Zone 1 Challenge Cup 2025

[tangy]

The annual Zone 1 Challenge Cup is this year being held on Friday 30th May 2025.

The aim is simple: visit all 67 stations on the London Underground system that are within Oyster card Zone 1 in the fastest time. You will be competition with other teams (and the trains themselves) for the coveted Zone One Challenge Cup. All teams will start from the same station at the same time and the start station is not known until 45 minutes before the challenge...

Why not come along and try to beat the current record which currently stands at 02:57:01 which was set at last year's contest.

The format remains unchanged however full details of the event (including meet up location, timetable of the day, rules of the challenge and after event quiz) can be found on the dedicated website at http://www.explorerticket.co.uk/tubecha ... ne1cup.htm

If running around the Tube is not really your thing (or you sadly cannot join us during the daytime), after the challenge we all meet up for a social and there will be a pub style quiz, again with prizes available, which you may prefer instead. Participation in the pub quiz/after event social is not dependent on you doing the actual challenge.

Even though this is an open invitation event, it would greatly assist me if you notify me of your attendance at the event (especially for the after event quiz, so I can advise the pub of potential numbers). Contact details are on the website (see link above), leave a message on the Random 15 Facebook group page or just post below... whatever is easier for you!

Hope to see many of you there, be it a first timer or a regular challenger that shows up year after year.

Thanks
Tangy
BOZO (Boss Of Zone One).

[Oggm]

Attending: Milo+Yifan

[The Raven]

2004 - Vauxhall
Steve Paull 2:55:50

2005 - St James's Park
Håkan Wolgé, Patrick Sillen 2:56:51

2006 - Sloane Square
David Scard, Ric Brakenbury and Andrew Baker 2:51:54

2007 - Westminster
John Stark 2:47:30

2008 - King's Cross
Håkan Wolgé, Patrick Sillen and Lars Andersson 2:55:32

2009 - Angel
Andi James & Garion Allen 2:52:59

2010 - Waterloo
Peter Smyth 02:52:34

2011 - St Paul's
Håkan Wolgé, Patrick Sillen 2:52:06

2012 - Aldgate East
Andi James 2:48:20

2013 - Regent's Park
Martin Hazel 2:50:53

2014 - Lancaster Gate
Glen Bryant & Hugo Marrow - 03:12:45

2015 - London Bridge
Clive Burgess - 02:55:42

2016 - Edgware Road (Circle)
Hugo Marrow - 02:47:55

2017 - Warren Street
Kevin Brown, Damian Cook, Matthew Cook and Andrew Baker - 02:52:42

2018 - Chancery Lane
Rob Lomas - 02:45:54

2019 - Mansion House
Martin Hazel - 02:52:30

2020 [No contest]

2021 [No contest]

2022 - Notting Hill Gate
James Ramsbottom 03:03:50

2023 - Battersea Power Station
Andrew James and Andrew Chilcraft 03:04:05

2024 - Borough
Milo Ogidel 02:57:01

[nozzacook]

Hi Tangy myself definitely Maybe +1

[Going Underground]

Yep, will be there

[ANDY_JS]

Attending.

[The Raven]

Attending. Though I can make the post meet up

[RJSRdg]

Attending

[Lunaticonthegrass]

Sadly I can't be joining you today as I have a theatre show in Birmingham this evening. When I say that, I mean that I am performing in it, so I really can't miss it! A shame, as I really enjoy the annual Z1 day.

(It did occur to me that I could make it down for the challenge, aim to finish at or near Euston, bail early if needed, and get a train back north in time for the evening's performance. But there are many things that could go wrong with that plan, all involving trains, so I decided against it.)

Good luck to all taking part, hope you have fun, and I look forward to reading the write-ups.

[Lunaticonthegrass]

Incidentally, this may be interesting today:

http://tubechallenge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=393

[RJSRdg]

I'm on the 1059 from Reading so should be at Liverpool Street at 1207.

[tubeguru]

Incidentally, this may be interesting today:

http://tubechallenge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=393

I'd completely forgotten about that post, but then it was 19 years ago ...

