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'[[File:London Underground full map.png|thumb|400px|A 2007 map of the stations on the [[London Underground]].]] The '''Tube Challenge''' is the accepted name for the [[Guinness World Record]] attempt to visit all the stations on the [[London Underground]] network in the fastest time possible. Participants do not have to travel along all ''lines'' to complete the challenge, merely to pass through all the ''stations'' on the system. Participants may connect between stations on foot, or by using other forms of public transport.<ref>http://www.thetubechallenge.com</ref> The record for fastest completion is currently held by Ronan McDonald and Clive Burgess of the [[United Kingdom]], who completed the challenge in 16 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds on 19 February 2015.<ref name="guinnessworldrecords.com">{{cite web|publisher=Guinness World Records|title=Fastest Time to Travel to all Underground Stations|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-5000/fastest-time-to-travel-to-all-london-underground-stations/|accessdate=20 September 2013}}</ref> ==History== The first recorded challenge took place in 1959. Although many people have attempted the challenge and held the record since, they have not always been credited in the record books. In the earlier days of the challenge, participants were permitted to use private forms of transport (such as a car or bike) to move between stations. This led to times of less than 16 hours in some earlier records, and Guinness later changed the rules{{when|date=July 2011}} to ban private transport. The following is a list of record holders that have appeared in the ''[[Guinness Book of Records]]''. The record did not appear in the book until its eighth edition. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Date ! Record Holder(s) ! Stations ! Time |- | March 1960 | George Hurst & Jane Barwick<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (10th Edition)|year=1962|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=191}}</ref> | 264 | 18 hours, 35 minutes |- | 9 September 1961 | J Birch, B Phillips & N Storr<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (8th Edition)|year=1960|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=183}}</ref> | 264 | 18 hours, 9 minutes |- | 3 December 1960 | K A Branch and J Branch<ref name="gbr1964">{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (11th Edition)|year=1964|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=190}}</ref> | 273 | 20 hours, 0 minutes |- | 22 August 1963 | Christopher Niekirk<ref name="gbr1964"/> | 272 | 14 hours, 58 minutes |- | 4 July 1964 | A Mortimer, J P Herting, D Corke & G Elliot<ref name="gbr1965">{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (12th Edition)|year=1965|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=200}}</ref> | 272 | 14 hours, 17 minutes |- | 7 September 1965 | Alan Paul Jenkins<ref name="gbr1965"/> | 273 | 16 hours, 57 minutes |- | 1 November 1966 | Leslie Burwood<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (14th Edition)|year=1967|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=137}}</ref> | 273 | 15 hours, 53 minutes |- | 1 September 1967 | Leslie Burwood<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (15th Edition)|year=1969|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=175}}</ref> | 277 | 14 hours, 33 minutes |- | 3 September 1968 | Leslie Burwood<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (17th Edition)|year=1970|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=137}}</ref> | 277 | 15 hours, 0 minutes |- | 27 June 1969 | Anthony Durkin and Peter Griffiths<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (16th Edition)|year=1969|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=183}}</ref> | 277 | 16 hours, 5 minutes |- | 20 May 1980 | John & Stephen Trafford<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records (27th Edition)|year=1980|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=143}}</ref> | 278 | 18 hours, 3 minutes |- | 3 December 1981 | Colin Mulvany<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness Book of Records (29th Edition)|year=1982|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=145}}</ref> | 277 | 17 hours, 37 minutes |- | 14 April 1986 | Robert Robinson, Peter David Robinson, John Garde, Timothy John Clark<ref>{{cite book|title=The Guinness Book of Records 1987 (33rd Edition)|year=1986|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|page=132}}</ref> | 272 | 19 hours, 51 minutes, 14 seconds |- | 30 July 1986 | Robert Robinson, Peter David Robinson, Timothy Robinson, Timothy Clark, Richard Harris<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness Book of Records|year=1993|publisher=Guinness World Records|page=125}}</ref> | 272 | 18 hours, 41 minutes, 41 seconds |- | 4 October 1994 | Robert Robinson, Tom McLaughlin<ref>{{cite book|title=The New Guinness Book of Records|year=1996|publisher=Guinness Publishing Ltd|page=124}}</ref> | 270 | 18 hours, 18 minutes, 9 seconds |- | 16 March 2000 | Robert Robinson, Chris Loxton, Chris Stubley, Chris Whiteoak, Olly Rich and Adam Waller<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness Book of Records|year=2002|publisher=Guinness World Records|page=186}}</ref> | 272 | 19 hours, 57 minutes, 47 seconds |} Between the 1960s and 1990s the record regularly appeared in the ''Guinness Book of Records'', initially listed under "Underground Railways – circuit of", but later just under "Railways" and then "Trains". Since the change of publishing style of the book from the 2001 edition onwards, the record – although frequently broken – has only once appeared in printed form, in the 2008 edition. More recent records have tended to be published online instead. Since the record has not regularly been published in the book, there have