My first proper Random 15. (I did the Birmingham R15 just before lockdown but that doesn't count.) And there weren't even 15 stations!
Before the challenge, I wondered if 4 hours would be enough time to cover the extra 4 stations. However the live draw produced an easy set. There were cries of "we'll be in the pub by 3 o'clock" or similar, and general amusement when Nine Elms got drawn. What made this day challenging was the reliability of the lines. I found myself repeatedly met with long waits for trains, or throwing myself onto a train waiting in the platform only for it to sit there for ages before departing.
My route was BPS
TCR
Queensway
Lancaster Gate
(run) Paddington (H&C)
Royal Oak
(run) Warwick Avenue
Regent's Park
Baker Street
Swiss Cottage
(run) Belsize Park
Euston (Charing X branch)
Finsbury Park
Holborn
Bank
(run) Cannon Street
Aldgate
(bus) Whitechapel
Mile End
Stratford
Everyone departed BPS on the 12:40, with us all alighting one by one. My first major setback occurred at Paddington, where I had a 12 minute wait. If an eastbound train had come first I might have gotten that, but there was nothing showing on the departure board. I then had a 6 minute wait for an eastbound Bakerloo, and another 6 minute wait for one back westbound at Regent's park, during which I heard about 3 go past in the opposite direction.
Things went OK but not brilliantly for a while after that. I was held at Chancery Lane for so long that I forgot which direction the train was moving in. At Cannon Street I ran into Tractakid and we went to Aldgate together before running to Aldgate East. Arriving there we found that the station was closed due to signal failure. I found out which bus I needed to take to get to Whitechapel whilst Tractakid promptly vanished. At Whitechapel trains resumed, and I took an eastbound train out of the westbound platform to Mile End, then made it to Stratford without further problems.
Things learnt:
- Always have something to eat beforehand, or you will become very hungry.
- Take food and drink with you. Yes it's an extra thing to carry but it will be worth it, especially if it's unseasonably warm.
- Don't over-estimate the amount of running you can do, especially if it's unseasonably warm.
- Look closely at your door position app, or you will find yourself at the very back of the train when you should be at the very front.
- When running between stations, take a moment to make sure you run down the right road so you don't get lost and have to check Google Maps repeatedly
- When running within a station, pay close attention to the signs, or you will go to the wrong Victoria line platform at Euston, requiring a sudden run back up the set of escalators you've just come down.
As for how I did, and what happened to Tractakid, I'll leave for the official results...