Subway Challenge

In "Class B" challenges, competitors must stop at 472 stations, as documented in the official New York City Subway map

The Subway Challenge is a challenge in which participants must navigate the entire New York City Subway system in the shortest time possible. This ride is also known as the Rapid Transit Challenge and the Ultimate Ride. Although the challenge requires competitors to stop at all 472 stations, no person holds that record. One competitor holds the record for 469 stations, as he had competed before the January 2017 opening of the Second Avenue Subway. All the other competitors hold the record for 468 stations, as they had all competed prior to both the September 2015 opening of the 7 Subway Extension and the January 2017 opening of the Second Avenue Subway.

There are three primary variations of this challenge:

  1. Ride that requires a rider to traverse every line, but not necessarily the entire line. (Class A)
  2. Full-system ride that requires a rider to stop at each station. (Class B)
  3. Skip-stop ride that only requires a rider to pass through each station. (Class C)

The three classes of rides (A, B and C) are defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee (ANYSRC), created by Peter Samson in 1966. In Class A, "the contestants making the run must traverse completely at least once each segment of right-of-way of the Transit Authority system. Each segment may be traversed either in one continuous transit or in any number of partial transits between stations on the segment." Guinness World Records recognizes what is essentially the Class B rules as the official world record. The only difference between the rides defined by Guinness and the ANYSRC is that per the ANYSRC, rides must be completed on a single fare, while the Guinness rules allow for "transfers between subway lines must be made by scheduled public transport or on foot. The use of private motor vehicles, taxis or any other form of privately arranged transport (bicycles, skateboards, etc.) is not allowed." The complete Guinness rules can be found on the Rapid Transit Challenge website and are similar to the rules for the London Underground's Tube Challenge.[1]

History

On May 30, 1940, two days before the IRT, BMT, and IND were unified, Herman Rinke, an electric-railroad buff, became the first person to tour the entire system on a single 5-cent fare, doing it purely as a "sentimental gesture".[2] Rinke rode the system for some 25 hours. Since then, more than 70 others – supposedly recorded in an unofficial file in the MTA Public Relations Department – rode the entire system. Kevin Foster held the Guinness World Record for the full-system ride for over 17 years. He set the mark of 26 hours, 21 minutes on October 25, 1989. Searching for a diversion while training to become the first person to bicycle the entire length of The Great Wall in China, Kevin Foster opened up the Guinness Book of World Records to find another challenge. He decided that to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the New York subway system he would spend 85 consecutive hours on the subway, during which time he broke the record for stopping at every station.

Guinness Record times

Date Record Holder(s) Stations Time Ref.
June 1, 1966 Michael Feldman and James Brown 491 23 hours, 16 minutes [3]
December 12/13, 1988 Rich Temple, Phil Vanner and Tom Murphy 466 29 hours, 47 minutes, 12 seconds [4]
October 25/26, 1989 Kevin Foster 469 26 hours, 21 minutes, 8 seconds [5][6][7]
December 28/29, 2006 Group of six including Bill Amarosa Jr. and Stefan Karpinski 468 24 hours, 54 minutes, 3 seconds [8]
January 22/23, 2010 Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz 468 22 hours, 52 minutes, 36 seconds [9][10]
November 18/19, 2013 Group of five including Glen Bryant 468 22 hours, 26 minutes, 02 seconds [11][12]
January 16, 2015 Matthew Ahn 468 21 hours, 49 minutes, 35 seconds [13][14]
July 22, 2016 Matthew Ahn 469 21 hours, 28 minutes, 14 seconds [15][16]

There are 472 stations in the system (which must all be visited for the Class B record) and 424 multi-station complexes (necessary for the Class C record), on 25 different routes.[17] Challengers cover 662 miles of track in passenger service, while only being able to go to the toilet at 80 of the stations. All of the official record holders, except one, have held the record for 468 stations, since all official records are from before September 2015, when the 7 Subway Extension opened. One record holder has the record for the 469 stations, after the opening of the 7 Subway Extension but before the January 2017 opening of the Second Avenue Subway.[15] As of 2018 there were no record holders for the 472-station challenge.

The Guinness record rules allow a rider to exit and re-enter the system during the course of the run. Matthew Ahn's run may be the first to utilize this loophole, and thus is the first Guinness record not to follow the rules of the Class B attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee.[14] It is unclear whether this will have any effect on public perception of the latest record.

The Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee is not an official body and does not validate any record attempts, nor does the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

468 stations

On August 23–24, 2006, Donald Badaczewski and Matt Green made a run setting the skip-stop record. During their run, a Class C attempt as defined by the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee, they were required to pass through, but not necessarily stop at, each station. Thus they utilized express trains where possible to save time. They did this on a single fare, not exiting the system until the completion of the race. They posted a time of 24 hours, 2 minutes, breaking the previous Class C record of 25 hours, 11 minutes for this feat set in 1998 by Salvatore Babones and Mike Falsetta. Metro broke the story of this Class C record.[18][19][20][21] An AM New York article suggested that the news environment at the time created a perfect opening for such a lighthearted story.[22] Pundits frequently questioned the pair on how they had relieved themselves during their journey. The two invariably answered that they had "held it" or "toughed it out," despite the fact that "it was tough."

