Twenty-four family members and friends will take the Tube Challenge across all 272 London Underground stations in a single day next week, raising money for research into childhood blood cancers in memory of a teenager who died six years ago.
The attempt, organised to mark what would have been Ruby Fuller’s 25th birthday this October, begins at 5.22am on Friday, October 30 at Amersham. The fastest members of the group hope to reach the final station, Heathrow Terminal 5, by midnight, with the rest expecting to finish in the early hours.
Ruby was 17 when she was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma in July 2019. She had first become unwell during her A-levels the month before, suffering a sore shoulder and fatigue, and was misdiagnosed over eight separate doctor visits in six weeks before a large tumour was found. The cancer later developed into leukaemia, and she died in May 2020 — during the first Covid lockdown — after more than 200 nights in hospital.
Her treatment included intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant, and brought severe side effects including paralysis, psychosis, sepsis and a collapsed lung. Her mother, Emma Jones, 56, who organised the fundraiser, said the challenge was chosen because it captured exactly who Ruby was.
“This challenge feels so fitting for Ruby, who wanted to study geography at university and loved maps, planning routes, and working with statistics. She was a Londoner, born and bred, and loved the Underground, often working out the best routes and dreaming of one day working for Transport for London.”
She added: “Not only will we all need to be super fit to get across the area, but Ruby would have found the challenge hilarious and loved the mental puzzle of navigating unexpected delays, recalculating routes and finding new ways to reach our final destination.”
What the Tube Challenge involves
The Tube Challenge — visiting every station on the London Underground network in one day — is one of the capital’s most gruelling amateur endurance events. Participants must ride and, crucially, move between stations on foot or by running, covering roughly 300 miles of track in total while putting in up to 15 miles of running and walking themselves between platforms.
Routes are planned like military operations: challengers study the timetable, build in contingency for delays, and sprint between stations where a quicker connection can be grabbed. The Fuller group’s plan starts at Amersham, the far western end of the Metropolitan line, and finishes at Heathrow Terminal 5 — a finish line with its own poignancy, given it is one of the farthest points on the network. If more than eight of the 24 finish, they could set a record for the largest group ever to complete the challenge in a single day.
The attempt comes as London’s transport network faces a bruising week. GWR has cut long-distance services back to Plymouth today as Storm Austen brings 80mph gusts, while last night’s police incident at Brookwood brought South Western Railway services to a standstill — a reminder of how quickly even the best-laid London travel plans can come apart.
Live Kindly, Live Loudly
The challenge will raise funds for Ruby’s “Live Kindly, Live Loudly” Fund, a special named fund at CCLG: The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association, supporting research into childhood blood cancers. Donations can be made through the team’s fundraising page.
Ruby died of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), an especially aggressive form of the disease that affects around 200 people in the UK each year, mainly children and young adults. Current treatments are highly toxic, can cause serious long-term side effects, and do not work for one in five children or about half of adult patients.
“Treatments are toxic and can result in serious long-term side effects,” said Ms Jones. “Young people desperately need new medicines that are more effective and less toxic.”
The money raised in Ruby’s name has already supported five research projects, including studies into new treatments for hard-to-treat childhood leukaemias. Ashley Ball-Gamble, chief executive of CCLG, thanked the family for what he called an extraordinary effort: “The funds that they, and their supporters, have raised, and continue to raise, are helping us to fund and lead world-class research that will deliver real impact for children and young people diagnosed with blood cancer in the future.”
Around 2,300 teenagers and young adults are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK, and it remains the leading cause of disease-related death in this age group.
Ruby is remembered by her family as kind, smart and the life and soul of the party — and by the motto she asked to be remembered by: “Live Kindly, Live Loudly.”
