New Zealand runner Sophie Wood, who competes under her maiden name, Sophie Grant, recently accomplished something truly remarkable.

Running for 29 days across the Alps, from Trieste to Monaco, Woods covered around 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) while climbing a total of more than 100,000 meters (328,083 feet) – on an average of three to four hours of sleep per night.

This made her the fastest person ever to complete the Via Alpina. The 42-year-old ultra-runner finished the route more than seven days faster than the fastest man ever to do so.

“It gives me goosebumps thinking about it, to take the overall record is amazing,” Woods told DW.

“I was there for the adventure. I didn’t really want to be running for longer than a month, that was enough.” 

The longer the distance, the smaller the gender gap

Woods is not the only woman to have broken a men’s record in endurance sports in recent years.

In 2026, Rachel Entrekin won the Cocodona 250, a race covering roughly 400 kilometers in the United States, setting a new overall course record.

A year earlier, Tara Dower ran the Long Trail in Vermont. a distance of about 440 kilometers, in 3 days, 18 hours, and 29 minutes, beating the previous men’s record by 2 hours and 40 minutes.

In 2019, Germany‘s Fiona Kolbinger became the first woman to win the Transcontinental Race. Cycling nearly 4,000 kilometers across Europe, she finished just under eight hours ahead of the second-placed male rider. That same year, Jasmin Paris became the first woman to win the 430-kilometer Spine Race in Great Britain, shattering the previous course record by more than 12 hours.

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A comprehensive analysis by RunRepeat and the International Association of Ultrarunners examined over five million results from more than 15,000 ultramarathons. The findings showed that the longer the distance, the closer women came, on average, to matching men’s times.

In the events analyzed, on average, the men were still 11.1% faster. At the 100-mile mark, the gap narrowed to just 0.25%. At distances exceeding 195 miles, the women were on average 0.6% faster.

‘We’re good at solving problems’

So why are women able to keep pace—or better—when the physical demands increase?

Certain physiological factors may play a role. On average, women possess a higher proportion of fatigue-resistant Type I muscle fibers and rely relatively more on fat as an energy source during endurance activities.

The advantages men typically enjoy—such as greater muscle mass and higher maximal oxygen uptake—may be less decisive in ultra-long events than in shorter races.

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“Probably we are better at burning fat, and therefore it makes us able to go longer,” Woods said – before pointing to other possible factors.

“I think we’re good at putting our egos aside. And I think we’re good at solving problems.”

Competing in an ultramarathon is about much more than who can run the fastest. There are key decisions to be made about sleep, nutrition and physical pain. That’s where her team comes in.

“I just put my life in their hands,” she said.

“You kind of control everything you can and then you just throw it into chaos and see what comes out in the wash.”

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As little as 90 minutes of sleep, 7,000 calories a day

The extreme physical strain was evident in her sleeping patterns – towards the end, she was sleeping as little as 90 minutes a night. When she simply couldn’t go any further, she would lie down right next to the trail.

“You just curl up on the side in a little mossy glen and hope that no one thinks you’ve died,” she said.

“The sleep deprivation was one of the hardest parts of the whole thing.”

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Her alarm would often go off again as early as three in the morning.

At the same time, maintaining her physical energy was a huge problem, with her team estimating that she was consuming between 6,000 and 7,000 calories a day – through sports drinks, soft drinks, as burritos, falafel wraps, sandwiches, pasta, and McDonald’s food. She ate much of this while on the move.

In the Dolomites, heat and pain added to the challenge.

“I bawled my eyes out in the Dolomites,” she said.

“I was really hot. I was really sore. I was really swollen. I was shuffling along and I was just like: I don’t know if I can do this.” 

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Despite it all, she carried on.

Women long neglected in sports research

Despite setting the record, Woods wonders what she and other women could achieve if their bodies were studied as thoroughly as men’s.

“As a woman, you need to be very careful when you read these studies to actually see who they are studying, because often it will be 10 male cyclists,” Woods said. 

“We have just been left behind in all of the research for decades,” she said.

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“As women, we are fighting for crumbs in the sporting world. We are fighting for more coverage, we are fighting for more research, we are fighting for more sponsorship.” 

The fact that several individual men’s records have been broken by women doesn’t mean that women are inherently better endurance athletes than men. Men still hold many records and are, on average, significantly faster over shorter distances.

However, in an interview with the BBC, sports physiologist Nicholas Tiller described very long endurance events as “the great equaliser.” 

Woods is simply not interested in who holds the advantage on paper.

“I think the bravest thing to do is to try,” she said.