On December 28–29, 2006, a Class B attempt was made by former classmates from Regis High School in Manhattan, representing all five boroughs of New York City, with a sixth member from New Jersey. In the press they were nicknamed "The Subway Six": Bill Amarosa was a lifelong railfan and had discussed a record attempt while they were in high school, but it was a conversation at their 10-year reunion on June 17, 2006, that sparked planning for the attempt. From conception to execution, the record attempt took six months. Guinness World Records confirmed the record five months afterward and sent the team their official record certificate after nine months.[23]

On January 22, 2010, Matt Ferrisi and Chris Solarz set a new record with an official time of 22:52:36, confirmed by Guinness World Records on September 17, 2010.[9]

On November 18–19, 2013, the record was beaten by a team of five Britons, including Glen Bryant from Emsworth, with a new time of 22 hours, 26 minutes, and 2 seconds. The competitors had learned about the Subway Challenge from reading Wikipedia, and used an unusual route, achieving a time 26 minutes shorter than the former record, as confirmed by Guinness World Records on May 30, 2014.[12][13] Three members of the British team were former record holders for the Tube Challenge, and thus became the first people to achieve the feat on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.[24]

On January 19, 2015, a new record was set by Matthew Ahn, taking the 468-station record. He began his trip at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue and finished at Flushing–Main Street, both in Queens.[13]

469 stations

After the 7 Subway Extension opened in September 2015, Ahn's previous record was invalidated. On July 23, 2016, he completed another such trip, and despite the addition of one station, he beat his previous record while completing the new 469-station challenge.[25] This record was officially validated by Guinness World Records on August 26, 2016.[15] He began his trip at Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street in Queens and finished at Flushing–Main Street.[26]

A 2004 Class B attempt to traverse the system was documented in a short film entitled New Lots.[27]

A 2003 Class B attempt was the main topic of a Discovery Times Channel documentary on the subway.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rules". Rapid Transit Challenge. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  2. ↑ http://untappedcities.com/2012/04/10/guiness-world-record-subway-riders-attempt-to-conquer-nyc/
  3. ↑ Guinness Book of Records (16th edition). Guinness Superlatives Ltd. 1969. p. 183.
  4. ↑ Guinness Book of Records 1990. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 1989. p. 193.
  5. ↑ Guinness Book of Records 1991. Guinness Publishing. 1990.
  6. ↑ Adams, Robyn (Monday, October 23, 1989) This Subway Ride is 1 for the Books. The American. Waterbury, Connecticut.
  7. ↑ Adams, Robyn (Tuesday, November 21, 1989) "Great Subway Rider" Makes Record Book. The American. Waterbury, Connecticut.
  8. ↑ Chung, Jen (December 29, 2006). "Another Attempt to Break Subway Riding Record". Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Millat, Caitlin; Martinez, Jose (January 24, 2009). "Pair breaks subway world record". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  10. ↑ "Travelling New York City Subway in shortest time (underground)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  11. ↑ Awford, Jenny (December 10, 2013). "Bournemouth tube challenger breaks record for visiting New York's 468 subway stations in fastest time". Daily Echo. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Treye Green (July 3, 2014). "Englishman Glen Bryant Visits Every NYC Subway Stop In 24 Hours, Breaks World Record With Feat". International Business Times. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "Law student breaks New York City subway all-stations speed record". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  14. 1 2 "A Guinness World Record Diary: Dr. Strangeline, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee and Love the MTA". SupraStructure. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Plitt, Amy (2016-08-29). "Meet a New Yorker who traveled to every single subway stop in less than 24 hours". Curbed NY. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  16. ↑ Collier, Neil; O’Neill, Shane (2016-08-29). "A Record Ride on New York's Subway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  17. ↑ "Subway Service Guide" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 25, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  18. ↑ Zimmer, Amy (August 22, 2006). "The next stop is..." Metro. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006.
  19. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (August 23, 2006). "Two Adventurers, One Subway System, And a Challenge to Break a Riding Record". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  20. ↑ "American Morning". CNN. August 24, 2006.
  21. ↑ "[Untitled]". go.reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on June 27, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
  22. ↑ Bennett, Chuck (August 24, 2006). "Subway riding pals beat record". amNewYork. Archived from the original on September 30, 2006.
  23. ↑ "Official Guinness World Records™ Certificate". Rapid Transit Challenge. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Tube Challenge". tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  25. ↑ Licea, Melkorka (2016-07-23). "NYC's fastest subway rider beats his own all-stations speed record". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  26. ↑ Snowden, Scott (2016-09-06). "Solo straphanger sets new, all-station subway world record". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  27. ↑ New Lots. Appealing Industries. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  28. ↑ Ringside TV (2012-03-23), New York Underground: "The Ultimate Ride" Scenes (2003), retrieved 2016-07-26
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