Nearly 200 Expected to Race the International Space Station on Foot, Bicycle at NASA’s Marshall Center Sept. 24; Media Invited

Media are invited to the fifth annual Racin’ the Station duathlon Sept. 24 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Around 200 athletes will try to finish a specially designed course in the same amount of time that it takes the International Space Station, traveling at 17,000 mph, to complete one circuit around Earth — a little over 90 minutes.

The timed course for adults begins at 8:30 a.m. CDT with a 3.14 km run, followed by a 23 km bicycle ride, and finishes with another 3.14 km run, with the start and finish line at Marshall’s Wellness Center Building 4315. Race organizers arranged the distance to coincide with the number pi or ?, approximately equal to 3.14. The race is officially over when the last person crosses the finish line and is followed by lunch and an awards ceremony at 11 a.m.

Racers will pass many Army and Marshall facilities, including the Payload Operations Integration Center, the command post of space station science. At race headquarters in Marshall’s Activity Building 4316, they will have the opportunity to learn about NASA programs, including the International Space Station, the Space Launch System, Mighty Eagle, the United Launch Alliance Atlas IV and Delta V rockets and U.S. Army exhibits of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The event is organized by the Team Rocket Triathlon Club in Huntsville and by the Marshall Association, a professional employee service organization at Marshall whose members include civil service employees, retirees and contractors. Proceeds from the registration fee for the event go to the Marshall Association scholarship fund.

For details on the race, including course maps and distances, visit the Racin’ the Station Duathlon websites:
http://www.imathlete.com/events/RacintheStation
or
http://teamrockettri.org/racin-the-station-duathlon/

News media interested in attending should contact Janet Anderson in Marshall’s Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 by 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. Media should arrive at the Gate 9 Visitor Center parking lot by 8 a.m. Sept. 24. The Visitor Center is closed during weekends, so please follow the escort through Gate 9. Be prepared to show driver’s license, car tag receipt and insurance.