{"id":1861,"date":"2026-08-03T20:21:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1861"},"modified":"2026-08-03T20:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:21:42","slug":"sophie-woods-crosses-alps-even-faster-than-first-reported-28-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1861","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Woods crosses Alps even faster than first reported: 28 days"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sophie<\/div>

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The achievement is breathtaking. Recognition is growing. The fastest known time is hers. <\/p>\n

Ultrarunner Sophie Woods<\/a> will have more to say after a few well-deserved full night\u2019s sleep. For now, consider her unvarnished secret to traversing a mountainous 1,242-mile trail network through Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France and Monaco in 28 days, 17 hours and 59 minutes \u2014 nearly a week faster than anyone else has been known to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one step. That\u2019s all you have to do. Just one step forward,\u201d Woods said on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Woods earlier reported the record time as 29 days, but corrected it in an email to The Times on Monday, saying she and her husband George \u201cwere all so exhausted they hadn\u2019t calculated correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Via Alpina <\/a>course follows the length of the Alps with elevation equivalent to climbing Mount Everest a dozen times. The length is a nice round number in kilometers \u2014 2,000. The total elevation climbed was roughly 110,000 meters, an average of 12,000 feet of daily vertical ascent per day. <\/p>\n

Yet another number is equally impressive: Woods is 42 years old.<\/p>\n

Woods, who competes using her maiden name Sophie Amy Grant, set off on July 4 in Trieste, Italy, and finished on the Mediterranean coast 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 before getting a few hours of sleep in a van, tent or occasionally a hotel room. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am ecstatic but knackered,\u201d she told BBC Sport. \u201cI\u2019m really tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

She ate and drank what would be expected of someone exerting herself to the nth degree. Energy gels containing carbs, electrolytes and amino acids along with a sprinkle of caffeine were essential, but Woods also splurged on McDonalds and mounds of pasta when she met up with her husband, photographer Zoe Salt and dog Nila at day\u2019s end. She estimated that she consumed close to 7,000 calories a day.<\/p>\n

The first week was the toughest, with Woods describing her feeling \u201ca thousand pulled muscles,\u201d but by halfway through the journey she told Her Sports that \u201cthings still ache now, and by the end of the day my feet are definitely ready for a rest, but I currently only have one small blister on my heel, which I\u2019m calling a huge win. All things considered, I\u2019m feeling really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Sophie <\/picture>\n
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Sophie Woods runs a route on Via Alpina at Klausenpass by Hotel Meiringen on July 20.<\/p>\n

(Zoe Salt)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

The previous fastest known time<\/a> in the Via Alpina was 35 days, 21 hours by British runner Jake Catterall, 34, in 2024. Tessa Caspers, 33, set the fastest women\u2019s time for the route at 38 days, 2 hours last year. <\/p>\n

Catterall might need to update his website<\/a>, which claims not only the Via Alpina record but others including an arduous mountain trek in North Africa and a 3,500-mile mad dash across the entire length of Europe, from Norway to Andalusia, Spain.<\/p>\n

He knew all about Woods\u2019 effort, however. On day 20 of her journey, Catterall met her in Switzerland after she had traversed \u201ca particularly spicy descent on a sketchy section of via ferrata,\u201d according to Woods\u2019 Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cSafely back at base camp, she was met by a brilliant surprise,\u201d the post read. \u201cWaiting to cheer her on was @jakecatterall<\/a> \u2014 the current Via Alpina FKT holder \u2014 who had gone out of his way on the journey to his own adventure just to support Sophie. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and one that gave everyone a real lift.\u201d<\/p>\n

FKT is short for the \u201cfastest known time<\/a>\u201d that a person or small group achieves on a particular course, usually somewhere it would be difficult or impossible to host an actual race. <\/p>\n

To submit an FKT, the route must be at least five miles long or have at least 500 feet of climbing. Some are very short \u2014 the Manitou Incline<\/a> in Colorado is less than one mile long but climbs 1,900 feet and begins at 7,000 feet of elevation. Others such as the Via Alpina<\/a> and the Appalachian Trail<\/a> are thousands of miles long.<\/p>\n

For verification, GPS information must be submitted to the FKT website. The route can be linked by uploading it to Strava, Garmin Connect or another online training platform. FKT has not verified Woods\u2019 record yet.<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 mark likely will be tested by another runner, although someone else her age and gender completing the Via Alpina in fewer than 29 days would be a challenging feat. <\/p>\n

Woods is from New Zealand and she and her husband spent a decade in London before living in their camper van for years while traveling throughout Europe, finally settling in Andorra, a tiny principality situated in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. <\/p>\n

And it is there Woods will rest for a spell. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m absolutely ecstatic,\u201d she said on Instagram a day after she completed Via Alpina. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe that we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n