Astronaut Tim Peake to run London Marathon from space

British astronaut Tim Peake will be taking part in the London marathon while harnessed to a running machine 400 kilometres above earth on the International Space Station.

“As soon as I got assigned to my mission to the International Space Station, I thought wouldn’t it be great to run,” said Peake, a former helicopter pilot who will be running for the Prince’s Trust charity. “The London Marathon is a worldwide event. Let’s take it out of this world,” the 44-year-old said.

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“Major Tim” – his actual rank – is only the second Briton in space after Helen Sharman in 1991. Regular physical exercise is essential in space to fight the effects of a microgravity on muscles.

Peake said he would run on April 24 – the day of the marathon. The London Marathon sees around 37,000 participants. Thanks to a screen with a virtual reality avatar placed in front of him, he will feel like he is there.

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“I’ll be running it with the iPad and watching myself running through the streets of London whilst orbiting the Earth at 400 kilometres (250 miles) above the surface and going 27,000 kilometres per hour,” Peake was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Prince’s Trust. He said the trickiest aspect would be the harness.

“In microgravity, I would float if I didn’t strap myself down to the treadmill so I have to wear a harness system that’s a bit similar to a rucksack. It has a waistbelt and shoulder straps,” he said.

Peake ran the London marathon in 1999 in 3:18:50. This time around, he recognizes he will not be setting “any personal bests” but is still planning to complete it in 3:30 or four hours.

Watch Peake’s pre-race interview below courtesy of NASA:

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Dec. 4, 2015 and updated.