 05: Saucony Re-new Sponsorship

Saucony UK have renewed my sponsorship contract for the 11 year in succession which is excellent news.  Their motto is 'Loyal to the sport' and they have certaibnly demonstrated loyalty to their athletes as well!  I do my bit as well by always using Saucony shoes and kit and promoting myself and their goods as much as possible.

9th January 05: Arizona 6 day race

Whilst in Phoenix I was asked to alert UK runners to the above race which takes place on April 10-16th in Douglas, southern Arizona.  Gary Cross is the organiser and he says it will be a very informal event ideal for the first time 6 day runner.  Fo rmore details contact Gary on crossg@cochise.edu

8th January 05: Victory in the USA

Now returned from the USA and a marvellous win in the Across the Years 24hr event in Phoenix, Arizona in my best distance (136.4 miles/219.50km) for almost 5 years. Very satisfying performance and the second best recored in this event. Moderate (15deg max 5 deg min) tempereatures and cloudy, dry conditions were conducive to a good run.  Very well organised event well worth more British interest in future years for either the 72hrs, 48hrs or the 24hr.  Direct flight to Phoenix available from Heathrow.

1st January 05: Across the Years

William came in as number 1 in the Across the Years 24hr race in Phoenix, Arizona! For full race results please visit: http://www.acrosstheyears.com/cgi-local/results.cgi

20th December 04: New Ideas

During an appointment with my Chiropractor/Applied Kinesiologist, Dr Les Hall, on November 3rd he strongly recommended the work of American endurance coach Dr Phil Maffetone as being useful to me.  Maffetone first made his name about 20 years ago as he coached Ironman greats Mark Allan and Mike Pigg to multiple Ironman victories.  His books "Training for Endurance" and "Eating for Endurance" make fascinating reading and his ideas on enhancing fat metabolism deserve serious consideration.  I was surprised I had never heard of him but maybe because he has been mainly involved in US triathlon explains that.

Ultra runner Stu Mittleman was also coached by Maffetone in the 1980's and has subsequently written well on focussing Maffetone's ideas onto very long ultra runs.  Mittleman's book "Slow Burn" is another excellent read.

16th December 04: New Dietitian

A little belatedly, I would like to welcome Lorraine Cullen, an Orcadian currently working at the Scottish Institute of Sport in Stirling into my support team replacing Marianne Hayward.  I look forward to working with Lorraine to fine tune my training and racing nutrition.

12th December 04: Countdown to US debut

I'm at last beginning to focus on my upcoming debut in the USA on December 31st.  I'll be running in the Across the Years 24hr in Phoenix, Arizona. My daughter is coming as a helper and the whole trip was inspired by the 40th birthday of my running friend Tim Rainey on January 3rd.  After the race we will be spending a couple of night on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon - just to help us recover.

10th December 04: New Magazine & web site

A new magazine and web site is now available specialising on Multiday ultra running - although they do mention quite a lot of 24hr stuff as well.  Look here: http://www.multidays.com/index.html

14th November 04: Sports Award Winner

At Friday night's Orkney Sports Awards dinner/dance I was delighted to win the Veteran Sportsman of the Year award for 2004.  Thanks go to my support team and sponsors for their continued assistance.

28th October 04: Shortlisted in the Orkney Sports Awards

It has been announced that I am one of 3 people shortlisted for the Veteran Sportsman of the Year Award.  The gala dinner and awards will be made on November 12th.

26th October 04: IAU World & European 24hr Championships, Brno, Czech Republic Results

Home again now.  Full results have been complex and slow to appear.  Correct results are now as follows:

I completed 214.628km/133.4 miles. This is a World Championship best performance for me and the second time I have been over 133 miles this year (another first).

World champs: 27th overall from 122 men, M50 2nd.

European Champs: 19th overall, M50 2nd.

7th October 04: Detailed planning for the World/European 24hr Champs

Training has been going well and I have been involved in the detailed planning needed for success in this type of event. This involves finalising a detailed Race Plan involving tactics and nutrition and pacing strategy.  Then I have a Mental Plan involving all the sports psychological skills that I will use during the race especially in the final 6hrs.  My Travel Plan of course also needs fine tuning to ensure all is in place and I have sufficient time to 'acclimatise' at the venue, allow for weather-related travel delays en-route and to allow for recovery after the race before embarking on the long trip home.

