Rebecca Rusch

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Rebecca Rusch wasn’t thinking about world championships when she joined the Downers Grove North High School cross-country team. “I just wanted the free track suit,” recalls Rusch, who, 28 years later, finds herself among the ranks of the world’s elite endurance athletes. In July of 2009, Rusch won her third straight mountain biking 24-hour Solo World Championship.

Since donning those gray cotton sweats and Lycra shorts, Rusch has outfitted herself in the kit of numerous other disciplines: racking up ascents of big walls from Yosemite to Zion, paddling on the world-famous Offshore Canoe Club’s women’s outrigger team in the brutal Molokai crossing and winning adventure races around the world.

When not training in one of the five mountain ranges surrounding her hometown of Ketchum, Idaho, the 41-year-old known as the “Queen of Pain” can be found chasing adrenaline from Tibet to New Zealand to Kyrgyzstan, constantly adding titles to her impressive and extensive resume.

In addition to those three 24-hour solo mountain bike World Champion rainbow jerseys, Rusch is a three-time national champion in 24-hour team mountain biking. She’s Idaho’s Short Track state championship (twice), and its Cyclocross state title. An accomplished Nordic skier, she’s won the Masters Cross Country Skiing World Championship, in addition to taking the top prize at Raid Gauloises Adventure Racing World Championships. And although that’s just cross-section of her palmares, it’s easy to see why Rusch has been profiled by Sports Illustrated, Outside Magazine and Adventure Sport Magazine.

Talking about age draws a laugh as she gestures at her surroundings. "People around here are all 10 years younger than they actually are. And I don’t mean they just look it; they are actually 10 years younger," she said. "Everyone’s out there constantly doing stuff, from biking to skiing to hiking. There’s a collective mentality that if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it."

This mentality, along with what she calls "perfect terrain for training," provides a home base for the typically itinerant Rusch. She is part of the community; for more than two years she has been a stalwart volunteer emergency medical technician and firefighter for the Ketchum Fire Department, and a homeowner. On breaks from her race schedule, she works on her condominium, though the domestic idea continues to bemuse her; the last home she owned was a 1975 Ford Bronco.

Vernal, UT riding and USA Cycling Marathon Nationals

July 6, 2009

We left town on Wednesday night with Scott and Susan Robinson in their monster Sportsmobile for the road trip to Breckenridge for the Firecracker 50 miler, which is the USA Cycling marathon national championships. We drove part way and made a stop in Vernal, UT for a bit of sweet single track riding. I’d read about this place in the most recent Bike Mag as “the new Fruita” with 100 miles of buff single track.

http://bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/bike-magazine-june-2009-issue/

We found the local Specialized dealer, Altitude Cycle (http://www.altitudecycle.com/) and got the lowdown from the shop owners on their trails. They are the personal stewards of this place and were super excited to share their maps and recommendations. We did a 2 hour ride to sample a few of their trails. It was awesome desert riding with swooping fast trails, antelope running around, wide open views and even a bit of bike art at the trail intersections. You could feel how special this place is and how much care and love had been taken to build and preserve these trails. It was well worth the stop and a great break from the drive. I will definitely go back there.

Today we are in Breckenridge and it has been raining and stormy since we arrived. The Firecracker 50 is a huge race that sells out each year with about 800 people on the roster. The course is a 25 mile super technical loop with about 5000 ft of climbing per lap. I get to do the lap twice! The course is great and always draws a really top level of competition. The big kicker is that it starts at 10,000 ft and goes up from there. Yes, I live at altitude, but about 4000 ft below where the race starts. I raced here last year and finished 4th and was definitely affected by the thin air.

The pro field is really stout this year with a mix of pro cross country women and pro endurance athletes. The distance is just a bit too long for the XC specialist and just a bit too short for the endurance specialists like me. It’s a unique distance that will be interesting to see how it shakes out. There are also a couple of women entered here who will be my competition for 24 hour World Champs in 3 weeks, so we’ll get to size each other up a bit. This is the last tune up race before Worlds and the last really hard effort before The Big One.

Here are a few pics from Vernal, UT!

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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