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| Image above: Astronaut Suni Williams,
KD5PLB, participates in a training session at the Sonny Carter Training
Facility near Johnson Space Center, Houston. Image credit: NASA |
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Ham radio astronaut to run Boston Marathon in space
NASA astronaut and radio ham, Suni Williams, KD5PLB will go faster than
anyone has ever gone in the Boston Marathon.
She will run the famed race in April as an official entrant from 210
miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station. This will be
the first time an astronaut in space will be an official participant in
a marathon.
Williams hopes her unique run will serve as an inspiration.
"I encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their
daily lives," Williams said. "I think a big goal like a marathon
will help get this message out there."
Williams, who is an accomplished marathoner, has served aboard the space
station since December 2006 as a member of the Expedition 14 crew. She
will run the race on a station treadmill, circling Earth at least twice
in the process, running as fast as eight miles per hour but flying more
than five miles each second.
And she will not be alone in her adventure. Her sister Dina Pandya and
a fellow NASA astronaut, Karen Nyberg, will run the race in Boston. Williams
and Nyberg qualified for the Boston race by finishing among the top 100
females in the Houston Marathon in January 2006.
Exercise is essential in NASA's efforts to counteract the effects of
long-duration weightlessness on astronauts' health. For months, Williams
has been training for the marathon while aboard the station. She runs
at least four times a week, two longer runs and two shorter runs. Station
crews are required to exercise on the treadmill, a stationary bike and
a resistive exercise machine to counter loss of
bone density and muscle mass.
"In microgravity, both of these things start to go away because
we don't use our legs to walk around and don't need the bones and muscles
to hold us up under the force of gravity," Williams said.
Williams is a native of Needham, Mass., and graduated from Needham High
School in 1983. Her family resides near Falmouth, Mass.
NASA will have an exhibit in Boston during the marathon. Nyberg and astronaut
Jeff Williams will be available for interviews. Jeff Williams, who is
not related to Suni Williams, completed a six-month stay on the station
in 2006. NASA's exhibit will be at the John Hancock Sports and Fitness
Expo at the Hynes Convention Center April 13-15.
Due to the crew's sleep schedule, WIlliams' run of the marathon on the
station may not coincide exactly with the race on the ground, but mission
control is working to match the events as closely as possible. This year's
marathon is Monday, April 16.
Television and still imagery of Williams' efforts are expected to be
available. Video of her training on the International Space Station will
air on NASA TV's Video File.
For streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about the Boston Marathon, visit: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/
For more about the space station, its missions and crews, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
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