Sophie Grant becomes fastest person EVER to conquer 2,000km Via Alpina

Sophie Grant took a huge margin off the previous fastest known time (FKT) – for both women and men – when she completed the epic 2,000km Via Alpina route today (Sunday 2nd August) inside 30 days.

She had set off on Saturday 4th July from Trieste to take on the route across the rugged terrain of the Alps. Eight countries, over 2,000km and 109,613m of climbing – the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level 12 times – lay ahead. Click here to see the route in full and how she conquered it.

The schedule was to reach the finish line in Monaco on Sunday 2nd August to become a world record holder – and that’s exactly what happened.

The previous women’s record was 38 days, and the men’s is 35 days, meaning Sophie has completed it significantly faster than anyone before.

Epic achievement

The 42-year-old New Zealand native, who swapped London life for the rugged mountains of Italy and France before settling in Andorra, had to battle storms, heat approaching 40 degrees Celsius, flooded trails and detouring wildfires, on as little as four hours sleep per day over the course of her journey.

She was crewed by her biggest cheerleader husband in George Woods, friend Zoe Salt, who was filming and photographing, and her canine companion Nila – their dog!

The challenge captured the imagination on social media too, in no small part due to Sophie’s authenticity and transparency about what it is to be a woman doing something so incredibly challenging.

Last year she starred alongside friend Stephanie Case in a moving documentary, Off Course, which followed the pair through the uncertainty of their individual fertility treatments, the strength of their friendship and their passion for elite ultra running.

Huge significance

Speaking about ultra running, Grant says: “Running is an outlet for all my emotions. For joy, for sadness, for grief. It’s where I go and just put my stuff.”

The documentary was the catalyst for taking on this latest challenge and, while she is not new to challenges of this nature, having finished the Tor des Géants – the 330km race through the Italian Alps – three times, placed in the top 10 at UTMB, winning a UK skyrunning title and coming fourth in the Marathon des Sables, she says this one holds most significance.

Asked how she felt after reaching the finish, she said: “Ecstatic, but knackered. I’m really tired.”

We’ll have plenty more reaction in the coming days from what has been an incredible achievement.

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