LONDON -- Participating in a marathon on Earth is challenge enough for most people, but British astronaut and all-round overachiever Tim Peake is taking things further by running the more than 26 miles in space.
The Brit, who is headed to the International Space Station on Dec. 15 for a six-month mission, announced Friday that he'll run the London marathon on April 24.
The astronaut, who is hoping to raise awareness for the Prince's Trust, will strap himself into the station's treadmill, running the marathon at the same time as the thousands of London participants.
It's not the first time that he's taken on the challenge -- Peake finished the event in 1999 in a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes. But he'll have more to contend with on his first trip to space.
“I have to wear a harness system that’s a bit similar to a rucksack. It has a waistbelt and shoulder straps. That has to provide quite a bit of downforce to get my body onto the treadmill so after about 40 minutes, that gets very uncomfortable," he said in a press release from the ESA.
"I don’t think I’ll be setting any personal bests."
In 2007, American astronaut Sunita Williams ran the Boston Marathon in just over four hours.