Cristina Santurino, the ultra-runner with steel knees, passes away at 36.

Cristina Santurino became an essential runner in the Sierra de Guadarrama, an environment she knew intimately through long training sessions, the recipe for ultradistance running, a philosophy to which she dedicated her life. The void she leaves after her passing this Tuesday, the day she turned 36, in El Hierro, where she had been living for a few months, goes beyond her positions in increasingly longer races—she was registered for a 100-kilometer event this week—but extends to her tenacity. She was someone who may not have had the polished technique of professionals, but possessed their spirit. She will be remembered for reaching the finish line with bloodied knees, as she would throw herself down the descents and had the unfortunate habit of landing on her knees rather than using her hands. Marks of pride for an unbreakable woman.

It all started when Pedro Vianco, her coach, picked up the phone: “I want to train for a mountain race.” Cristina had a bib number for the TP 60 of Peñalara. Time was tight for him, but he accepted. And he was right. His new pupil had no experience in trail running, but had run asphalt marathons, and her genetics were promising. “She certainly had the motor; she was a beast.” A childhood filled with sports, especially skiing, led her to triathlons. “From there, she dedicated herself entirely to running, began winning, became who she was, and brands started looking for her.” Hoka was her sponsor, the one who announced her passing.

Felipe Rodríguez, organizer of many races in the Sierra de Guadarrama as a member of the Real Sociedad Española de Alpinismo Peñalara, met her when she registered for the Tres Refugios in 2018, a classic 32-kilometer race with nearly 2,000 meters of positive elevation gain. And she won. “It was a surprise for us; she was a total unknown.” From then on, she became a club member, and that year she was already second in the TP 60, the 60-kilometer race of the Gran Trail Peñalara, which she would win in 2019 and 2020, serving as appetizers before she topped it off in 2022 with her victory in the long distance, the 103 kilometers with 5,100 meters of positive elevation gain, starting and finishing in Navacerrada. Perhaps the most special day. “For her, because it was where she trained; and for us, due to the pride that she was from our club.”

That night, she survived what might have been the worst descent in her mountains, the one that connects the summit of Maliciosa with the base of La Pedriza, over a thousand meters of negative elevation drop with a very steep start of broken rock. “The memory I always have of her is seeing her with bleeding knees. Technically, it may not have been her strong suit, but if you go fast, a trip can take you to the ground.” Felipe ran the Transgrancanaria marathon with Cristina in 2019 and assisted her in the Marató i Mitja Castelló-Penyagolosa. “She ran many races on the calendar. She was quite consistent and methodical. Perhaps she didn’t have the qualities of a typical elite runner, but she put all her effort into being up front.” Vianco confirms the story of her descents. “She was a real clumsy! I don’t know why; she tripped and always landed on her knees before putting her hands down. She had knees of steel.”

Pending the autopsy, Cristina went to sleep on Monday to face her last long training session on Tuesday before traveling to Andorra to compete on Saturday in a 105-kilometer ultra with nearly 7,000 meters of positive elevation gain, one of the toughest courses around. On Tuesday, calls started coming in for her birthday, but there was no response. As the hours passed, fears of an accident in the mountains grew until, early in the afternoon, a neighbor found her body in bed.

“She was happy there,” summarizes her coach, the architect of her sessions. The last one she uploaded to the Strava app was a marathon with more than 2,000 meters of positive elevation gain on Sunday in El Hierro. Although Cristina was a nutritionist, she had another professional assisting her in this area. “The mountain was her passion; she lived for it.” Her last bib number was in the Zegama-Aizkorri, the most important mountain marathon in the world, on May 25: she finished in 6h18m45s. Her surroundings describe a healthy lifestyle to the millimeter. Someone who was not known for significant emotional lows and who was in a sweet moment with her new life in El Hierro, excited to share it with family. “She was doing particularly well.”

Much of her adventures took place in Chamonix, the epicenter of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. She ran the CCC three times, the 100-kilometer format, and was preparing to compete at the end of August in the 145-kilometer TDS, with the goal of someday wearing the bib for the UTMB, the 171 kilometers that circle the massif of the highest peaks of the Alps. “She had a beautiful calendar. She was strong and happy. It was a total shock,” summarizes Vianco, who defines her by her commitment. “Besides being kind, charismatic, fun, good people, of good quality, she was a planner. She had everything marked out in her mind and executed it in detail. Perfect; she was a soldier. Such a pity.”