At 200 miles, it might not be the world's longest race, but Tunnel Ultra is certainly the darkest. It's a gruelling two-day endurance event where competitors run underground laps in single-file, to a backdrop of classical music. Headphones are banned but hallucinations are all but guaranteed, with sightings of abominable snowmen, giant slugs and orange blobby monsters all reported. So why do people do it? This is the story of those who do, including one who suffered temporary blindness... then thanked the race organiser for the privilege.
 
The Never-Ending Tunnel has been adapted from an article by Justin Goulding on the Insight pages of the BBC Sport website. Audio scenes have been re-created for your enjoyment.
 
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The never-ending tunnel

Sport but not as you know it. Our latest Amazing Sport Story: Chasing Mountains. Five of the world’s top female climbers are thrown into a race. But who will make history by becoming the first woman to summit the fourteen highest peaks in the world?  Forget the champions. Amazing Sport Stories is about courage, underdogs, drama and myths and legends. These are global stories you’ll wish you’d known about and now probably won’t forget. There are other podcasts about gold medals and millionaire superstars. Expect the unexpected. Tales from around the world, all told in mini-seasons and one-off episodes. #AmazingSportStories Previous Amazing Sport Stories include:
The Black 14: Sport, racism and protests are about to change the lives of 14 American footballers. It’s 1969 in the United States. They’ve arrived on scholarships at the University of Wyoming to play for the “Cowboys”. It was a predominantly white college. The team is treated like a second religion. Then, the players make a decision to take a stand against racism in a game against another university. BA Parker takes us back to America’s turbulent 1960s to explore the injustice suffered by the “Black 14”.
The Curse of County Mayo: Is one of Ireland’s Gaelic football teams cursed? Sports reporter Dave McKenna investigates this curious case to find out if a 70 year old hex is behind Mayo’s recent failures.
Frozen Out: Twelve year old Justine just wants to play ice hockey… with the boys. When she’s told she can’t, she writes a letter which will change everything. Double Olympic gold medallist and former Canadian team captain Cassie Campbell-Pascall tells the story of Justine Blainey.

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We have a winner – or so we think. Questions are being asked, as an earlier climb comes under scrutiny. If you don’t actually reach the summit, can you still claim the title of first woman to scale the fourteen highest peaks? The mountaineers risked their lives on the ultimate challenge – can they make peace with what has happened?

Chasing Mountains: Ep 4

The mountaineers are climbing the final peaks, and three of them are neck-and-neck. The other two are close behind. They say it’s not a race, but their sense of competition is intense. Can they all make it? This episode was updated on 17 May 2024, to correct an error in the temperature on the summit of Nanga Parbat.

Chasing Mountains: Ep 3

Then there were five. Two super-fast new challengers are powering up the peaks, and the pressure is on. Edurne Pasaban, Gerlinde Katlernbrunner and Nives Meroi have been climbing the world’s highest mountains at a rate of around one a year. With the arrival of the South Korean climbers Oh Eun-sun and Go Mi-young, the stakes are supercharged.

Chasing Mountains: Ep 2

A near-death experience motivates a mountaineer to scale the world’s highest peaks. But two others are trying at the same time. They say this is not a race, but they are locked in competition to be the first woman to reach the summit of the 14 peaks.

Chasing Mountains: Ep 1

The female climbers vying to make history. Their challenge? To scale the fourteen highest peaks in the world. They come from South Korea, Spain, Italy and Austria to pit themselves against some of the harshest environments on earth, more than 8000 metres high in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountains. It is a dangerous quest. Who will realise their dream? The four-part season, with Joanna Jolly and Kathy Karlo, is coming soon.

The never-ending tunnel

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