Rocket man: the astronaut who plans to run the marathon in space

Next April, Briton Tim Peake will run the London marathon in space - on the International Space Station - at the same time as the real race on earth. He explains the challenges he faces - and the virtual course he will follow

What happens when you hit the wall in space? This is not a daft question from a
sci-fi novel, but a real possibility that the British astronaut Tim Peake might have to consider. Peake, who is due to blast off for the International Space Station on 15 December, is aiming to become the first man to run a marathon in space. At 10am on 24 April next year, he will line up alongside 37,000 other runners for the start of the most famous marathon in the world: London's. He will just happen to be about 400km above them when he does it.

Peake is no marathon novice - in 1999, back down on earth, he finished the London course in 3h 18min 50sec - and though he is not expecting to beat that time in space, he has been training hard already. "As soon as I got assigned to my mission, I thought: wouldn't it be great to run onboard the ISS," he says. "The London Marathon is a worldwide event. Let's take it out of this world!"