25th September 04: Recovered from injury and now running well

By using my 5 min run/5min walk system described on the 'Injury Rehabilitation' page (see link at top of this page) I have recovered well from my calf strain and am back in full training including the weight vest training which is key for me.  Everything is now focussed on the upcoming World & European 24hr Championships on Pctober 23rd/24th in the Czech Republic.

6th September 04: Withdrawal from World 100km

Very disappointingly have had to withdraw from this weekend's World 100km (62 miles) Championships as I sustained a calf injury whilst doing an easy run yesterday.  Wasn't wearing the weight vest and just easing down for the race when I got a small tear in the lower calf - a bit of a mystery.

I will now focus on my main target of the year the World/European 24hr Championships on October 22nd/23rd.

9th August 04: Superb run in the Highlands

Had a hugely successful result in my debut ultra hill race when taking second place overall (1st British and 1 st veteran) in the Devil o the Highlands 43 mile race from Tyndrum to Fort William on the West Highland Way last Saturday morning finishing with a time of 6hrs 37mins 6 secs.

Competing in misty then hot conditions I took on a quality field of 66 hill runners including entrants from Nepal , South Africa and Austria as well as the home countries.

 

My time was just over 11 minutes behind race winner Kumar Limbu , a 29 year old Nepali sherpa , in Britain for 6 months of hill racing and training, who recorded a new course record of 6hrs 25mins 22secs.   Third place went to Scot Murdo McEwen who recorded 6hrs 56mins 20secs.

5th August 04: Final count down to first Hill race

All ready now for my departure to the Scottish Highlands and a 43 mile/70km run up the West Highland Way. Wondering now what I have let myself in for!  Whatever happens it will be a good long run in readiness for the World 100km Championships early next month.

19th July 04: Trail running

Am busy preparing for my first proper trail race on August 7th when I'm running on the last half of the West Highland Way.  Have now got a back-up car, driver and two helpers and am assembling my bum bag which I have to carry with me.  We don't have much rough trail running in Sanday but that which we do have I have been running on frequently to accustom myself to running on rough ground.  Whatever happens it will make a refreshing change to my normal racing and training.

28th June 04: Recovery

I've taken a longer than normal recovery period after my Apeldoorn race because I have a very long season this year.   With my next race in early August, followed by the World 100km in September and the World 24hr in October.  I then travel to Arizona on Dec 31st for the "Across the Years" 24hr event.  Hence the break now.

I've had a good look at the race in Apeldoorn and feel that I was a bit low on energy for some hours during the night which led to the energy crash with some hours to go.  I need to be aware of my energy intake hour by hour.  If it dips lower than 40g carbo per hour for more than the odd hour then I need to take corrective action.

6th June 04: Scotland on Sunday

Belated news (due to holiday) that I got a huge feature - 60 column inches - in the 'Scotland on Sunday' paper on May 16th. Please click here for a .jpg of the article, or here for a plain text version.

25th May 04: Apeldoorn Race May 21

Orkney's William Sichel, finished in 4th place from 64 starters in last Friday's Apeldoorn International 24hour road race in Holland.  In covering a distance of 134.4 miles, his best since May of last year, William demonstrated a huge improvement over his last two outings over the distance but still fell short of the UK Athletics qualifying distance for the World 24hr Championships to be held in the Czech Republic in October. Starting very conservatively he worked his way up the field from 36th position in the early stages.  Running at a very even pace William covered 51 miles in both the first and second 8 hour periods.  In the final third of the race William experienced an energy fade which cost him a greater distance.

William's new feeding and drinking plans worked very well with no stomach problems or dehydration being experienced although further attention will have to be given to preventing the loss of power in the closing stages. "I'm very pleased with my run as many of the problems that have dogged recent performances seem to have been solved.  This kind of performance can be the basis for more consistent 24hr performances which I hope can lead to continued improvement in the coming seasons."

Weather conditions were kind to the runners with a maximum of about 15 deg during the day dropping down to a chilly 3 deg at night.  Although warm in the sunny periods it was good running weather which saw a good winning performance from the Dane Alex Henriksen who recorded 152.6 miles, a new Danish record.

William will probably run in the World 24hr Championships as an individual runner rather than trying to squeeze in another attempt at a quaifying run before the selection deadline in mid July. "If I try and compete again over 24hrs in July it will probably affect my performance in the World Championships so I'd rather focus on a peak performance in the Czech Republic even if it means i must compete as an individual on that occasion."

15th May 04: Apeldoorn Result

I'm planning to post my Apeldoorn result on this web site on Saturday afternoon.  I won't be returning to the UK until June 1st.

12th May 04: Intense Race Planning

The last 2 months has been a very busy time adjusting my pacing and nutritional plans for the Apeldorn race. With this race now being a second chance to qualify for a hoped-for UKA team for the re-scheduled World 24hr Championships in Brno there is now added spice on the outcome in Holland. 

With my nutrition I am effectively going 'back to basics' with my plans to use normal food and very watery drinks.  My pacing strategy will be much more conservative with a slower start than normal in an effort to get a more even pace, a more even apportionment of my resources over the full 24hrs.  I have had a lot of contact with Nils Vikander (my assistance coach) since March.  He is a very experienced coach and sports psychologist and was coach to Winter Olympic silver medallist Bill Koch in 1976.

7th May 04: Heat Training

Have started serious heat training this week in preparation for Apeldoorn.  I know from experience that the day time temperature at this race is frequently in the mid 20's centigrade dropping to about 5 deg at night.  Endurance training itself partially heat acclimatises the body but this needs to be 'topped up' before a hot race. 

During this week I have started doing the treadmill sessions under 500W of heat lamps.  Next week I will add extra clothing layers as well.  This will ensure I arrive in Holland with no worries about the heat.  Obviously the skin will be pale but sun screen can look after that.  I have been using 'heat training' methods since 1996 and know that they work.  If it turns out not to be hot?  Well I am accustomed to yet another stress which does no harm at all.

3rd May 04: Sports Massage

For the first time ever I have been able to make use of sports massage over the past few weeks.  I have been travelling into Kirkwall every other week for a full hours massage of legs and gluteals.  I have been training hard for ultras for 10 years now and minor niggles and imbalances are starting to appear.  I have found the massage very helpful.

1st May 04: IAU 24hrs World & European Challenge re-scheduled

Great news today that the above event has been re-arranged at short notice to, amazingly, Brno in the Czech Republic.  The place I have just come back from!  It will be a specially organised event on a 2.5km loop and will be held on 22nd/23rd October.  This gives me a second chance to qualify for the Great Britain team assuming that they decide to send a team to this re-organised event.  The sending of a GB team hasn't been confirmed yet.

12th April 04: World/European 24hr Championships cancelled.

Main news this week is the cancellation of the above event which was to have been held in Apeldoorn in Holland on 21/22nd May.  Last minute financial problems forced the host organisers to make a very late decision to cancel.  Frantic attempts have been made by the IAU to find a replacement host event but to date this has proved impossible.  The normal Apeldoorn 'open' race will go ahead for the 25th time.  I will be competing as planned in Apeldoorn on 21st May.

5th April 04: Major feature in Running Fitness magazine.

In the April edition of the popular 'Running Fitness' national magazine there was a nice feature on me with an action photo from the Basel 24hr from last year.  The article was well written and informative and summarised my running career so far.

28th March 04: A week of investigations following Brno.

Spent all week in discussion with my 'team' to try and pin point the cause of my nausea and vomiting despite the re-worked nutritional plan.  The good news is that we believe that finally an answer is emerging.  Study of all the race reports in different circumstances and a varitety of outcomes seems to suggest that my problem is DEHYDRATION from using too strong carbohydrate drinks.  Hardly earth shattering but it has been very difficult to pin down without trying different feeding plans in a variety of races.  Watch this space.

22nd March 04: Results Brno 48hr indoor race, Czech Republic

Managed 140.5km in the first 24hrs and then walked 71.32km in the second day.  Ran comfortably and well through 100km in 8:53 having taken the lead after 5hrs.  Was then overwhelmed by nausea and vomiting at about 12hrs and couldn't continue running.  Was forced to rest after which time there was no way i could get the UKA qualifying distance.  During the second day I experimented with a variety of foods and drinks and spoke with 'old hands' about their nutritional plans.

