Ultra-runner Sophie Woods runs 2,000km across eight countries in only 29 days to break the record for completing the Via Alpina - one of the world's toughest endurance challenges.

Ultra-runner Sophie Woods ran 2,000km across eight countries in only 29 days to break the record for completing the Via Alpina - one of the world's toughest endurance challenges. The course follows the entire length of the Alps with elevation equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 12 times. The 42-year-old began the marathon on 4 July in Italy, following a trail network through Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and France before ending on the Mediterranean coast in Monaco on Saturday night. New Zealander Woods and her team battled two heatwaves, storms, a swarm of horseflies, and wildfires that resulted in a detour that added five kilometres and 200m of treacherous climbing to her route. British runner Jake Catterall set the previous fastest-known time for the route, completing it in 35 days in 2024. "The last couple of days I did on one and a half to two and a half hours of sleep to really push at the end The Via Alpina route is considered so arduous and technical that only a handful of runners have ever attempted it under formal timing. "There were a few points where I felt like I don't know how I'm going to get to the finish of this," she said.