2,000 kilometres. Eight countries. 28 days, 17 hours and 59 minutes.
New Zealand ultrarunner Sophie Woods completed the Via Alpina in that time, setting the route’s fastest known time.
But the part that stayed with me wasn’t the record. Woods says the journey renewed the respect she felt for her body and herself. She also shares the achievement with the crew who fed her, cooled her down, arranged her rest and made each day possible.
We often frame performance as the willpower of a lone hero. Sustainable transformation is usually a system: preparation, support, rhythm and meaning.
Maybe some goals are not there simply to make us faster. Maybe they are there to break an old story about who we are.
What did your latest achievement change: your limits, or the story you had been telling yourself about them?