Standing on shaky legs on the Pikes Peak summit, Maria Portilla was a long way from her native Peru.

Winner of the Pikes Peak Ascent on Saturday, Portilla grew up in Cuzco, an ancient mountain town about 50 miles from Machu Picchu.

There, she learned to love running up mountains, a passion she says is rare among women.

“I love to climb,” Portilla said. “No one trains like me. Well, maybe three or four women in the world. But most (road runners) don’t like to climb mountains. I’m hard-core.”

A marathoner, Portilla moved to Albuquerque from Peru six years ago to train.

It has been quite a year for Portilla, who finished third in Arizona’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in January, won the Little Rock Marathon in March and Salt Lake City Marathon in April.

Portilla, who competed at the Sydney Olympics and is gunning for a spot in the Beijing

Games next August, was the top female finisher in June’s Garden of the Gods 10-mile run.

Because of visa issues, Portilla missed out on this summer’s Pan American Games.

At 35, Portilla believes her days for winning medals are numbered.

Perhaps that’s why Portilla set out at a blazing pace, besting two-time Ascent champion Lisa Goldsmith of Nederland by almost seven minutes and setting an age-group record of 2 hours, 35 minutes, 46 seconds.

Portilla said she suffered from cramps in her side around the 7th mile but kept pushing.

After the race, Goldsmith said that it was more than halfway through the course before she

realized Portilla was in first place.

Even though she knew she was running well, Portilla didn’t know just how big of a lead she had carved.

“I didn’t see (anybody),” Portilla said. “I was trying to look for (Goldsmith) but I couldn’t see. She knows the course and how to keep the energy. I was scared, I was watching.”

The last 3 miles were very tough, Portilla said, but she alternated between running and walking to make it to the finish line, where she collapsed into the arms of race volunteers and had to lie down in the medical center for 15 minutes.

After she recovered, Portilla took in the sight from the summit.

“It’s a sight worth waiting for,” Portilla said in Spanish. “It was a challenge but I was thankful for the opportunity.”