15th March 04:  All systems go for the Czech Republic

This is it now - the chips are down.  I'm off to Brno on Wednesday morning, arriving Thursday afternoon, to try and achieve the 230km/143 mile UK Athletics 24hr qualifying distance for this year's world 24hr Championships.  It is a 48hr race and I will be going all out for the first 24hrs and then enjoy the second half.  It will be my first visit to the Czech Republic and my first indoor race so lots of new experiences for me.  I'm in pretty good shape and feel that only stomach trouble can stop me and this is being controlled by new medication which will hopefully be a success - time will tell.  I'll try and get my results posted here on Saturday if possible.

8th March 04: William praises continued support

Great to be able to report that all sponsors are renewing for this year which is excellent news. For Saucony UK it is there 10th year - amazing!  Local sponsors are renewing for the 4th year so I must be doing something right.  Truthfully I do work hard to keep my sponsors well informed and where possible allow them to feel involved in my sport and achievements.

10th February 04:  UKA Ultra Distance Squad Weekend

Have just returned from the above training weekend at the English Institute of Sport in Loughborough. It was well worth going and I am glad I made the effort.  We had training sessions on the Saturday and Sunday morning including a track session and a long run on the Sunday morning.  The main lecturers were Prof Ron Maughan (physiologist), who spoke on nutrition and hydration, and Lucy Townsend (sports physiotherapist) who lectured on avoiding injury.  Individual 'clinics' with each lecturer were arranged which was an excellent idea which was well received by the runners.

Other issues covered were elections to the Ultra Sub-Committee; review of the last year's championships; look forward to this year's championship events and current selection policy and criteria.

10th January 2004:  Plans for the Year

A number of people are asking what my plans are for 2004?  I am still making plans but here is what I've got so far:

February 7th/8th: UK Athletics Ultra Distance Squad Weekend, Loughborough.

March 19/20/21st:  Brno 48hr Indoor, Czech Republic (trying to achieve the new UK Athletics qualifying standard of 230km in 24hrs).

May 21st/22nd: World/European 24hr Championships, Apeldoorn, Holland.

August 7th: Devil O the Highlands, 43 mile trail race over the second half of the West Higjland Way route.

October 1st/2nd : Spartathlon, Greece.

December 31st/January 1st: Across the Years 24hr, Phoenix, Arizona.

5th: I have been involved in a "vigorous debate" with UK Athletics over the way they have introduced tougher, new selection standards for the Great Britain 24hr men's team.  Standards have been raised to 225km (team) and 230km (individuall) as a result of the high standard of last October's Worlds Championships in Uden.

Runners have only until March 20th to achieve these new standards allowing runners the chance to achieve the new standards in the Brno 48hr indoor race on March 19th.   This was the only concession I was able to win as the previous selection date, proposed by UKA, was March 10th.  This would have effectively precluded any man from representing GB in May's World Championships in Apeldoorn.

As things stand, this effectivly wipes out the current UK mens team at a stroke. 

I intend to travel to the Czech Republic on March 19th to try and achieve the new selection criteria.

December 2003

24th: The review of 2003 has been continuing with every training session having been examined and improvements made with content and nutritional support before, during and after the training session.

November 2003

24th: I have had a busy few weeks since the World Championships in October.  First I had a 3 week 'end of season break' which means no running for 3 weeks just light aerobic work such as cycling and race walking and gentle stretching work.  during this time it is useful to assess the past season, make plans for the next one and generally break all the usual routines and have a complete change of routine for a few weeks.  Old injuries can be treated properly as well.  I travelled to Glasgow, courtesy of Loganair, and spent some time at Paisley University. 

First I had some assesment and treatment with Colin Brow the Sports Physio, then my coach David Murrie and I went over to Jordanhill College to meet my new Accredited Sports Dietitian Marianne Hayward.  We pored over all my race reports from the past few years and had a brain-storming session to try and crack my feeding problems within my 24hr races.  We came up with a list of improvements that can be made and which will hopefully help me to realise my full potential at the 24hr event.  These include better anti-sickness medication before and during the race, better and more controlled energy intake during the race.  Better practise methods in weekly long run etc etc. I am now back into regular training and have just completed a 7 day food diary for Marianne as background information.