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“Try the scary thing. It doesn’t matter what happens in the end because at least you’ve tried.” 

Life uphill: India’s ultramarathon mom

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This article was originally published in German. 

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India’s Ravindra Jadeja, front left, and Manav Suthar (PTI Photo)

TimesofIndia.com in Galle: In times when variation, mystery and darts have become the survival norm, Manav Suthar is a throwback to an era gone by. The beats and drops of techno music have captured the imagination around the world, but Suthar continues to be the classic which never gets old – come for the tone, enjoy the verse and stay for the ending. The ease with which he stands on top of the bowling mark, the grace with which he approaches the crease and the effortless magic of his wrist make him a rare breed.‘Kalai mai jaadu hai, alag ball chalta hai iske haath se (He has magic in his wrists. The ball spins viciously from his hand),’ has been the unanimous observation of those who have seen him climb up the ladder in the last few years. Selectors were convinced at first sight, and since then his progression has been gradual, aiming not only to prepare for life after Ravindra Jadeja but also to secure an all-weather finger spinner.As someone who made the great Bishan Singh Bedi take note of his classical left-arm spin, Maninder Singh’s eyes light up when he talks about Suthar and his craft. It is as if the former India cricketer is playing his own visuals in the backdrop while explaining the nuances of left-arm spin and the attributes which set the youngster apart.“The first thing I notice in a spinner is how the ball comes out of the hand, and in his case, it comes out beautifully. His seam position is excellent. As they say, the seam should point towards first or second slip, and that’s exactly what I saw. I watched him in the Test match [vs Afghanistan] and even in a couple of IPL games. I don’t think he completed his full quota of overs in those matches, but even then I felt he was a delight to watch.“He has a beautiful future ahead. I believe he is going to play for India for a long time because I have not seen a classical left-arm spinner like him in a very long time,” explains Maninder, one of the finest of his era.“His run-up is simple, his action is simple, and the release of the ball from his hand is beautiful. When a spinner releases the ball like that, it tells you he has put in countless hours in the nets. That hard work builds character, and you can see it when he bowls in a match,” he adds.

India’s Manav Suthar (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

‘Revs on the ball’ was a phrase which went out of currency with the advent of shorter formats and tweakers opting for darts over craft. Suthar, however, came as a breath of fresh air, reintroducing guile, deception and beating the batter in the air. Right from his domestic cricket days through the subsequent India A fixtures, close-in fielders have always been impressed by the sound the ball makes when it leaves Suthar’s hand. The poetry isn’t interrupted by a late jerk or twitch, and it all just flows like a smooth brush stroke on a canvas.“I have heard from fielders standing at silly point and short leg that they can actually hear the sound when the ball leaves his hand. That comes from the revolutions he imparts on the ball. When I say the ball comes beautifully out of his hand, it is because of those revolutions. His run-up, action and release all come together perfectly,” Maninder further explains.Not just in India, the ‘revs on the ball’ also made a lot of noise in England, where Suthar joined Warwickshire to get a taste of County cricket and bowl with a different cricket ball. Head coach Ian Westwood was very pleased with his signing. Even though Suthar played just two games, they can’t wait to have him back for more fixtures.

India’s Rishabh Pant, left, talks to Manav Suthar (AP Photo)

“He has all the ingredients to succeed in a competitive set-up like India’s. The ball leaves very nicely from his hand, and the revolutions he imparts make him the kind of spinner who will succeed in every condition. He is a very smart operator. We only had him for a couple of games but he was well liked within the group,” says Westwood.Days after making his Test debut against Afghanistan, Suthar boarded the long flight and turned up for the fixture against Yorkshire. The turnaround time between the two games was just three days, but it did not affect how he operated in the middle. The game against Afghanistan ended in Mullanpur on June 8, and Suthar took the field for Warwickshire in Scarborough on June 12.“I remember the turnaround time between his international assignment and County game was very short, but he arrived ready and made an impact. Apart from his bowling, Suthar made useful contributions lower down the order, which makes him an asset for any side. Bowling in England, with different conditions and a different ball helps a spinner’s overall development and will hold him in good stead for his international assignments,” adds Westwood.

India’s Manav Suthar bats (AP Photo)

The coaches who have worked closely with Suthar at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) have been very appreciative of his work ethic ever since VVS Laxman had asked a former cricketer to groom the left-armer. After minute technical adjustments, such as shortening the delivery stride, he was ready for the ‘A’ challenge and responded emphatically.Preparation has always been a focus for the 24-year-old, with no compromise on volume. The coaches assert that this work ethic helps him seamlessly make the adjustments and be battle-ready whenever opportunity comes his way.