Santos Gabriel Rueda

About

Santos Gabriel Rueda is an Argentine trail runner and nuclear engineer born in El Candado Grande, a remote area of Salta province in Argentina’s north-west, where he grew up without running water or electricity. He began running in 2012 while studying nuclear engineering in Bariloche, and steadily built himself into one of the most accomplished South American mountain ultra runners in the sport’s history. In 2019 he set what was then the best Argentine result at the UTMB TDS (145km), finishing ninth in 19:31:55, before going on to finish 13th at UTMB Mont-Blanc in 2023 (21:59:01) — an Argentine national record at the world’s most prestigious trail race. He won the Valholl Argentina 123km in 2024 in 14:27:14 and followed that with second at the HOKA Val d’Aran by UTMB (163km) in 2025 in 16:53:56, and 15th at UTMB Mont-Blanc 2025. He runs for the Columbia-Europe team while living in Málaga, Spain, where he has also completed a second master’s degree in data science. With a UTMB Index of 852, Rueda is the benchmark for Argentine trail running at the global level — a figure who grew up without electricity and has stood on the podium of some of the most demanding mountain races in the world.

Notable Wins

• — Valholl Argentina 2024 winner (123km
• — 14:27:14)
• — UTMB TDS 2019 9th (19:31:55
• — then-best Argentine result)
• — UTMB Mont-Blanc 2023 13th (21:59:01
• — Argentine national record)
• — HOKA Val d’Aran by UTMB 2025 2nd (16:53:56)
• — UTMB Mont-Blanc 2025 15th

Upcoming Races

Race History