But, when Tim Peake had possibly the biggest excuse anyone could have for abstaining, he still proved he was up for the challenge.
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British astronaut Tim Peake ran the London Marathon on a treadmill aboard the International Space Station.
The women’s title was taken by fellow Kenyan Jemima Sumgong, who finished in two hours, 22 minutes and 58 seconds despite earlier hitting her head in a heavy fall.
Running in space is pretty common – astronauts have to exercise a lot to keep up bone density and muscle mass in zero gravity – but Peake is only the second astronaut to run a marathon in space.
“His latest achievement is surely his greatest – running the fastest marathon in space, on the only day-off from his gruelling schedule, is a fantastic accomplishment”.
Prior to Sunday’s run, Peake told reporters that he did not expect to beat his best time on the Earth because of the treadmill’s harness, which “gets very uncomfortable” after about 40 minutes of wear. Lack of gravity de-conditions the body in many ways.
Williams ran the race in just under four and a half hours, making Peake the fastest marathon finisher in space, according to Guinness World Records. Your muscles are in a completely relaxed state when you get off the harness system. “I do think we recover faster up here from any kind of aches or pains”, said Peake.
York dad Nick Bernard completed the marathon in four hours, 19 minutes – exactly a quarter of a century after he last took part as a 19-year-old and managed it in four hours.
When it comes to females running the marathon in orbit, the record is held by Sunita Williams.
Peake recalled how inspiring the crowd was at the 1999 London Marathon, where he also participated. Peake is the second astronaut to run a marathon from the International Space Station.
The astronaut, who is on a six-month stint on the ISS, was also the official starter of the marathon and he sent the runners a good luck video message from the station in the 10-second countdown to the race that ended with “I hope to see you all at the finish line”.
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The victor of the men’s race was Eliud Kipchoge, a Kenyan long-distance runner; he also set the record for that course to 2:03:04.