been two broad configurations on the system – one for 275 stations, and one for 270 once the East London Line was no longer part of the network. On 3 April 2002 Jack Welsby set a new record time for 275 stations by traversing the system in 19 hours, 18 minutes and 45 seconds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-433122-new-record-set-on-the-tube.do|title=New record set on the tube|newspaper=Evening Standard|accessdate=24 July 2002}}</ref> Welsby made just one attempt, starting his route at Heathrow and finishing at Amersham. This time was beaten on 4 May 2004 by Geoff Marshall and Neil Blake who achieved a new record time of 18 hours 35 minutes and 43 seconds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-13468055-every-tube-station-in-18-hours.do|title=Every Tube station in 18 hours|newspaper=Evening Standard|accessdate=29 September 2004}}</ref> Their attempt began on the first train out of [[Amersham station|Amersham]] on the Metropolitan Line and ended at [[Upminster station|Upminster]], and took Guinness World Records four months to ratify it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3700658.stm|title=Tube station visit record broken|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=29 September 2004 | date=29 September 2004}}</ref> A previous attempt had been broadcast on TV as part of ''[[The Tube (2003 TV series)|The Tube]]'' TV series and another attempt had been televised as part of an ITV1 programme ''Metroland: Race Around the Underground'' on 16 October 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-7231700-going-down-the-tubes.do|title=Going down the tubes|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=17 October 2003|accessdate= 27 January 2013}}</ref> Although this time stood for two years before being beaten by just five seconds, it was not until Håkan Wolgé and Lars Andersson (both from Sweden) set a new record time for 275 stations that it appeared in the ''Guinness World Records'' Book again, in the 2008 edition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness Book of Records|year=2008|publisher=Guinness World Records|page=198}}</ref> They set a new record of 18 hours, 25 minutes and 3 seconds, on 26 September 2006. Changes to the total number of stations meant that the record was 'reset' and broken three more times over a two-year period until when in October 2008 Wood Lane station opened, and the network settled at 270 stations. The first holders with 270 stations were previous record holder James and Hazel who on the 14 December 2009, accompanied by another former holder Steve Wilson, achieved a record time of 16 hours, 44 minutes and 16 seconds.<ref name=Southwest>{{Cite news|title = Richard's going underground on charity mission|quote = ''[will] attempt to dethrone Andi, Martin Hazel and Steve Wilson who set the benchmark on December 14, 2009.''|publisher=This Is Plymouth|date = 4 February 2010|url = http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Richard-s-going-underground-charity-mission/story-11837754-detail/story.html|accessdate = 12 July 2011}}</ref> TfL used this route four years later as part of the Art on the Underground [[labyrinth]] project to mark the 150th anniversary of the [[London Underground]], installing permanent designs at stations in the same order that the world record route had taken, and later appeared in an ''Information Capital'' article.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Telegraph|title=How to do the Tube Challenge|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11174269/How-to-do-the-Tube-Challenge.html|accessdate=20 October 2014}}</ref> This record remained unbeaten for 17 months, until Marc Gawley from Denton, Greater Manchester set a new time of 16 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds on 21 April 2011.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|title=New world record for Denton man who travelled to all 270 London tube stations in under 17 hours|url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1425496_new-world-record-for-denton-man-who-travelled-to-all-270-london-tube-stations-in-under-17-hours|accessdate=2 July 2011}}</ref> As a fast marathon runner, he revealed that he did not use any buses on the day, preferring instead to make all his connections on foot. Gawley's record was beaten just thirty-seven days later, when James and Wilson completed the challenge in just 44 seconds faster, setting a new record time of 16 hours, 29 minutes and 13 seconds on 27 May 2011.<ref name="guinnessworldrecords.com"/> This record stood for over two years until August 2013, before being broken by previous record holder Geoff Marshall who along with Anthony Smith, completed the challenge in 16 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Londonist|title=New world record for Tube Challenges|url=http://londonist.com/2013/09/new-world-record-for-tube-challenge.php|accessdate=23 September 2013 |date=23 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=London Tube Station Visiting Record Broken|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24203949|accessdate=23 September 2013 |date=23 September 2013}}</ref> the record time was then published for the first time in seven years in the ''Guinness World Records'' book 2015. The current record holders are Clive Burgess and Ronan McDonald who set a time of 16 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds on the 21 February 2015.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Brighton Argus|title=For the record, world was enthusiats's Oyster card|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/12901532.For_the_record__world_was_enthusiast___s_Oyster__card_/|accessdate=21 April 2015|date=21 April 2015}}</ref> ==Other attempts== It is quite common for people to attempt the challenge and be sponsored for it — often on a 'pence per station' basis, or a complete sum for travelling the whole network.