I had a chat to Alan earlier today, and (after a couple of hours sleep) I’ve now got just about enough time to type this up before the next expected call.

William is/was due to take a break at 71 hrs,  just before the 3 day mark.

Currently there is a lot of sun on the track and not much shade. Hopefully it won’t get too hot today.

Alan tells me that it is obvious that the two leading German runners Wolfgang Schwerk (in 1st) and Hans Jurgen Schlotter (in 2nd) are carefully watching William in (3rd) and despite currently being in the lead, they don’t like the look of William’s performance at present. William has a habit of  steadily running along and gradualy eroding the lead of seemingly faster runners. It’s still early days but this could easily happen again…

So far William has been sleeping well and always returns to the track looking strong and refreshed and starts running well after a sleep.

The in race food is going well going well. William has currently gone off soup at night but is lapping up (sorry about the pun) hot chocolate and Horlicks, while in the daytime he’s enjoying icecream both for the flavour, energy and as something cool. The heat, while not exactly a “problem” has been hotter than ideal at times. Yesterday’s slightly cooler temperatures worked well for William.

Alan aims to go shopping this afternoon. Look out Athens… But I think he’ll mainly be going to a supermarket for supplies rather than indulging in “retail therapy” to relax.

Food on site is good, but even a favourite food can become unappealing during a race –  it can be difficult finding something that seems palatable. The organisers have been offering plenty of Greek and Mediterranean food, including   spinach and feta filled pastries (a bit like a Greek pasty – I loved these when I was in Greece.. .yum) as well as moussaka, pasta etc. William has been eating “proper food” not just liquid meals etc and Alan says this is a good sign at this stage as William’s appetite seems better than it has been in other races.

Alan tells me that William’s running is  “amazingly well paced” and currently “accurate to the minute”  for target times/distances we set in advance.

Overall Alan tells me William is “looking comfortable” and seems very sure of himself.

More as I get it,

Shaun

Shaun Brassfield-Thorpe – William Sichel’s training advisor – ULTRAfitnessTraining.com