Watch pedestrian race Tube train from Mansion House to Cannon Street - then hop back on to the same train

 
Relief: James Heptonstall after the challenge (Picture: YouTube)
Rachel Blundy25 September 2014

Ever got stuck on the Tube and thought it might have been quicker to walk?

One Londoner has proved that travelling on foot could be the answer to commuter hell.

James Heptonstall filmed his 380m sprint from Mansion House to Cannon Street station while his friend Noel Carroll took the Circle Line Tube for the same journey.

He made it back on to the train with seconds to spare and was applauded by his fellow passengers.

The pair created a video of the stunt, which included climbing 75 steps and passing through two ticket barriers, using GoPro cameras and uploaded it to YouTube last month.

Victorious: James lies on the floor of the Circle Line train after completing the race (Picture: YouTube)

Mr Heptonstall, 30, an environmental consultant who lives in Hampstead, said they had been inspired by similar challenges in other European cities.

He said: "It was just a test project. We had seen some people had done endurance challenges on European transport networks and put them online but we had not seen anything done in London. I usually get the Northern line to work in the morning - it is not an enjoyable experience so I sometimes run or cycle if I can."

Describing the stunt, which he completed in just 80 seconds, he said: "I got some quite strange looks from people in the carriage because I was in my sportswear and a camera attached to my head.

"While I was running someone asked Noel what I was doing - they said they did not think I would make it. [The other passengers] were all waiting on tenterhooks. But then I dived on the Tube and they were applauding."

Both men are trained athletes - Mr Heptonstall is an open touch rugby player for England and Mr Carroll is a coach at the Arsenal FC academy.

They chose a section of the Tube network which had a limited number of steps and a short distance between the stations to make the challenge achievable.

Mr Heptonstall said: "If [the video] goes viral then we might do another one".

Watch the epic stunt below.

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