October 2003

14th: I finished in 45th position, 2nd Brit (37th in the European Championships) from 205 starters, recording a distance of 204.804kms/126.27 miles.  The British team finished 13th from 22 teams.

My performance was ruined by persistent vomiting attacks which started after 10 and a half hours and finished after 18 hours.  Up to the first vomit everything was going perfectly as I passed 100km in just over 9hrs and I felt I had finally cracked the stomach problems - but I haven't - yet.

5th: Following the announcement of the GB team for the World/European 24hr Championships in Uden, Holland, the Daily Record (Scottish paper) ran an almost full page feature on me with a massive photo on Friday 26th September. It read very positvely both for myself and the sport of ultra running. You can read it here

September 2003

24th: I am delighted to say that I now have an Accredited Sports Dietitian in my 'team' of advisers, Marianne Hayward from the Scottish Institute of Sport. She will be an invaluable asset in my plans to improve my 24hr performances.

8th: Delighted to aanounce that I have been selected for the Great Britain team for the first World/European 24hr Championships to be held in Holland on October 11th and 12th. This will be my 11th GB appearance, the 4th as a 24hr runner.

2nd: Last Sunday I co-presented a lecture called "Why do they do it" at the Orkney International Science Festival in Kirkwall. Elizabeth Woodcock, a Big Brother survivor from 2001, was my co-host. The presentation covered investigations into the motives of travel writers, wing walkers, extreme ironing, exploration and concluded with an in-depth discussion with me about ultra running.

August 2003

23rd: Sanday runner William Sichel, running in his shortest race for nearly 4 years, came 9th overall, second Scot, in the 35 mile Two Bridges road race on Saturday 23rd August.

William recorded a time of 4hrs 7 mins 30secs on the tough course which starts in Dumferline, crosses the Kincardine and Forth bridges to finish in Rosyth.

William was very pleased with his performance finishing quicker and higher placed than he had expected and less than 2 minutes away from being the first Scottish runner home.

15th: I will be running in the Two Bridges 35 mile road race on August 23rd. The race has been going since 1968 and crosses both the Kincardine and Forth road bridges. I am doing the race as part of my preparations for the World 24hr Championships in October.

8th: Delighted to welcome Loganair - Scotland's Airline as new Associate Sponsors of my running activities. Loganair operate the British Airways routes in Scotland on a franchise basis. They will be helping me with some of my flights from Orkney to the central belt. Excellent to have such a prestigious company on-board

July 2003

Sanday runner William Sichel finished in 11th place overall from 48 starters, in the Cologne International 48hr Road Race which finished at mid day today. William recorded 158.3 miles, in this his debut at the 48hr event, well short of the targeted 194 miles British record.

William had too many stomach problems to cope with during the first 24hrs which left him too much distance to make up in the second 24hr period. William was pleased to have kept going the whole 48hrs (except for a few sleep breaks) although he did have to walk for the last 6hrs of the event due to sore legs.

The winner Marek Gulbiertz from Poland recorded 226.10 miles.

Runners faced very high temperatures and stifling humidity during the first day but more moderate mid 20's for the second day.

June 2003

27th: I have decided to go for my first British Road Record in Cologne on July 11th/12th/13th. I will attempt to break the 14 year old British 48hr road record of 312.212km/194.00 miles.

20th: Turned down an invitation to appear on Channel 4's "Richard & Judy Show". They wanted to fly me down to challenge someone who claims to have 'run around the world'. Many people suspect that he hasn't!

15th: I have been contacted by the organisers of last month's Basel 24hr race to tell me that my official distance has been increased to 218.75kms/135.9 miles due to a lap counting error.

