British astronaut Tim Peake became the first man who completed 26.2 miles in 2016 London Marathon from a treadmill on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Peake is the first British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and the 7th British-born astronaut. He has been in the ISS since December and stationed for a six-month mission. Peake is no stranger to putting in physical effort because he was a former officer in the British Army and current Army Reservist.

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The British ESA astronaut covered the distance in three hours and 35 minutes, which was a world away from the time recorded by the real race winner of Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, whose two hours and three minutes was the second fastest ever recorded.

His time was far slower than the winner because of some factors including the weightless conditions of space. In order to keep him contact with the running belt, he used elastic straps over his shoulders and around his waist in a hi-tech T1 treadmill that operates in microgravity to replicate Earth gravity. To fight boredom, Peake watched the marathon live on BBC and used an app called RunSocial to view London's streets in real-time.

A recorded video message of Peake where he wished the competitors luck was played on big screens before the runners set off in London and the 44-year-old astronaut started his own run on board the ISS.

“It was an incredible experience to take part in such a prestigious event whilst orbiting the planet on the International Space Station and I'm hugely grateful to everyone at the European Space Agency and NASA who made that happen. And last but not least, I was truly proud to be part of Team Astronaut in support of The Prince's Trust and to help raise awareness for the great work that they do,” Peake said in a blog post.

Back in 1999, he ran the marathon (on terra firma) in three hours and 18 minutes, which was not far from his previous record. To avoid any medical or unforeseen health issues that could hinder his ISS mission, space station medical team advised him not to try to beat his previous best.

TagsBritish Astronaut Tim Peake, ISS, London Marathon, Marathon Space Station, Tim Peake