\n What did you do in the past 29 days?\n <\/p>\n
\n New Zealand ultrarunner Sophie Woods ran 1,240 miles across eight countries to conquer one of the world\u2019s toughest endurance challenges \u2013 breaking both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s time records.\n <\/p>\n
\n The 42-year-old conquered the Via Alpina, which involves traversing a vast European alpine region stretching east to west from Italy, through Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and finally France and Monaco.\n <\/p>\n
\n She completed the challenge in 29 days, beating the previous record set by British runner Jake Catterall in 2024 by six days. Previously the fastest woman, Dutch runner Tessa Caspers, did it in 38 days.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m absolutely ecstatic,\u201d Woods said on her Instagram Sunday local time, a day after she finished the feat. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe that we did it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Her journey began in Trieste, a port city in northeastern Italy, on July 4 and ended in Monaco on Saturday. Photos posted to Instagram showed the variety of terrain she had to overcome, from a steep rock ascent in Slovenia to a night run from Germany to Austria.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI guess I\u2019ve been preparing for this in my whole running career,\u201d she said in a post, recalling \u201ctechnical mountains\u201d and \u201cexposed ridges\u201d she had encountered in the past.\n <\/p>\n
\n But the length and duration set the present challenge apart from all her previous runs, she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhatever you do on Day 2 is going to reflect you on Day 22,\u201d she said, calling it \u201ca very different format.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n In an interview with British broadcaster BBC, she said her muscles were swollen and sore after the first week. To beat the record, Woods said, she had to reduce her sleep towards the end of the route to fewer than two and a half hours per night.\n <\/p>\n
\n She also told BBC how \u201cterrifying\u201d it was running close to wildfires, as her challenge coincided with a punishing heatwave that has gripped Europe.\n <\/p>\n