May 2003

19th: Major break through in my analysis of nutritional problems in 24hr races.  I have had nutritional problems in every race longer than 100km, except for the Sheffield 12hr in August 2001!  Obviously this has had serious implications on my performances, preventing me from realising my full potential at the 24hr event.  After much analysis and detective work I have discovered that all my problems have come from taking more than 40g per hour of glucose polymer.  This has caused stitch, bloating and stomach cramping within 6 - 12hrs.  This has resulted in slowing down prematurely, takes hours to clear and is then followed by a regaining of pace and a strong finish.  In future additional energy needs to come from non-polymer sources such as sucrose, di-saccharides and solid food.

4th: William finished in 4th position overall from a starting field of 70 runners. William covered 135.20 miles in the 24hrs, his third best ever performance. The race was won by the World No1 Valmir Nunez of Brazil with 150.70 miles.  The runners faced a temperature range of 3deg at night and 25 deg during the day.

William's distance was a tantalising 1.5miles short of the UK Athletic's qualifying mark for Octobers combined World & European 24hr Championships in Holland. He will have to wait and see if he will be selected.

April 2003

7th: Have been laid low by a very nasty sinus infection since the end of March. This wiped out my last phase of warm weather training in Majorca. I was healthy enough to resume training yesterday and hopefully I can now make a full recovery in time for my big effort in Basel on May 3rd/4th.

March 2003

13th: Excellent recovery from the 40 mile race. I now head off to northern Majorca for two weeks warm weather training (March 17th - April 2nd). Over the past 6 years this has proved to be an ideal training base with good early season weather.

March 3rd: Ran a new track 40 mile PB in yesterday's Barry 40 mile race. Finished 4th overall (1st in the M45 category) in 4hrs 41mins 40secs. Sets me up well for the Basel 24hr in two months time.

February 2003

27th: Delighted to report that all my sponsors have renewed their support for 2003. Excellent news.

January 2003

27th
Its Official! My treadmill records at 24hrs and 100 miles have been accepted by Guinness World Records. I received this from them: "Record Accepted. Congratulations - your record has been approved as an official Guinness World Record. You will receive your complimentary Guinness World Records certificate shortly."

19th: Current race plans for 2003 are:
March 2nd: Barry (South Wales) 40 mile track race.
May 3/4th: Basel 24hr (achieve UKA 24hr qualifying distance plus).
July 10/11/12th: Cologne 48hr (break British 48hr road record and experience 'over distance' racing - hoping this will boost improvement at the 24hr).
October 11/12th: World/European 24hr Championships, Uden, Holland.

15th: Newly designed web site launched. I am hoping to develop the 'Ultra Resources' sections to be an in depth resource point for UK ultra distance running. Any suggestions for this area of the site will be considered

December 2002:

2nd: New World Record for distance run in 24hrs on a treadmill, 182.08km/112.46 miles. Set at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland.

November:

22nd:  At last now fully fit following a prolonged recovery from an ankle/achilles injury sustained during/after the 100 mile race at Crystal Palace.  All systems go for my attempt on the Guinness World Record for the greatest distance run, on a treadmill, in 24hrs which takes place at the Pickaquoy Leisure Centre on Sat/Sun 30th November/1st December starting at 1030 a.m.

October:

21st: RRC 100 Mile track race. Finished in an excellent 3rd place (first Brit and first Vet) with a new track 100 mile PB of 15:17:47.  The winning Russian set a new World Record. 
4th: Saucony UK renew their sponsorship for 2003 - their 9th year of sponsoring me!  
1st: Invited to run in the Road Runners Club Anniversary 100 mile track race at Crystal Palace, London on October 20th. This one-off race commemorates the 25th anniversary of Don Ritchie's World Record for 100 mile on the track.

September:

15th: Very surprised and pleased to run 7:51:11 in the European 100km Championships in Holland.  Finished in 35th place (5th in age group M45).  Ran very steadily and finished strongly.  Great confidence booster and proves that I am well on my way back to full fitness. Next race will hopefully be the Road Runners Club's 100 mile track race at the Crystal Palace on October 20th.

July:

22nd: Decided that the European 24hr is too soon for me (even as an individual entry). Will now re-plan my season.  Probably will run the European 100km in Holland (Sept 14th) as part of my build up to a big performance in an October 24hr - hopefully Tooting on October 12/13th.
13/14th: Cologne 24hr - 5th overall (3rd under 50) with 188.294/117M. I'm back in ultra running! Finished the race injury free.  Led the race for almost 10 hours but had two problem patches which cost me a bigger distance and the win. Missed the European 24hr qualifying distance but can celebrate that I'm now injury free after almost a year.

