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.

Absa Cape Epic, Stage #4

March 25, 2009

114 km, 2202 meters ascent

This stage was reported to be an “easy” day. I think saying any day of the Cape Epic is a bit of an oxymoron. We are tired, bruised and the affects of this many days of racing are starting to show. Matthew and I are both feeling fine, but the legs are sore and the 5am wake up call is taking its’ toll on me!

The stages begin with a mass start of 1200 racers. Teams are lined up in zones based on their overall time and placing. Since we have been sitting in the top 5 in the mixed division, we are allowed to start in Zone A with about 200 other riders. You can feel the weight of the other 1200 riders pressing behind you and the starts are always fast and furious with a cluster of athletes jockeying for position. The first 30 minutes of these days are my least favorite part of the day. It’s difficult to keep track of your teammate, hard to stay safe in the jumble of riders and quite a rude awakening with no warm up.

Today’s start was a neutral roll out through the sleepy town of Greyton. A car was leading us out through the town and onto the open roads. Unfortunately, the course marshal must not have had his Red Bull this morning because he took a wrong turn and lead the whole entire field into a dead end road. The whole field was stopped and confusion set in. We were only 5 minutes from the start and rumor circulated through the field that there would be a re-start. The pack mentality made people push other riders and trample through gardens. The group was making its’ way back toward the start and then just kept going. The re-start never happened and in the confusion, Matthew was pushed over and I lost track of him. Hundreds of people passed us before we realized the race was proceeding despite the botched start. I rode for about 30 minutes not knowing where Matthew was. He was behind me working hard to catch up. When we finally found each other, we were among hordes of recreational riders. We’ve been riding in about 40th position overall for most of the race, but today’s start put us somewhere in the hundreds.

We spent the rest of the stage working through groups, passing people and trying to catch back up. Much of the day was on fast roads with a headwind. It was truly road racing for ¾ of the day and since we were back with slower riders, we were not in packs that could share the workload. Matthew put his nose into the wind and his head down to work. It took us about 2 hours to move into the top 10 mixed field. It took us another couple of hours to work into 6th place in the mixed division. The whole stage took us 5:41 and most of our effort was spent passing teams and working back up through the field after the botched start. We finished the day in 6th and maintained our 5th place in the GC. However, we now only have a 4 minute advantage on the next team, which leaves very little room for error.

As the race goes on, Matthew and I are definitely finding our racing rhythm and learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Today was frustrating to have lost so much time due to a mistake by the course marshal. However, we rode really well and cut our losses the best we could. It’s hard not to look at the standings for today and wonder where we should have placed. However, this race is very much an adventure and very few teams have 8 days in a row with no mistakes, mechanicals or mishaps. I crashed today and bent my wheel about 5 km from the finish. Luckily, it was still operational and got me to the finish line. The other Specialized team (Songo.info) with Christoph and Burry were not so lucky. Burry crashed early in the race and also damaged his wheel. After winning every single stage so far, they lost approximately 20 minutes and lost their overall lead. They are motivated to make a historical comeback and try to regain the lead. As I said, this race is an adventure and the fatigue is setting in for everyone. Bikes and bodies are getting worked, so anything can still happen.

Tomorrow is also rumored to be an “easy” day at 111 km and 2233 meters of climbing. The goal is to race well, stay upright and maintain our position in the general classification.

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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