Man races MTA train on foot - and wins

ByAlex Meier WABC logo
Friday, May 12, 2017
Man races MTA subway on foot and wins
Matthew Ahn races a 2 train on foot and wins.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Have you ever been on a train and wondered, "I think I could get to my destination faster on foot?" If you commute in New York, the answer is, "of course."

Matthew Ahn, the Guinness World Record holder for fastest time to travel to all New York City Subway stations, decided to test this hypothesis. In his latest stunt, Ahn raced a Brooklyn-bound No. 2 train from Chambers Street to Park Place on foot - and won.

Video of the stunt shows two perspectives: one from the Go Pro strapped to his head and the other from the cell phone of his friend on the train. Watch it in the player above.

Ahn was considerate when picking which stops would begin and end the race. He said not only are the two stations close, but the Chambers Street stop runs north-south and the Park Place stop runs east-west, causing the train to curve as it travels. Also, no street crossings were required.

The entire trek took less than a minute and a half. He successful completed his challenge on the first try, but since his Go Pro wasn't recording, he had to give it a second run.

"I was pretty winded - about halfway though I felt like my legs were going to fall," Ahn said.

The idea to race the MTA was inspired by a similar stunt pulled by Londoners on the Tube. At the moment, Ahn has no plans for another MTA-related challenge, but that doesn't mean there won't be another in the future.

"Subways fascinating for a lot of people," he said. "There's always interesting things happening."

Here's a look at his original post: