‘Subway Challenge’ record falls to NYC woman in 22-hour, 14-minute, 10-second race

The New York City “Subway Challenge” record has fallen to Kate Jones — a New York woman who traveled over 665 miles of track and passed through 472 stations en route to the history books. And it only took her 22 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds to accomplish that feat.

Jones joined Pat Kiernan on NY1 Friday to talk about her entry to the Guinness World Records, which was finally certified after her April 17 accomplishment was rigorously vetted.

“It was one of the longest commutes of my life,” joked Jones, who appeared by video.

Jones, a former performance artist now living in Switzerland, said she proved her accomplishment to Guinness by presenting witnesses, submitting bodycam video and offering time-stamped photos. A friend who works as a software engineer at Google helped her lay out the fastest possible route, she revealed.

“Twenty-two hours is an endurance event, and I think sometimes people think it’s just the plan,” she said. “But really, it’s running and being alert and awake and attentive for 22 straight hours and being able to make decisions on the fly if you need to change your plan.”

Jones started on the A train at Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue and finished her adventure on the 7 train in Queens. She said the Q was running slowly, causing her to make the finish line with only 50 seconds to spare.

Guinness World Records appears to have started recognizing the New York Subway Challenge as an event more than 50 years ago. There’s no indication any other woman has held the record.

“You’re looking at the current Guinness World Record holder for the fastest time to travel to all New York City Subway stations!” Jones tweeted earlier this week. “And I’m the first woman to hold the record in its nearly 57-year history.”

Law professor Mathew Ahn previously held the record, which he set in 2015, then broke in 2016. His record was set when there were three fewer MTA stations than there are today.

Ahn also took to Twitter to respond to the news, writing, “It’s official: I am no longer the most recent Guinness World Record holder for the fastest time to visit every NYC subway station. ... And no, I’m not going to try again. My bad knee hurts just thinking about it. Records, after all, are meant to be broken.”