Latest from Tim (via Shelley)

Tim tells us that “William is relaxed and eating small meals.”

I’m not surprised to hear this as we have done a great deal of work on William’s in-race nutrition but is always good to hear that the food and drink side of things is going well as it can often be a major headache during ultra-races – all ultra-runners face a knife-edge between consuming too little and too much while running a race. Too much and a person is likely to be throwing up at the side of the track, too little and they can’t keep their speed and/or endurance.

Tim adds – “It’s quite breezy today which is helping reduce overheating. ”

This is also good news, as while William enjoys warmer races, and he did some specific heat-training prior to the 1000 mile race (there is quite a difference in temperature between Greece and Orkney…), there is always such a thing as too hot.

Higher temperatures can effect a runner in many ways; apart from potentially adding to the general fatigue of running, high temperatures require a greater fluid intake (which means more drinks to pick up from the crew and then to try to swallow while running), possibly more toilet stops (and every minute away from the track is time/distance lost during the race) and/or more perspiration. Sweating more isn’t just  matter of making the tent a bit smelly during a rest break, it causes electrolyte loss which needs to be replaced in the fluids that William will be drinking, and in addition it can quickly soak clothing, socks and even shoes – so this can mean many miles and hours of running while pretty much dripping wet – William won’t be wasting time by changing clothes more often than strictly necessary. In fact, in multi-day ultra-distance races William usually avoids stops for luxuries like showers as they take time away from the race. So spare a thought for Alan who is sharing a tent with him (I must remember to suggest packing a clothes peg as part of the crew’s race equipment).

Tim ends with the good news that “William reached 300 km  / 186.41miles in 49 hours 4 minutes”. This is perhaps just a little below his ideal pre-race target, but pretty much according to plan.

More news as we get it,

Shaun

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