Mars 5K Event

 A "5K" event is shorthand for an event where you walk, run, or roll five kilometers. Five kilometers is the same as 3.1 miles. So, its pretty far.

On Earth, I have jogged in 5K events several times. Most of them have a small fee to enter, and the fees benefit some kind of charity organization, so participants are also helping others. Everybody wins!

So, when Coach Griffin organized a 5k run last month in Jezero Crater, I thought I would try it. The entry fee was one hour of tutoring for the new kids. Everyone who finished was promised an official medallion. Hey, I can't turn down some cool swag.

Even though I would be wearing a heavy spacesuit, the lower gravity on Mars makes the suit much lighter.

Plus, on Mars, we sort of "lope" when we're outside. Walking on Mars feels strange, but bouncing or loping is really fun. We float a good distance on each stride.

I finished the event, and my official time was about 25 minutes.  It was pretty good, but lots of runners finished ahead of me.  Still, I got a fancy medallion to hang on my wall back at Hab 5!

If you have designed a Mars medal or patch, send me a picture at

RamoneRocketeer -at- gmail -dot- com