Ultrarunner Sophie Woods Crosses Arduous Alps Route Even Faster Than First Reported: 28 Days

The accomplishment is breathtaking. Recognition is growing. The fastest known clip is hers.

Ultrarunner Sophie Woods will person much to opportunity aft a fewer well-deserved afloat night’s sleep. For now, see her unvarnished concealed to traversing a mountainous 1,242-mile way web done Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France and Monaco successful 28 days, 17 hours and 59 minutes — astir a week faster than anyone other has been known to do so.

“Just 1 step. That’s each you person to do. Just 1 measurement forward,” Woods said connected Instagram.

Woods earlier reported nan grounds clip arsenic 29 days, but corrected it successful an email to The Times connected Monday, saying she and her hubby George “were each truthful exhausted they hadn’t calculated correctly.”

The Via Alpina course follows nan magnitude of nan Alps pinch elevation balanced to climbing Mount Everest a twelve times. The magnitude is simply a bully information number successful kilometers — 2,000. The full elevation climbed was astir 110,000 meters, an mean of 12,000 feet of regular vertical ascent per day.

Yet different number is arsenic impressive: Woods is 42 years old.

Woods, who competes utilizing her maiden sanction Sophie Amy Grant, group disconnected connected July 4 successful Trieste, Italy, and vanished connected nan Mediterranean seashore of Monaco. She endured heatwaves, storms, wildfires and a swarm of horseflies. She ran, climbed and hiked 14 to 18 hours a day, covering 40 to 50 miles earlier getting a fewer hours of slumber successful a van, shelter aliases occasionally a edifice room.

“I americium ecstatic but knackered,” she told BBC Sport. “I’m really tired.”

She ate and drank what would beryllium expected of personification exerting herself to nan nth degree. Energy gels containing carbs, electrolytes and amino acids on pinch a sprinkle of caffeine were essential, but Woods besides splurged connected McDonalds and mounds of pasta erstwhile she met up pinch her husband, photographer Zoe Salt and canine Nila astatine day’s end. She estimated that she consumed adjacent to 7,000 calories a day.

The first week was nan toughest, pinch Woods describing her emotion “a 1000 pulled muscles,” but by halfway done nan travel she told Her Sports that “things still ache now, and by nan extremity of nan time my feet are decidedly fresh for a rest, but I presently only person 1 mini blister connected my heel, which I’m calling a immense win. All things considered, I’m emotion really good.”

Sophie Woods runs a way connected Via Alpina astatine Klausenpass by Hotel Meiringen connected July 20.

(Zoe Salt)

The erstwhile fastest known time successful nan Via Alpina was 35 days, 21 hours by British runner Jake Catterall, 34, successful 2024. Tessa Caspers, 33, group nan fastest women’s clip for nan way astatine 38 days, 2 hours past year.

Catterall mightiness request to update his website, which claims not only nan Via Alpina grounds but others including an arduous upland trek successful North Africa and a 3,500-mile huffy dash crossed nan full magnitude of Europe, from Norway to Andalusia, Spain.

He knew each astir Woods’ effort, however. On time 20 of her journey, Catterall met her successful Switzerland aft she had traversed “a peculiarly spicy descent connected a sketchy conception of via ferrata,” according to Woods’ Instagram.

“Safely backmost astatine guidelines camp, she was met by a superb surprise,” nan station read. “Waiting to cheer her connected was @jakecatterall — nan existent Via Alpina FKT holder — who had gone retired of his measurement connected nan travel to his ain escapade conscionable to support Sophie. It was specified a thoughtful gesture, and 1 that gave everyone a existent lift.”

FKT is short for nan “fastest known time” that a personification aliases mini group achieves connected a peculiar course, usually location it would beryllium difficult aliases intolerable to big an existent race.

To taxable an FKT, nan way must beryllium astatine slightest 5 miles agelong aliases person astatine slightest 500 feet of climbing. Some are very short — nan Manitou Incline successful Colorado is little than 1 mile agelong but climbs 1,900 feet and originates astatine 7,000 feet of elevation. Others specified arsenic nan Via Alpina and nan Appalachian Trail are thousands of miles long.

For verification, GPS accusation must beryllium submitted to nan FKT website. The way tin beryllium linked by uploading it to Strava, Garmin Connect aliases different online training platform. FKT has not verified Woods’ grounds yet.

Woods’ people apt will beryllium tested by different runner, though personification other her property and gender completing nan Via Alpina successful less than 29 days would beryllium a challenging feat.

Woods is from New Zealand and she and her hubby spent a decade successful London earlier surviving successful their camper van for years while walking passim Europe, yet settling successful Andorra, a mini principality situated successful nan Pyrenees mountains betwixt France and Spain.

And it is location Woods will remainder for a spell.

“I’m perfectly ecstatic,” she said connected Instagram a time aft she completed Via Alpina. “I still can’t judge that we did it.”