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Watch a guy race a London Underground train and win

Think you could do it?

Photo of Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

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Today in news of impressive yet pointless achievements: A man raced a London Underground train on foot, and won. 

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The challenge was to run from Mansion House to Cannon Street station on the Circle line, a 380-meter dash that he managed in 1 minute, 20 seconds. The race required him to get out of the first station, through a set of turnstiles, run through London streets, and then go back down through another set of turnstiles into the second underground station.

James Hepstonstall, a 30-year-old competitive touch-rugby player, made the journey while wearing a GoPro camera, while a friend stayed onboard the train to document his arrival. 

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You can see the rest of the train passengers applaud when he arrives back in the train at the other end, and rightfully so.

Train running isn’t a new phenomenon, with some cities actually having informal mass transit racing clubs. In Boston, there’s even a 4.1 mile race that follows the entire above-ground section of the Green Line. Still, this is the first time we’ve seen someone use a GoPro to film their achievement, and the result is pretty darn awesome.

Screenshot via YouTube

 
The Daily Dot