London: British astronaut Tim Peake has completed the London Marathon — from 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth. Peake ran the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) race harnessed to a treadmill aboard the International Space Station, with a simulation of the route through London’s streets playing on an iPad.
He finished in 3 hours and 35 minutes. Guinness World Records said that’s a record for the fastest marathon in orbit.
Peake is the second person to complete a marathon in space, after US astronaut Sunita Williams ran the Boston Marathon on the ISS in 2007 in a time of 4 hours, 23 minutes and 10 seconds.
“We can confirm that astronaut Tim Peake has achieved a brand new Guinness World Records title for the fastest marathon in orbit," it said in a statement.
Peake, who is four months into a six-month stay aboard the space station, also sent competitors a good luck video message before Sunday’s race.
The 44-year-old astronaut was one of more than 39,000 people running the marathon — the rest at ground level.
Meanwhile, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge retained the men's title of the London Marathon with a second fastest time in the event so far. The 31-year-old Kipchoge, the men's 5000 metre gold medallist at the Athens Olympics, clocked 2:03:04, seven seconds outside the world record of 2:02:57 set by his compatriot Dennis Kimetto in Berlin in 2014.
The women's title was also won by Kenya. Jemima Sumgong overcame a fall with six kilometres to go near a water station, winning in 2:22:58.
