The lonliness of the long distance runner

My cousin is training for the Flora London Marathon at the moment, and is doing spectacularly well - she did a 3 hour, 18 mile run on Sunday. a)I myself probably couldn't even run for 18 metres, b)how she didn't get bored for all that time just running I'll never know. But anyway. The marathon is one of those things that pushes human ability to the max. One should think only of the original marathon runner, Pheidippides, who ran 26 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens with glad tidings, and then dropped dead - it's not a feat to be taken lightly. But for some people, the promise of torn muscles, chafed thighs, jogger's nipple, blisters, kidney problems, heart problems, dead toenails, dehydration, exhaustion and sunburn isn't enough of a challenge, and they have to run a marathon at the arctic. With two false hips, like Warrant Officer Steve Boswell.  Or in space, like NASA astronaut Sunita Williams.

For me, and we've already established that I'm quite lazy, being blasted up into space would be quite a good get-out clause for not having to run the marathon after all. But no. Sunita plans to follow through on the Boston marathon motto - 'It's all about the promises' - and to tether herself to a treadmill in the space shuttle for 3+ hours, and cover the 26 miles anyway, at the same time as her fellow runners in Boston. She'll incidentally have put a girdle round the earth twice in the process, actually travelling just over 50,000 miles before she reaches the metaphorical finishing line. How's that for going the distance?

Via BBC News. And you can see a pic of Sunita on her treadmill there too. PHOTO: PAUL KELEHER

Comments

[sara]

Ok, that just seems a bit over the top. I can almost understand wanting to run a marathon, but to run one in space? Geez!

[kate]

A quick note on the boredom thing -- I ran a marathon in 2003, and never got bored. You'd think just endlessly planting one foot in front of the other would be as diverting as watching paint dry, but the combo of running outdoors (without music -- music is for short runs or the safety of the gym) and what I must assume was a slow-burning distance endorphin buzz made the runs fly by. I loved those long runs.

Kate
(who had a blissfully rewarding 4 months of training and then blew out her knee on mile 14 of the actual marathon and is now guaranteed arthritis in later years... sigh. Not recommending marathoning, just saying I never got bored.)

[Katie]

I suppose you'd always have all the other runners to look at, maybe Lloyd Scott will run it again. He did the run in an atmospheric diving suit a couple of times, and last year took 8 days to 'run' it in a suit of armour, towing an 8ft dragon behind him! Sorry about your knee... I always knew exercise was bad for you. That's why I don't do any (ahem).

[dd]

I'm guessing it will be easier in space