Space marathon
Monday, April 2nd, 2007
This is the coolest thing I’ve heard in a while: an American astronaut is going to run the Boston marathon from outer space! To be more specific, she’ll be running 26.2 miles on a treadmill in space–but her spacecraft will circle the earth twice during the marathon, meaning she’ll travel a greater distance than any other Boston runner!
Sunita Williams, the marathoner astronaut, runs four times a week in space and qualified for the Boston by running the Houston marathon last year (on land, of course!). She needs to be tied down by bungee cords to run on the treadmill due to the low gravity in space. I hate running on treadmills in general–I can’t imagine doing 26.2 miles while bungeed to the treadmill!
I’d never thought too much about exercising in space (why would you need to exercise, anyway? you’re weightless! ), but it sounds like the astronauts stay active up there. Apparently low gravity reduces muscle mass and bone density (since you’re not actually using muscles and bones for weight-bearing work), so the astronauts have various options for exercising to maintain their physiques. I’m even more impressed by astronauts now–and especially by Williams! I wish her luck in this endeavor and am excited to see how it goes! If she can do it in space, I can do it on land–right?
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