An infinite list of inspiring & adventurous women to interview
The voice behind Girl. Woman. Athlete, a New Zealand-based podcast which interviews a community of women about their adventures in movement, is pretty inspiring herself.
Liverpool-born Sophia White arrived in Aotearoa with an idea - to stay for one year on a working holiday visa and bikepack the length of the country.
“I came here with just a bike and some bike bags,” says Sophia. “We’d done no research on biking in New Zealand. I’d done a lot of cycle touring in Europe, Ireland and England and just thought, “Oh, NZ’s got roads. This’ll be fine.”
The night before her flight, Sophia and her boyfriend at the time opened up their laptops to finally start some research. What they came across were blogs on blogs titled: ‘Do not cycle on NZ roads, the roads are crazy, the drivers are crazy.’
“We just shut our laptops and hopped on the plane,” she laughs. That was in 2018.
On those roads, Sophia made it from Bluff to Cape Reinga over three months. “It’s a great way to see the world - on a bike. It’s cheap, it’s fun, you’re moving quickly, and you’re part of the environment,” she says. “You’re in the landscape. You’re in the weather. It’s a really nice pace to experience a new place.”
After that, she found herself in Christchurch. “There I found great friends and a great way of life,” she says. “And before you know it, you just stay, and you put down roots and life happens.”
She had joined the Christchurch Mountaineering Club, and thinking she was here for a limited time, she’d be packing her weekends with activities. Like racing down to Mount Cook to cross the Ball Pass, then back to Christchurch late on a Sunday night. “I’d be stumbling into work the next day, just glad to sit down,” she says.
Fast-forward eight years, and she’s still here. Sophia has a partner, a job as an environmental manager for Antarctica NZ, and a community. Christchurch is home.
“Suddenly I’m like, wow, I love this city, and I want to live here forever,” she adds.
Since establishing a life in the South Island city, with its easy access to the great outdoors, Sophia has become an adventure racer.
It started with a team entry in the 2023 Coast to Coast, an iconic multisport event where you run, bike and kayak east across the South Island. When her friends needed a female cyclist, she thought, why not give it a go.
Having never kayaked in a multi-sport boat or tried any white water kayaking, she decided to do the Longest Day race in 2025. “I really enjoy a good challenge,” Sophia says.
Next was another Longest Day and Godzone this year. “Training for this was amazing. It felt really freeing and fun. Especially when you spend so much time at a desk on a computer, you feel like you’re completely in a man-made environment,” Sophia says. “But then you go outside and just feel wild again.”
How did she balance training alongside her 9-5, though? “Poorly,” Sophia laughed. But luckily, having friends with the same interests meant social catch-ups weren’t over coffee; instead, it was three hours kayaking together down the Waimak.
“You’ve got to like the process with training for these adventure races,” Sophia says. “Because if you don’t like the training, you really won’t enjoy the race.”
Sophia isn’t racing to win, though. “I really want to experience so much of life, and I think a part of experiencing life is also seeing what you’re capable of in your body,” she says.
“This isn’t necessarily about being the best, but it’s about being really kind to yourself and giving yourself the best chance of doing the best you can do at the time.”
Plus, being in those race environments - cruising down river valleys, scrambling up mountains, plodding through beech forests - makes the challenge extra worthwhile for Sophia. “Those environments are my happy place, and I get to be in them with cool people. It’s just a great way to feel alive.”
“I feel the most alive when I’m out there doing my movement, getting my heart rate up, sweating.”
The nature of adventure races is all about encouragement, Sophia says. “We’re all just out there trying to have a good time.”
Of course, it’s intimidating starting out, though. “When you’re just about to put your foot into a new community, or new place, you’re standing on the edge, looking in with all of your preconceptions,” she says. “Like everyone must be super strong, everyone must have been doing this since they were young, everyone’s got the best gear, everyone knows exactly what they’re doing.”
… And that’s part of the reasoning of why she started Girl. Woman. Athlete… to show that everyone starts from that same place, and we’re all just making the best of it, especially the women trying out adventure sports in a world dominated by men.
“That’s the best thing about being a beginner. If you have the courage to say: “I have no idea what I’m doing, can you give me some advice?” Then you see just how generous people are with their time and tips.”
“When people experience something and see the benefits of it, they then want others to experience it too.”
Five years ago, Sophia says she never thought she could have competed in the Coast to Coast, and she hears comments like this from other women all the time. "But really, it’s all about what you believe,” she says.
“There are so many women out there with very inspiring stories that show you don’t have to start at 18. You can start at 36, or 42, or you can start in your fifties and sixties and still experience amazing adventures and this awe of your body and lust for life.”
“All you need to do is believe that you can and find a safe space to learn and be a beginner.”
In the future, Sophia says she hopes to turn the podcast into a non-profit, which can help remove barriers for women accessing these sports. “Entry fees for races can be so expensive; good quality gear, even a decent sports bra, is expensive,” she says. “But everyone deserves a chance.”
Launched in August 2024, Girl. Women. Athlete has become a catalogue of stories showcasing inspiring women. “We can try new things. We can move our bodies. We can try different sports and achieve goals and overcome challenges at all stages of our lives, and we can share this with other women to inspire them too,” Sophia says.
She believes that if you can move the body, you move the mind. In an era where reports of people’s anxiety are skyrocketing, making time to move your body is crucial.
“Especially for the women who have families and jobs, they give so much, and they deserve to give some of that time back to themselves without feeling guilty about it,” she says. “When you’re strong and healthy, you make better decisions for yourself and others around you, including the environment. It’s a pipeline effect where we can become powerful leaders.”
On the podcast, she’s yarned with a karate athlete, a synchronised swimmer, bikepackers, ultra runners, and first-time triathletes.
And she’s never panicked over running out of epic women to interview.
Listen to the latest episode of Girl. Women. Athlete here: