Sichel set to go the distance once again

ORKNEY ENDURANCE RUNNER IN 12-HOUR RACE IN ENGLAND

By FRASER CLYNE

For most people, undertaking a 12-hour track race would be considered an extremely long endurance challenge.

Not so for Orkney ultra-distance runner William Sichel, 57, who, tomorrow is tackling this type of contest at Crawley, Sussex.

It will actually be Sichel’s shortest race for seven years as the Sanday-based runner has been focusing on 24-hour, 48-hour and even six-day races.

Sichel is using the Crawley event as part of the build-up towards his first major challenge of 2011, the Unix six-day road race at Balatonfured, Hungary, from May 4 to 10.

There he will attempt to break the Scottish record of 567 miles set by Edinburgh’s George Noremac in New York in 1882.

That is reckoned to be the oldest surviving record in Scottish athletics history.

Sichel said: “I feel as though I’ve been creeping up on this historic record for the past few years.

“My last proper six-day race was in 2008 when I did 532 miles.

“I need to average almost 95 miles a day for the six days.

“When I did my personal best, I averaged almost 89 miles.

“I just need that bit more to get the record.”

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