We are always looking for something different in the varied world of running so it was no surprise that 'Going Round In Circles' caught the eye in the runABC South newsroom!

Simon Hollis, Event Director at Go Beyond Challenge, said: "It's time to put the fun back into running!", as he launched Going Round In Circles, a 16-mile run around all 27 stations of the London Underground's Circle Line.

The idea seems simple enough, but a few nuances are best left to Hollis to explain, especially if entering as a team of two and running a railway relay. But first, Simon tells us how he came up with the concept for the London Circle Line Challenge...

"A lot of people don’t know this but I was the first tube runner, not that Jonny Davies guy. Davies found fame in 2023 by running the 570K London Underground network in 11 days. But it was back in February 2023 that I completed my own tube challenge. OK, I only ran one tube line and he ran all 11, but who’s counting? What I did discover was how much fun it was and how little I focused on the 17 miles of running.

"It was great to see the sights of London and the differences between the posh areas and the less so! Taking a selfie at each station was easy, apart from Westminster where half the population of London came spilling out as I pressed the camera button! And so, this year, Go Beyond Challenge is introducing ‘Going Round in Circles’ – the London Circle Line Challenge. As the name suggests, the aim is to run between every underground station on the Circle Line (the yellow one!) – all 27 of them.

"Entrants can take part as a team of two, or individually if they fancy a bigger challenge. The race will start at the Volunteer Pub near Regents Park, where runners will be able to collect their race number and tracker. You will then set off either on an anticlockwise or clockwise run around the Central Line, collecting a selfie – as proof – at each of the 27 stations!

"If you are in a team of two, one runner will go to the Baker Street Tube Station and grab a daily travel card and travel to your next meeting point on the Circle Line, while the other will run to meet you there. It’s then time to swap the tracker for the travel card and agree your next meeting point (and so on).

"The distance between stations varies from 0.2 miles to 1.2 miles. The overall distance to run will be around 16 miles. There are no checkpoints but plenty of shops! If you are injured, or had enough, then you can grab the tube back to the start. There will be a special Circle Line challenge medal for all finishers and the chance to grab a beer as we finish in the pub!"

Going Round In Circles is on Sunday 23 March 2025 – registration from 10:00am – and you can enter for £22 (solo) or £32 (team of two) at the Go Beyond Challenge website here.

Photo of the Circle Line courtesy of Wikipedia