A Long Distance; Astronaut runs marathon in space

(Hennessy, Gail). “A Long Distance; Astronaut runs marathon in space.” Scholastic News for Kids.http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/news/index.asp (April 16th, 2007) http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=12003

What is the issue?

The issue is that astronaut in space, Sunita Williams, will be running in the 111th Boston Marathon on Monday 16th, April and she is going to run in space. Although many times people not in the actual venue of the race take part from somewhere else, this is going to be the first time anybody is going to run from space. There are going to be many difficulties as she runs because she will be tied to a harness and the race in space may not be the same time as Earth’s. The harness is also going to make it difficult and uncomfortable to run. The main reason she is running is because she wants to create awareness to young adults and children that exercising and being fit is essential for us.

Who is involved?

I think that not just Sunita Williams, but the whole world is involved and this is going to be a revolutionary step in the history of mankind.
The astronauts are involved because they are the ones that are going to be troubled while Sunita Williams runs her marathon.
The organizers on earth are involved because they will have to measure she ran in space compared to earth.

Who is affected and how?

The whole world is affected but mostly youngsters because the reason that Sunita Williams is participating is to educate children about being fit by walking and how. The astronauts are also affected because in space as you do not use your muscles they tend to stop functioning properly. If all the astronauts ran in marathons, then they will be less likely to have their muscles malfunction.

What would you do if you were directly involved?

This idea is going to impact the future and peoples thinking because it is going to motivate them to exercise and get fit through doing lots of jogging and running. If I were to follow her request, I would take part in marathons and running competitions and do many different forms of exercises. I would also organize many sports and physical events that promote good health and wellness.

Some photos:

http://content.scholastic.com/content/images/articles/s/sn_ts041307a.jpg

http://content.scholastic.com/content/images/articles/s/sn_ts041307b.jpg

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