A Mexican athlete races Mexico City’s subway in the latest man vs. machine showdown

Fernando Casanova, a self-described obstacle course racing (OCR) athlete, has partnered with Reebok to promote the brand’s latest shoe technology by racing the Mexico City subway.

In a new advertisement, Casanova, a Mexican, is shown riding the metro to the Pino Suarez station, where he jumps out and then races madly across town to try to catch the same train at the next station. Doing so meant dodging pedestrians, streetlights, and inhaling a good amount of smog; if it weren’t for the drone following him across town, he would have probably looked like just another chilango running late for work.

In the end, he won, defeating the iron horse.

Some Mexicans applauded Casanova for winning Reebok’s metro challenge, while others joked on social media that even a turtle could outrun Mexico City’s slow subway. Some joked that he was running to avoid paying his metro fare.

The “Race the Tube” publicity stunt comes from a trend that reportedly started in Europe several years ago. It’s since made it’s way around the globe, as people started uploading their own versions of man vs. machine races to YouTube and social media.

Some of the races are about raising awareness for particular causes. A man in a wheelchair raced the tube in London and nearly made it, if it hadn’t been for a flight of stairs blocking his progress.