GOMU 6 Day World Championship: Day 4

William covered 79.042km in the fourth 24 hours, taking his total to 333.232km at the 96-hour mark. He went through 300km at around 1.00am UK time.

M70 leading positions at 96 hours

1. Jean Louis Vidal (FRA) 421.255km
2. Peter Brenner (SUI) 420.357km
3. Andrzej Blaszkiewicz (POL) 388.920km
4. William Sichel (GBR) 333.232km

Pain, and dealing with it

Another question from a supporter: does William get pain or sore areas, and how does he manage them? His answer, recorded on Monday morning. The lady he mentions is Kati Kiss, who looks after the runners’ feet.

"Yes, you get quite a lot of pain and sore areas. In this race I had to get attention for one of my little toes. I’ve got wedge-shaped little toes, and I’d forgotten how you can get a nasty blister on that ridge. I went to the lady who does that and she did the necessary and wrapped it, and the joining toe as well. But that created pressure in my shoes, because the feet were slightly more splayed, so I’ve changed to a different pair to accommodate it.

Sore areas, yes. You can get chafing, so I always carry nappy rash cream, or you can use Vaseline. And I have a shower at least once a day, usually before a relatively long sleep.

The main thing is to raise your level of self-awareness, identify anything that’s happening as soon as you possibly can, and deal with it. There’s no point leaving it, because in a multiday race it can become race-ending. If I hadn’t got the toe seen to, I would hardly have been able to walk. You can take paracetamol, but there’s a limit, and you don’t want to be needing it all the time.

One thing I do recommend is to pack sports tape, the stretchy kind, an inch or two wide. For anything at the front of the lower leg, you put it on the top of the foot and up the leg, and it takes the strain off the tendons and the shin. You can wrap it round a sore muscle. It’s very versatile, and you can do it yourself.”

From William: the fourth 24 hours

William’s own summary of the day, from two voice messages on Monday lunchtime:

"Hot was a good summary. Seriously hot during the day. Having said that, I had a purple patch between one and three in the morning, which was beautifully cool and quiet, and I really got some miles in.

Kati Kiss, the physio, said I should be having regular podiatry check-ups for these wedge-shaped little toes, and certainly have them checked at least two weeks before a race. So I’ll take action on that. Once the toes are wrapped they’re too big for the normal shoes, so I’ve had to change into a different pair.

I’ve had a good routine: a 45-minute session, then a ten-minute lie down, especially when it’s hot, and then back out again. Just trying to spread yourself out, even out the work.

Apart from that it was quite a good day. Reasonable distance, nothing bad, nothing fantastic, but solid. Just gradually clocking up the miles, getting back into multidays again with all that entails. It’s been nearly seven years since I’ve done one, so it’s a learning experience. All good, really.”

Day 5 report tomorrow afternoon.

Read the rest of the week on the race page.