Ochoa returned to the ISS in 2002.
The Soyuz can reach the ISS in four hours, about the time it takes to drive from Lancaster to Luton.
Nasa's Sunita Williams previously ran the Boston Marathon on the ISS in 2007.
Japan has similar ambitions, and launched its first unmanned spacecraft to the ISS in September.
He will be joining the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2015.
His full title is Commander Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space, in 2001, and to command the International Space Station (ISS), in 2013.
Rookie Rubins's participation in the mission generated particular excitement after Nasa announced plans for the career scientist to sequence DNA aboard the ISS in a world first.
Speaking from the ISS in January, he said he was looking forward to private time with his family, fresh air and the feeling of rain on his face.
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft will carry Scott Kelly of Nasa and Michael Komienko, from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, to the ISS in March.
This mission carried 2 tonnes of supplies to the ISS in preparation for the arrival of the first crew.
The ISS crew will fly out to the ISS in the Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