[Oggm]

The starting station is:

GOODGE STREET

[RJSRdg]

Another episode in "How not to complete a Tube Challenge".

Aware of the disruption on the Piccadilly Line, I headed south from Goodge Street and changed on to the Bakerloo Line at Embankment.

At Lambeth North I made my first mistake of the day - getting off the train a stop early(!). (This was to be balanced out later on....). I got off the train and was somewhat confused not to see signage to the Northern Line, until I realised that I needed to get off at Elephant & Castle, not Lambeth North! Of course I only realised once it was too late to get back on the train and a six minute wait for the next one! This was followed by a longer-than usual wait for a northbound Northern at E&C.Up to London Bridge, with a better change, over to Waterloo and the trek through the Travelators back to the Northern Line. The board announced that "the next train to Battersea Power Station will be along within the next 10 minutes". I caught a Morden train down to Kennington (where it terminated) and then had a seven minute wait for the next train to BPS while several more "Morden" trains terminated at Kennington!
Down to BPS and out to the bus stop, but another wait of a few minutes. This was the first time I've done BPS-Vauxhall rather than the other way, and it is slightly easier as the northbound bus stops at both stations are closer to the Underground stations than the southbound ones.
Up to Victoria, did the Sloane Square double back and out to Aldgate East, where I somehow came out on the wrong side of the road, and turning right as usual took me towards the other AE entrance! I ran there, realised my mistake, but decided it was too hot to do much more running and walked to Aldgate. Aldgate to Farringdon, then walked quickly to Chancery Lane, passing Tangy on the way (the only competitor I saw on the whole Challenge).Over to Bank, then Northern Line to KXSP. Somehow got a little confused here but eventually found a way to the Hammersmith & City platform and headed towards Paddington Bishops Road. Unfortunately I lost concentration during the usual long stop at Edgware Road and suddenly found I the train was departing from Bishops Road with me still on it! Doubleback at Royal Oak, then walked to the Bakerloo platforms at Praed Street, replenishing my water supplies on the way at the free water dispenser in the main line station. Through the needlessly awkward new Bakerloo Line entrance for another lengthy wait for a southbound train to Oxford Circus, Central to Queensway then up and out to Bayswater. Good timing here on to a southbound train to Earl's Court, then PIccadilly to KXSP (4 hours exactly) and a jump through beeping doors on to the Victoria Line to finish at Warren Street in 4:03:18. Whilst it would have been a relatively easy ride from there to Blackhorse Road, I had had enough of the heat and knew I needed to be back in Reading for 19:30 so came up, texted my time, walked to TCR and caught the Lizzie back to Reading arriving back at 18:45, just time to get something to eat in Spoons.

Had it not been for errors, I think I would have finished in around 3:45.

Really, with the heat, not the most enjoyable Challenge I've done.

[The Raven]

Finished zone one at kennington in 3:19:18

Route was: Goodge Street -> Euston -> Bank -> Holborn -> Russell Square -> Earl's Court -> Bayswater -> run to -> Queensway -> TCR -> Oxford Circus -> Paddington bakerloo -> run to -> Paddington H&C -> Aldgate -> run to -> Aldgate East -> Embankment -> Charing Cross -> E&C -> London Bridge -> Westminster -> Sloane Square -> Victoria -> Vauxhall -> bus to -> Battersea Power Station -> Kennington

It was one of those "lots of delays" days! Different lines seemed to be taking it in turn to muck up!

Got dropped off in the morning by my wife at Stanmore station, only to find servere delays on the Jubliee line. So a quick 142 bus to Edgware to get to Liverpool Street for the start.

I was with Peter until Aldgate East when I managed to get a District ahead after the run.

Some of the delays

- 10 min delay at Earl's Court after missing the Wimbleware.
- 6 min delay at Embankment to get the Charing Cross. Not sure if running to Charing Cross would of been a better idea!
- My original idea when I got to E&C was to go southbound but with a 9 min wait for a Northern train, so I changed plan for a Kennington finish
- Bus to Battersea Power Station got caught in roadwork traffic. But the nice bus driver let me out early to allow me to run the rest!

Still a great day out!