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Tunnel Running is a term used by motor enthusiasts for the pastime of visiting and driving through tunnels, especially in groups and recreationally. At times convoys of over 200 cars have driven through tunnels in this manner.

The activity originated the UK, and emphasises acoustic enjoyment of the unusual echoes produced, rather than speed.

Purpose

The Tunnel Runner's are a group of enthusiasts who are passionate about driving, cars and all things motor-related. The group seeks to bring together like-minded individuals to collectively share this interest. The Tunnel Run facilitates this one step further by allowing the group to actively participate on the road. Participation, not competition, is the key word. Any form of car "snobbery" or an over-competitive nature is usually picked up by the group and guilty members could find themselves alienated as a result. The group believes in safe and spirited driving on public roads and will leave racing to the racetrack. The general reason for incorporation of tunnels is that it allows a combination of driving in open air as well as in enclosed spaces where the engine noise is enhanced (see below). A sense of purpose ensues as the group collates to create a line of audible and visual exotica travelling in a group through London.

History

The Tunnel Run started as a car meeting by TVR owners in London. After one particular meeting a small group decided to drive in a convoy around London, listening to the sound of their engines bouncing off walls of the many underground tunnels in London.

This first convoy realised they had struck a chord and the group decided to create a semi-regular meeting at midnight when the traffic is lighter in order to drive through the tunnels together.

The first Midnight London Tunnel Run attracted over 250 participants. As the runs continued and the group became larger more variations on this theme came into effect. In a bid for even less traffic 'dawn raids' were conceived, in which Tunnellers embark on their journeys as early as 3 or 4 am and usually finish at a venue for breakfast. The runs sometimes finish in areas outside London such as Wales and the south coast.

One run has even travelled as far as Paris. This run began on a Saturday evening with over 100 cars making their way across the channel. The drivers stuck together, cruising along the autoroutes before arriving in Paris just after midnight. The main organiser had set out a specific route and together with a number of the runners helping out with phones and walkie talkies, ensured that the bulk of the cars stayed together and on schedule (for the return trip). There was a rendezvous with a group of 20 cars from Holland who joined in the fun on the (mainly) deserted Paris streets. The group caused a minor traffic jam near the Eiffel tower as locals stopped to take pictures, but whilst the police were quickly in attendance they simply joined in with the locals taking photo's and chatting (as far as was possible with the language difference) with the Tunnelers.

The group then made its way out of Paris and took the trip home. Considering the logistics, the high performance and sometimes fragile nature of the cars involved, it is a testament to the (unnamed) organiser that all the cars made it back safely without a single speeding ticket or incident on the continent.

Members

The runs are attended by a group of high performance vehicle owners. The group congragates online and arranges run dates and meet points. To become a member of the group one must first be invited along by an existing member, and then successfully complete a 'warm in' period. This period is usually one to two runs as a guest where driving and attitude can be assessed for their compatibility with the main group. Once granted formal membership, the new member is granted access into the restricted and heavily moderated web site.

Whilst it is not imperative to have a particular type of car in order to attend (i.e there are no guidelines), an attendee's car tends to be one of the following:

1) a recognised high performance vehicle;

2) a recognised classic vehicle;

3) a vehicle considered to be unique enough to attract interest (i.e. rare/modified/import/prototype etc).

It is important to note that it is not simply the car that is important; the individual has to be of a sufficiently responsible nature to understand that the London Tunnel Run is not a race, in fact there is no competition of any kind (other than the noise in the tunnels). The group is as far removed from the outlaw 'joyriding' showing off culture of the 1980's as it can possibly be.

All egos are left at home, the atmosphere within the LTR is one of cameraderie and mutual respect. Any car that develops a mechanical problem will have a number of runners either stop to assist or ensure that the problem is not serious.

The links the group have are wide and varied within the UK and the phenomenon has even spread abroad. There are a number of international groups who bring a selection of vehicles over to the UK and join in the runs.

In 2007 a Dutch contingency joined in on more than one occasion, arriving on a Saturday morning to be met by a number of the UK Tunnel Runners. Both times they completed a run that afternoon as well as a run early on the Sunday morning with the London Tunnellers.

After stopping for breakfast, the convoy continued to a pre-determined location for an impromtu 'motor show' in a large public car park where members of the public had the opportunity to see some rare and beautiful cars at close quarters. The Dutch then returned to the mainland on the Sunday afternoon. They have attended a few of the Tunnel Runs and are welcomed by the group, bringing the same warm friendly enthusiasm, whilst still maintaining an emphasis on safety which is evident throughout the Tunnel Run community.

Organisation

While the runs started with TVRs, they have evolved so that any car is now welcome regardless of make, model, speed or condition and the runs now regularly feature everything from the Minis and MR2s to Marcos (car), Moslers and motorbikes. The runs are organised within a restricted Internet forum to prevent them from being gatecrashed by unwanted parties who may drive dangerously and bring the London Tunnel Run into disrepute. To date this has never happened.

Details of runs are never published outside of the website until the run has happened. The route, start point and destination always change. The group has active relations with the Metropolitan Police Service to make sure that inconvenience to the general public is kept to a minimum.

Acts of dangerous driving are frowned upon within the group and have resulted in people being banned from further events organised by the Tunnel Runners.

During a tunnel run the group slows to a crawl within a tunnel to create a gap in the traffic then accelerate hard to create loud engine noise within the confines of the tunnel. The cars usually feature large displacement engines with tuned exhaust systems, which produce a sound that is very pleasing to a car enthusiast. A video of a Tunnel Run can be seen here.

Many copycat runs have been created by other internet forums, which have caused the London Tunnel Runners to be blamed for dangerous driving. To combat this the London Tunnel Runners now inform the police of every run that they have planned, to enable the police to deal with genuine complaints in case those are made.

London Tunnel Run in the Media

The programme "Vroom Vroom" on mainstream satellite channel Sky One carried a report on the tunnel run where presenter Emma Parker Bowles was invited to join the run. Youtube videos available here.

Islington Gazette article ran an article on a noise complaint caused by cars attributed to a tunnel run. Article here.

An article in Rides Magazine (USA) in the May/June 2006 edition.

Article and gallery in Channel 4's 4car website available here.

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