While most settled for watching Dick Clark and waiting for the ball to drop, a Scotsman named William Sichel was taking the ultra-marathon scene by storm. He ran in the new year by winning one of the toughest races on earth, the Across the Years 72-hour event held in Phoenix.
For three days he ran, sleeping little and logging more miles than most Americans would in a year, and more than most well trained marathoners would in a month. During the 72-hour event he saw temperatures ranging from near freezing at night to over 100 degrees during the day. All told he ran 269.36 miles through the Arizona desert. He ran almost continually and finished 34 miles more than the second finisher.
Hard to imagine beating someone by more than a full marathon distance.
Although tis sort of event might be enough any mortal, for him it is a warmup. He will follow-up with a 6-day race aiming to cover 567 miles during the Athens International Ultra Marathon Festival starting on 3 April. The 55 year-old runner will be running on an outdoor cinder circuit used during the 2004 Olympic Games.
With all that pounding, he’ll need more than a soft track and a truck load of Gu. We wish him luck!
Dr. Christopher Segler is Marathon Runner, Ironman, as well as an award-winning podiatrist, and sports medicine foot surgeon practicing at the Doc On The Run: San Francisco Podiatry Sports Medicine House Calls. For more information about heel pain, bunions, ingrown toenails and ankle pain, and other common causes of foot pain, you can order a FREE copy of his book, My Fit Feet, by visiting http://www.MyRunningDoc.com or http://www.AnkleCenter.com.
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