June:

9th: passed a 'fitness test' or two hours running with no problems afterwards. Entered the Cologne International 24hr race in Germany on July 13/14th.  Will try and achieve the UKA qualifying distance (for the IAU European 24hr Champs) of at least 220km.  Time is short but the spirit is willing.

May:

18th: Had local cortisone injection in the "feb 17th injury"
15th: Soreness came back again!
7th: Began running again.

April:

16th: Have suffered from a number of recurrences of my shin inflammation.  I am now under the guidance of Sharon Gayter (Sports Massage Therapist) in Guisborough.  I am taking 3 weeks with no leg work at all (just upper body conditioning only).  On every second day I am undergoing intense sessions of deep massage on my tibialis anterior muscle - performed by myself.

March:

12th - 27th Overseas training in Majorca (5th visit).

February:

24th:  Will delay any decisions re National 100km or Speyside Way 50k until very late.  Injection was a success but another area of inflammation has emerged slightly higher up!  Only seems to be a problem on long road runs otherwise it is not troubling me.
6th: Had cortisone injection into a troublesome area of my anterior shin (peri-tendon).  Hope it will help clear my chronic shin problem.

January:

20th: Attended Ultra Distance Squad Weekend in London.  Successful outcome with a new Ultra Distance Sub Committee formed within UK Athletics.

11th: World Rankings for the 12hr event put me at No9 - my first Top Ten World Ranking in any ultra event.

December 2001:

27th: Decided to withdraw from Taiwan 24hr.  I'm not completely happy with the shin and fear any more flare ups could scupper a big performance in Taiwan.  Also the expense of getting there can't be considered lightly.

14th: Invited to UK Athletics' Ultra Distance Squad weekend at St Mary's College, Teddington on January 19th/20th 2002.

November 2001:

23rd: Runner-up in the Sports Awards  for Orkney's Sportsman of the Year.

16th: Minor surgery on underside of big toe in order to try and remove a painful splinter.

Invited back to Taiwan (March 2nd/3rd) for the first Asian 24hr Championships. Will do this instead of the Phoenix event.

15th: One of 3 nominations for Orkney's 'Sportsman of the Year'.

2nd: Lottery funding renewed in full.

October 2001: 

Developed a new, aggressive injury rehabilitation strategy which has proved highly successful. Click here to see it Injury Rehab

SAUCONY UK renew my sponsorship for the year 2002 - the 8th successive year.

Mid August-Late October 2001: 

Enforced injury break with on/off training.  A too hasty return to hard training following my 12hr PB in Sheffield caused the problem. Diagnosis - inflammation of the tibialis anterior tendon/muscle boundary on right shin with some probable periostitis as well.  'Minor injury' but I couldn't finally get rid of it. Decided to take my usual 'end of season' 3 week break from running (just cross training) to try and finally get rid ot it.  Got stuck in a stop-start recovery process.

May/June 2001:

Visited my sports psychologist, Dr Nils Vikander, in Levanger, Norway for a week of brain storming and 'getting to know each other'.

May 2001:

GB selection for the IAU European 24Hr Road Running Championships in Apeldoorn, Holland confirmed.

March 2001:

Warm Weather Training: 8th -23rd March, Port Pollensa, Northern Majorca.  Fourth visit to this successful training base.

January 2001:

Took delivery of a decent treadmill.   This should revolutionise my training, especially in the winter.
Lottery Funding renewed for this year.   All four local sponsors have also renewed their support for 2001.

November 2000:

Started being advised by the vastly experienced Swedish Sports Psychologist Dr Nils Vikander (has coached at Olympic level in winter sports). 

I was nominated as Orkney's first "Sportsman of the Year" at a gala dinner/dance at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall.

August 2000:

GB selection for the IAU European 24Hr Road Running Championships in Holland confirmed.

Warm Weather Training: 9th -25th March, Port Pollensa, Northern Majorca.  Third visit to this successful training base.