If you have the stamina and the mindset to finish a marathon, then you can; but Tim Peake has other plans in mind as the astronaut finishes a marathon AND even broke the world record time by 18 minutes and 50 seconds while in space.
Tim Peake Sets Out a New World Record for Finishing a Marathon While in Space
Tim Peake is a British astronaut that has just recently completed a marathon in space, but that doesn’t mean that he ran on a path on the surface of the moon. What he did was he strapped himself in with a harness and a bungee system which weighed him down while keeping him strapped into the treadmill. He completed the length of the London marathon in 3 hours, 35 minutes, and 21 seconds. He was aboard the International Space Station while running.
Major Peake said the following pertaining to his achievement on the video: “Weightlessness, I think, is one of the perfect environments, because the moment you stop running, and the moment you get off that bungee system, your muscles are in a completely relaxed state.” The British astronaut is currently (at the time of writing) in his fourth month of his six-month stint in being aboard the international science laboratory as the space station orbits 250-miles above the Earth.
He ran the 26.2-mile route of the London marathon while watching a TV coverage of the race. He also gains assistance with an iPad app called RunSocial, which helped him keep stimulated with the marathon route which ran from Shooters Hill in southeast London all the way to Westminster. When he started, he had a pace of 7.5-miles-per-hour. Once he reach the 20-mile mark for the race, he sped to nearly 9-miles-per-hour, as per a report from The Guardian.
While strapped to the harness, Peake was counteracted with 70-percent of his own bodyweight when standing on Earth’s gravity. This allowed him to stay grounded on the treadmill so that he won’t be floating around due to the weightlessness of space. Even though the system is critical, it is not perfect. The straps are constantly shifting which does cause skin abrasions.
Tim Peake said the following according the BBC News: “One of the biggest challenges is the harness system. Obviously, my body weight has to be firmly attached to the treadmill by this harness, and that can rub on the shoulders and around the waist.”