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Have You Seen This? Man vs. train in race against time
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Are you faster than the train? In this viral YouTube video, one Londoner set out to answer that question and ended up kicking off a worldwide "Race the Tube" trend. - photo by Mary Dalrymple


THE LONDON UNDERGROUND We face a lot of choices every day about our transportation options. Take the train to work? Sit in traffic? Walk?

Depending on where you live, you might even be able to do a combination of all three. There are certainly pros and cons to each choice, but the biggest question most of us ask is: Which mode of transportation will get us where we need to be fastest?

For one Londoner, the answer to that question was running.

Environmental consultant James Heptonstall is the star of this video, which kicked off the viral "Race the Tube" challenge back in 2014. The concept is simple: Can you beat the train to the next station?

The original video, which hit more than 6 million YouTube views, just shows Heptonstall's point of view as he completes the 380 meter dash from Londons Mansion House station to the Cannon Street station. This version, however, raises the stakes as the split screen view lets you watch from the train to see whether or not Heptonstall will make it back in time.

According to a BBC interview, in addition to the almost quarter-mile sprint, Heptonstall also had to climb 75 steps and pass through two ticket barriers in only 80 seconds. Watch the video to see if he made it in time and then consider how stress-free your commute actually is.
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