A few weeks into her historic 2,000km journey across the Alps, Sophie Woods faced a life-threatening situation. While she and her photographer were navigating a peak in Switzerland, a fierce thunderstorm suddenly struck.
“Lightning was flashing all around us, and there was no safe place to take cover. The rocks in the area were conductive,” Woods recounted in an interview with the Guardian from her home in Andorra, nearly two weeks after she achieved the fastest recorded time for the Via Alpina, a 2,000km network of alpine trails spanning eight European countries.
“There was a moment when I genuinely feared for our lives,” she said. “I ran as fast as I could to escape the storm.”
Woods began her journey on July 4 from Muggia, near Trieste, Italy, with the ambitious aim of completing the Via Alpina trail, which traverses Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, and Monaco, in record time.
The challenge was monumental. Alongside battling thunderstorms and multiple heat waves, Woods encountered an unexpected hurdle. After running since 3am through the Austrian mountains in extreme heat, she found herself exhausted and anxious about securing accommodation for the night.
Then, a swarm of biting horseflies attacked her.
Unable to escape the flies, Woods abandoned her hiking poles and grabbed handfuls of ferns. “For the next hour, I was frantically swatting at myself with those ferns, looking completely ridiculous. It was a nightmare,” she explained.
Despite the extreme conditions, the 42-year-old New Zealander maintained her focus and cautious approach, sometimes running for up to 20 hours a day. She knew that one misstep or injury could jeopardize her goal. Daily, she consumed around 7,000 calories and was supported by her husband, George Woods, and photographer Zoe Salt, who provided food, hydration, and rest breaks along the route.
By the third week, her resilience had grown remarkably. “My body seemed to say, ‘This is our new normal; we’re meant to conquer these mountains,’” she noted.
Woods completed her journey by running through the night, finally arriving in Monaco on August 1. She entered the glamorous city-state feeling exhausted but relieved that she and her team had made it safely.
The entire endeavor took her an astonishing 28 days, 17 hours, and 59 minutes, breaking the previous record of 35 days and 21 hours held by British runner Jake Catterall and surpassing the previous women’s record of 38 days held by Dutch runner Tessa Caspers.
Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, Woods showed little interest in running during her childhood. After relocating to the UK at the age of 20, she began running as a means to enhance her health, initially managing only brief 15-minute jogs.
As her interest grew, she progressed to 10km races, eventually moving on to marathons. Balancing her work at a hair salon during the week, she spent her weekends exploring mountainous trails. After 16 years in London, she and her husband purchased a camper van and spent seven years traveling through Europe’s mountains before settling in Andorra.
Over the past decade, Woods has participated in numerous high-profile races, including the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (a 170km mountain race) on six occasions and the Tor des Géants (a challenging 330km endurance event).
However, in 2025, her passion for running began to wane. After several years of IVF treatments, Woods and her husband faced the reality of infertility, making each race feel like a monotonous chore.
“I struggled with the realization that my life would not follow the path I had envisioned, filled with parenting and daily routines,” Woods reflected.
Seeing her distress, George Woods proposed a new challenge for them: Sophie would run the Via Alpina with him as her support crew. This venture profoundly renewed her enthusiasm for the sport and her self-image.
“After the IVF experience, I had lost appreciation for my body,” Woods admitted. “But running allowed me to rediscover my respect and affection for my body and what it can achieve. It became a joyful experience, which has deepened my self-respect.”
Since her accomplishment, Woods has received an influx of messages from women and girls around the world inspired to attempt their own runs, even starting with 5km. Her Instagram following has surged by over 55,000 in recent weeks.
Woods expressed surprise at her newfound influence, stating, “I never imagined I would be in a position to inspire others. Within the trail-running community, such feats seem more common, but the attention has been overwhelming, making me realize what I accomplished is truly extraordinary.”
