For last weekend’s Nautica Malibu Triathlon, there was one
participant who competed about 240 miles above the rest of the
racers, inside the International Space Station. Although she
wasn’t technically in the race, by finishing the full length,
astronaut Sunita Williams become the first space triathlete.
While astronauts do need to keep physically fit through exercise
while in space, taking on something like a triathlon isn’t
exactly common behavior for most crew members. But Williams, who
previously ran the Boston Marathon at the Station back in 2007,
was already an “avid athlete” and was able to set up an
equivalent course inside the ISS in order to run this race. A
stationary bike and treadmill can seemingly replicate the
cycling and running portions of the race for her (well, except
for needing to be strapped down with bungees to run), but
because of the lack of large bodies of water inside the ISS, the
swimming portion was a bit different. Williams used a strength-
training machine, called an Advanced Res