Imagine temperatures almost twice as hot as the hottest day in Scotland last week. Now think of long-distance running in such conditions — five marathons back to back would be close.

That’s the enormity of the challenge facing the Orkney athlete William Sichel tomorrow in the Badwater Ultramarathon, billed as the world’s hottest endurance race.

Sichel, the only Scottish competitor, will race against 80 others from 14 nations on a 135-mile course through the inhospitable Death Valley in California, ascending 13,000ft in temperatures as high as 55C.

“I’ve never experienced such extreme heat,” says 52-year-old Sichel, from his home on the isle of Sanday. “I am a very experienced ultra-distance runner though so I know it will be tough — but just how tough in such a very hostile heat is difficult to imagine.”

Sichel, who took up ultramarathons — races longer than the standard 26.2miles — 12 years ago, has been preparing for the endurance event for two months by focusing on heat training as well as running. “Because I enter a lot of ultra-distance races my running schedule stays mostly the same,” says Sichel, who owns Angora Craft, a crafts and woollen wear business, with his wife Elizabeth. He runs three times a week wearing weights. On other days he cycles, aqua jogs, and race walks.

Sichel began his heat training by running on a treadmill under 500W heat lamps, gradually increasing the number of layers he wore and the heat until he was pounding along in a sweltering 30C.

Next came the sauna cubicle, a silver contraption in which Sichel sat as his body adjusted to the extreme heat. “It’s like a bag with heat pads inside that you zip up around yourself,” he explains. “I’ve gradually increased the time I spend in it until I was sitting for an hour three times a week in 50C.

“It’s horribly hot and sweaty and I’ve had to drink up to a litre and a half of water each session but I think this is the best way for someone from Scotland to acclimatise for the Death Valley race.”

Sichel was in his late twenties when he first decided to train for a marathon as a respite from work. Previously a table tennis player, after reaching international standard as a teenager, he had not taken part in sport for a decade.

“After just a few months of training I ran my debut marathon in Birmingham in two hours 43 minutes,” he says.

Bitten by the bug, Sichel entered more marathons and continued to improve his times, achieving his best of two hours 38 minutes in the London event in 1995. Some years later, following a suggestion from a shop manager, he decided to give ultra marathons a go. “I entered my first 100km (62 miles) — the Scottish 100km Road Running Championships — in 1994 and won it.”

Sichel has represented Great Britain 11 times since 1996 in the 100km team. He has clocked a personal best of seven hours seven minutes for a 100km event.

Among many other accolades, he became British 100km champion in 1999; achieved the highest ever finishing position in the open World 100km Road Running Championships; and last year, became the first Scot to complete the world’s longest point-to-point — Greece’s 153-mile Spartathlon.

The Death Valley run, however, will push Sichel harder than ever.

While nobody has yet died competing, the race, in its 29th year, is one of the most gruelling long-distance events in the world. Starting from the lowest point in America, 282ft below sea level, at Badwater, contestants must endure 40 miles of relatively flat running in scorching heat before completing another 95 miles that includes two ascents of 5,000ft mountains plus a final climb to the 8,360ft finish line at Mount Whitney.

“My plan is to have as much ice and cold water available as possible,” he says. “My crew will dowse me with cold water every mile or so and they will have at least two chests full of ice.

“I will also need to drink a lot of water and I plan to eat a small amount on the hour. My secret weapon is liquid food. I will also alternate water and water mixed with rehydration salts; cramps can be a major problem in hot races.”

Other hazards include hot, sticky road surfaces and melting shoe soles. “I would like to finish in under 35 hours,” says Sichel, “but that depends on how many rests I need. If I overheat I’ll need to rest and cool down.”

Sichel agrees most people think he is “completely nuts”.

“In the end, though, I think my body is just very well suited to ultra-distance running,” he says. “I am confident my preparation for Death Valley will pay off.”

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