They follow your path, even locally!
In a man-versus-machine challenge, The Post’s Nolan Hicks strapped on his ellipticals Monday to take on a formidable opponent: a New York City subway train.
The idea was inspired by a viral TikTok challenge in which two friends tried — and failed — to outrun a Local 1 train on foot between the 18th Street and 14th Street stops in Chelsea.
Although their efforts failed, the 46-second clip racked up millions of views on the social platform.
As the Post’s resident subway expert, Hicks used his extensive knowledge of the system to his advantage in choosing his rail opponent for his attempted race.
Even though he’s a fairly consistent runner — averaging about 8 to 8:30 per mile, he says — a human beating a machine in any physical competition is a tall order, so he attempted to use physics to even the playing field a little.
After careful consideration, Hicks decided to tackle the W, which uses some of the MTA’s oldest and slowest trains: the optimal contender for this challenge.
He also chose a part of the track that has a few tight turns requiring low speeds, trying to gain an advantage.
Whitehall and City Hall
The first heat saw Hicks attempt to beat the W while traveling about a mile and three stops between Whitehall and City Hall.
The chosen route featured difficult obstacles to navigate as he pounded the pavement.
The Whitehall station is deep underground as it is the last stop before the R passes under the East River and enters Brooklyn.
To reappear from the basement, Hicks had to climb a flight of stairs, then rush madly down an escalator to the mezzanine, where he encountered even more stairs before reaching street level.
From there, huffing and puffing, Hicks made his way up the (surprisingly) steep hill to Wall Street, where he hit a wall, taking a brief break near the charging bull statue to relieve the cramps of some runners.
After catching his breath, Hicks took off north at full speed, dodging tourists and cars while weaving between bike lanes and stopped city traffic, doing his best to stay ahead on his tireless 40-ton opponent who was advancing on the rails below.
His Apple Watch recorded his time at 7:28, even with the cramp. MTA train tracking shows that the W train can, on average, complete the same trip in about four minutes.
Hicks was badly beaten, completely gassed and slightly nauseous.
Cortlandt to the streets of the rector
Undeterred, Hicks prepared for his second attempt, an all-out quarter-mile sprint mirroring the first train ride featured in the viral TikTok.
The race started on Cortlandt Street. Hicks pulled him out of the station from the exit near the lower end of the platform, pumping his arms as he threw his body against the heavy bomb gates that separated him from the Westfield complex.
From there, he climbed the stairs to Trinity Place and sped down the street.
As he ran down the first set of stairs he found towards Rector Street station, he saw that the train had already arrived. But he wasn’t beaten yet. Summoning all the speed he could muster, he dashed along the platform, trying to get to the front of the train before it took off again.
But it wasn’t supposed to happen. The doors closed and the W train handed Hicks a hard-fought defeat.
Asked for his opinion on the tradition, MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan couldn’t help but throw some shade at city traffic.
“The question is not whether 0.00001% of humans can sometimes outrun the subway between two nearby stations, the real question is why they can still outrun the highly congested traffic of the central business district.”
New York Post
