Nearly 20 years ago, astronaut Suni Williams ran the Boston Marathon in space. Now that she’s retired from NASA, the Massachusetts native will run it on the ground as an honoree. Williams was announced Thursday as the recipient of the 2026 Patriots’ Award, which honors a patriotic, philanthro pic and inspirational person from New England who encourages sportsmanship and goodwill. An official with the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race, told NBC10 Boston she’s entered to run the marathon as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) Originally from Needham (a suburb of Boston), Williams was one of the American astronauts who spent nine months aboard the International Space Station on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission because of problems with their space probe. After her return last year, Williams hinted to NBC10 Boston she might soon run in the legendary competition. “I know the marathon is coming up in Boston this next month, I wish I could be up there and do it, but I think I might have to wait a year,” she said. “We’ll see. No promises.” She ran the marathon while aboard the space station back in 2007, the first person to complete a 26.2-mile run in space. Her unofficial time was 4 hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds, logging a 6 mph pace for much of the race, though the spacecraft carrying her was going considerably faster: 17,500 mph. Williams made three trips to the space station in her career at NASA. She was also a Navy captain. More Suni Williams news NASA Jan 20 NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who stayed in space for 9 months after spacecraft problem, retires Massachusetts Mar 31, 2025 Astronauts who spent nearly 300 days in space speak publicly ...read more read less