Rebecca Rusch
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.
Day 0: Travel Jinx
June 1, 2010In my last post, I talked about how slick I was with packing my bike and how smoothly my airline bike experience has been for a really long time. Well, that comment smacked me in the rear on the way to PA. Our routing was Sun Valley, Salt Lake City, Altanta, Harrisburg via plane. Rental car from Harrisburg, PA then 90 miles to State College and the Seven Mountains Scout camp. We left Sun Valley at 9 AM Mountain time and finally arrived at camp at 2:00 AM Eastern Time. Our very long excursion for stage 0 included running to more than one plane connection, waiting in the Harrisburg airport for 3 hours for our lost bikes and bags to hopefully show up. They DID, which was a huge relief. We planned to just get a hotel in Harrisburg since it was super late and just head to the race in the morning. The TT stage did not start until 3pm, so that would leave us time to have a good breakfast and hit the road. We drove and checked no less than 15 hotels from Harrisburg to State College and there were volleyball tournaments, weddings and who knows what else, but ALL the hotels in the state of Pennsylvania seemed to be full. We had to forgo a nice shower and clean bed and just head straight to the scout camp and our awaiting bunks. The teeny road sign to Sand Mountain Road was nearly impossible to see in the dark. We made a few passes on the curvy, forested road before we found the turn. Then we began the hunt to find Rimmel Lodge on the hand drawn (not to scale!) map of the scout camp.
The accommodations at Seven Mountain Scout camp are a bit rustic. I'm in Rimmel Lodge with about 15 other athletes from CA, CO, MI and of course PA! It's communal living at it's finest among a bunch of adults who have regular jobs, can afford hotels and would probably prefer to camp outside than sleep inside a bunk house. But we're here together tuning bikes, talking about racing and getting to know each other. We have a shared kitchen, although dinners are provided family style for all the racers in the dining hall. We have one bathroom for all of us in the lodge. I picked up matches today at the store to donate the the group facilities, if you know what I mean. A short walk away are gang showers with cold water only. This is the East Coast, so of course there are bugs here. A multitude of flying, crawling, buzzing things that just want to say hello. There are no screens on the windows in our lodge, so we need to keep the doors and windows closed at night to keep the bugs out. I KNOW there are other, larger furry critters around the facility, so food, gels and other stuff are hopefully sealed up enough. I am definitely checking my shoes before I put them on each time. The camp vibe will definitely add color and camaraderie to the race.
Yesterday's TT was a blast. It was a 10 mile sampling of what we have in store. Some hard fire road climbing punctuated by difficult single track, then some really, really fast single track, followed by some more really hard single track. I started out last of the women's field and starting one minute behind me was the first single speed male. Greg was starting just a few minutes behind me as well and the open men were last. My goals for the day were to not get caught by the single speeders or any men, to test my heart rate and intensity levels to see how recovered I am from Australia and to really focus on riding this technical single track smoothly and efficiently. I was able to achieve all those goals and felt like I had a great ride. I finished the TT in 3rd for the Open Women, about a minute off the lead. While I always race to win, I was still really pleased with how my body responded, how I rode and how I handled the little appetizer for the week of riding. It's a little weird to race a TT because you have no gauge of the other riders, no pacing to go off of and absolutely no idea how you are doing. I am predicting that the top three women will have a good, competitive race for the next six days. It will force me to really be on my toes and make the most of my time here. Greg (Club Ride Apparel
Stage 2 is a 40 miles stage that I'm predicting will take me around 5 hours. The trails here take time and the temperatures are HOT, so I'm taking a bit more fuel and water just to be on the safe side. If the TT is any indication of what this week will be like, I'm stoked.
-
We are racing today!
January 23, 2012 -
Happy Holidays to everyone!
January 3, 2012 -
I'm in Santa Monica
December 13, 2011 -
Last week
November 30, 2011 -
The La Ruta is in the history books,
November 7, 2011 -
I'm in the hotel room
November 4, 2011 -
Day 1 of La Ruta is in the books.
November 3, 2011 -
La Ruta Ready
November 3, 2011 -
24 Hour Nationals!
October 14, 2011 -
Last weekend
October 7, 2011 -
August flew by
September 29, 2011 -
Specialized Right to Play Ride to Vegas
September 12, 2011 -
This last week has been truly awesome
August 31, 2011 -
The Week After
August 26, 2011 -
Leadville Trail 100 2011
August 18, 2011 -
Summer Highlights
August 9, 2011 -
Whew..
July 20, 2011 -
Sunday was my 2nd appearance
July 12, 2011 -
Happy to be home
June 28, 2011 -
The Beti Bike Bash
June 14, 2011 -
The Trans-Sylvania Epic
June 6, 2011 -
As most of you know
May 31, 2011 -
Whew! What a week
May 31, 2011 -
The Titan Desert
May 9, 2011 -
Right now, packing again
May 6, 2011 -
It's been a busy few months
May 4, 2011 -
Whiskey 50: podium and a matching set of bruises!
