British runners are racing trains

It seems racing other runners isn’t enough of a thrill for this group of British runners. They’ve moved past that to racing trains.

James Heptonstall, Noel Carroll, Rob Bell and Will Serocold took on the Docklands Light Railway in June of this year in a crazy relay challenge in which they attempted to get the same baton off and back on the same train from the Cutty Sark station in Greenwich to the Mudchute station on the Isle of Dogs, despite the formidable barrier of the Thames River in between. The four men had to cover 1,500m, two stations, one underground and a countless number of stairs in less than three minutes to achieve their goal. Missing the train by mere seconds, the men tried again, moving the challenge one station over.

Heptonstall and Carroll first garnered international attention when they raced the London Underground, on foot, and won. The have since also taken on the New York subway, as well as raced the Cambridge and Oxford rowing crews in a foot versus boat challenge. You can check out their antics on their twitter account, @EpicChallenges or on Instagram @racethetube.

These runners are taking the efficiency of the “run commute” to a whole new level, turning it into an obstacle course-esque challenge, with the obstacles being other commuters, streets, cars and buildings.

Any Canadians up for the challenge? We’d love to see a homegrown version of the #RaceTheSubway take place in Toronto.