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/4484152.Duo_to_tackle_every_tube_station_in_London/|title=Sutton woman to tackle every tube station in London for charity|newspaper=Sutton Guardian|date = July 10, 2009|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref> Attempts have been linked to charities such as Children in Need<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wear/hi/front_page/newsid_9184000/9184337.stm|title=Pudsey Challenge 2010|publisher=BBC Sunderland|date = November 12, 2010|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/going_underground_1_2769466|title=Going Underground|newspaper=Sunderland Echo|date = January 26, 2011|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref> and Comic Relief.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamesthegill.blogspot.com/2009/03/red-nose-day-tube-challenge-2009.html|title=Aiming to misbehave|date = March 14, 2009|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref> A charity attempt known as 'Tube Relief' was organised, following the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]], to raise money for the [[London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund]]. Fifty one people rode the entire tube network for the day,<ref name="Tube challenge for bomb charity">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4180368.stm |title=Tube challenge for bomb charity|publisher=BBC News |date=25 August 2005 |accessdate=22 June 2010}}</ref> raising over £10,000 towards the official charity fund. [[Sue Ryder]] charity event took place in November 2011, where ten teams competed against each other to have their photo taken outside as many of the 270 stations as possible.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.purplefrog.co.uk/2011/11/visiting-270-london-underground-stations-in-1-day/|title=Visiting 270 London Underground stations in one day|publisher=Purple Frog|date=14 November 2011|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20120424125549/http://www.purplefrog.co.uk/2011/11/visiting-270-london-underground-stations-in-1-day|archivedate=2012-04-24}}</ref> Richie Firth from [[Absolute Radio]] raised the profile of the challenge by announcing a record attempt<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2011/11/absolute-radio-presenter-aiming-to-smash-london-tube-record/|title=Absolute Radio Presenter Aiming to Smash London Tube Record|publisher=Guinness World Records}}</ref> as part of the [[Christian O'Connell]] breakfast show in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/onair/breakfast/features/tube-challenge.html/|title=Richie's Tube Challenge|publisher=Absolute Radio}}</ref> Although a test run was made, the attempt was postponed due to Richie failing a medical. The attempt was eventually made in December 2012, but one station was missed due to the online timetables incorrectly stating that a train service was running to Olympia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/player/Christian-O-Connell-Breakfast-Show/10302/Richie-Completes-The-Tube-Challenge.html|title=Richie Completes The Tube Challenge|publisher=Absolute Radio}}</ref> The BBC News Magazine ran a video piece, featuring an attempt made with Geoff Marshall and Anthony Smith, from 28 March 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22042127|title=Tube challenger pulls out all the stops in latest record attempt|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Other previous attempts have included a Cambridge University student<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Brislington-teen-conquers-265-Tube-stops-day/article-247891-detail/article.html|title=Tube triumph|newspaper=Bristol Evening Post|date = 2 August 2008|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref> and a pub landlord from Reading in 2006,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2006/08/09/barkingberks_02_tube_feature.shtml|title=Barking Berks – Going Underground|publisher=BBC Berkshire Online|date = 1 August 2006|accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref> a man raising money for [[Tearfund]] in 2010,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.middevonstar.co.uk/news/tiverton_news/5030984._Guinness__record_attempt_goes_down_the_tube/|title=Guinness world record attempt goes down the tube|newspaper=North Devon Journal|date = 25 February 2010|accessdate=25 February 2010}}</ref> two teenagers from [[Leighton Buzzard]] in 2011<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/community/on-track-for-a-tube-world-record-task-1-3333029|title=On track for a tube world record task|newspaper=Leighton Buzzard Observer|date=11 December 2011}}</ref> and two teenagers, Samuel Coop and Alex Williamson, from [[Sutton, London|Sutton]] in February 2012,..<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/9551167.Teenagers__tube_stop_challenge/|title=Tube Stop Challenge|newspaper=Sutton Guardian|date=25 February 2012}}</ref> Record holder Geoff Marshall organised a mass-participant charity attempt 'Walk the tube' that took place in April 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/11127683.Couple_tackle_Tube_challenge/|title=Couple tackle Tube Challenge|newspaper=Waltham Forest Guardian|date=4 April 2014}}</ref> On 15 April 2015 Julie Rogers from Bedford became the first single leg amputee to complete the challenge. London 2012 Paralympian Julie, was part of a team including Olympian Judoka Kelly Edwards, Ian Byers and Simon Cox .<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/sport/going-underground-top-runner-julie-gearing-up-for-charity-challenge-1-6678288|newspaper=Bedford Today|date=8 April 2014}}</ref> ==See also== *[[Subway Challenge]], a similar challenge in New York City ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22042127 BBC video of a 2013 attempt] [[Category:London Underground]] [[Category:World records]]'