Williams (41 years of age), also a U.S. Navy commander, will be running the simulated 26.2-mile course at the same time as her sister Dina Pandya and thousands of other runners on April 16, 2007. While in orbit above the Earth, at approximately at altitude of 210 miles, she will be running at a speed of about eight miles per hour as the space station flies a bit faster—five miles per second on its journey around the Earth.

NASA confirms that she will make at least two orbits around the Earth during the Boston Marathon. Like the other participants, Williams has been training almost every day for the event. While on the space station, she has been using a stationary bicycle and a treadmill for her training.

The Boston Marathon is an annual running event held in the city of Boston, Massachusetts on Patriots’ Day (holiday in Massachusetts and Maine to honor the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord of the American Revolutionary War), which is the third Monday of April. In 2007, this date occurs on April 16th for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon.

The race is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and runners come from around the world to participate in the event. Managed by the Boston Athletic Association since 1897, the run is one of five events within the World Marathon Majors. Because the event is held in April, the runners often have to contend with unpredictable weather. That fact is being dramatically seen in 2007 as a Nor’Eastern will also be in force during the race.

The Nor’Eastern will be hammering the Northeast including the runners at the Boston Marathon with very strong winds, excessive rains, and flooding in many areas. The Boston runners should expect over two inches of rain and winds between 25 to 35 miles per hour and gusts up to 50 miles per hour. Runners are warned to take extra precautions due to wet pavement on the streets and very windy conditions. Hyperthermia (unusually low body temperature) within the runners should also be a big concern.

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