May 3, 2011 -
I'm in Phoenix
May 2, 2011 -
Three days down
April 19, 2011 -
What a tough, but inspiring weekend.
April 11, 2011 -
The weather has been raining hard
March 28, 2011 -
No sleep and an all night flight,
March 25, 2011 -
Great weekend in Portland with some work
March 15, 2011 -
Tour de la Patagonia and the start of the 2011 race season.
February 23, 2011 -
After what was a rough three days of racing
February 22, 2011 -
My official 2011 hard training schedule
January 17, 2011 -
Once again I am floored
January 3, 2011 -
Gringo Paceline Day
November 22, 2010 -
Lack of Sleep Adds to Challenge
November 22, 2010 -
Finding Motivation in the Middle of Nowhere
November 19, 2010 -
Much Better than Last Year
November 18, 2010 -
Rusch returns to La Ruta four years later
November 17, 2010 -
I dressed up as a Cyclocross racer
November 2, 2010 -
Looking for Mujah
November 1, 2010 -
It's official.
October 18, 2010 -
I followed both 24 hours of Moab
October 13, 2010 -
Well most of my main races are over
September 29, 2010 -
I'm at the Cinnamon Bear lodge
September 20, 2010 -
Earned Another Rainbow Jersey
September 13, 2010 -
Ask Reba August Giveaway
September 13, 2010 -
Well, race day's almost here.
September 9, 2010 -
I'm in a Holiday Inn in Green River
September 7, 2010 -
Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee
August 29, 2010 -
Last weekend, I jumped in the car
August 24, 2010 -
LT 100
August 23, 2010 -
The questions have been flowing
August 9, 2010 -
It's been awhile
July 26, 2010 -
Two weeks ago
July 6, 2010 -
Home Sweet Home
June 25, 2010 -
The TSE wrapped up on Saturday
June 14, 2010 -
Hello!
June 6, 2010 -
The Stage that Almost Never Was
June 3, 2010 -
A Glimpse of My Usual Self
June 2, 2010 -
I will tell you that I was thinking about
June 1, 2010 -
Day 0: Travel Jinx
June 1, 2010 -
I'm just done packing all my gear
June 1, 2010 -
As I sat on the floor
May 17, 2010 -
Hello again from Australia,
May 12, 2010 -
Stage one and two
May 11, 2010 -
Since I've written last
May 10, 2010 -
Was I drunk?
April 27, 2010 -
I have received quite a few questions
April 5, 2010 -
MY OWN PRIVATE WYOMING
March 30, 2010 -
After what was a long stint of driving....
March 22, 2010 -
The Missoula screening....
March 15, 2010 -
March Madness
March 11, 2010 -
Tour de la Patagonia
February 23, 2010 -
I finally returned....
February 18, 2010 -
South America Winter Training Camp
February 12, 2010 -
FINAL REPORT: TRANS ANDES
February 4, 2010 -
LAS DIOSAS
January 22, 2010 -
WHIRLWIND WEEKEND
January 21, 2010 -
Back Country Here i Come
January 15, 2010 -
Mountain Town Movie tour.
January 13, 2010 -
I am a busy lady right now!
January 13, 2010 -
RACE ACROSS THE SKY TOUR
January 8, 2010 -
As I sit here ...
December 22, 2009 -
It's been a great week here in Washington D.C
December 14, 2009 -
currently in Washington D.C
December 11, 2009 -
finally feeling a bit settled
December 8, 2009 -
Whew!
December 2, 2009 -
Settled and Ready
November 30, 2009 -
Grabbing some internet here at the hotel
November 23, 2009 -
Monday means time to catch up....
November 16, 2009 -
Morning!
November 10, 2009 -
short blog....
November 4, 2009 -
Monday’s are great for catching up.
October 27, 2009 -
New York City, the Big Apple.....
October 20, 2009 -
24 Hours of Moab
October 19, 2009 -
Whew! We finally arrived in Mammoth
September 21, 2009 -
Throttle and Pedals....
September 11, 2009 -
I just walked in the door
September 1, 2009 -
After a great birthday week.....
August 31, 2009 -
Leadville Trail 100 – Race Across the Sky
August 19, 2009 -
I Won a DH Event! No Really, I Did!
August 6, 2009 -
Three Peat...
July 29, 2009 -
I just stepped off the plane and I am back in good ol’ Ketchum
July 22, 2009 -
Snowbird,UT
July 14, 2009 -
Thin Air and Fast Times in Breckenridge
July 7, 2009 -
Vernal, UT riding and USA Cycling Marathon Nationals
July 6, 2009 -
Reba first ride on a 29er HT
June 29, 2009 -
Countdown Begins.....
June 25, 2009 -
Spokane I Can
May 28, 2009 -
Memorial Day Weekend, Road Trip!
May 23, 2009 -
Fire, Fire, Everywhere
May 19, 2009 -
Dirt Sweat and Gears. Fayetteville, TN
May 11, 2009 -
Packing
May 4, 2009 -
Spring in Ketchum
April 27, 2009 -
Specialized Headquarters and Sea Otter Classic
April 20, 2009 -
Next Tuesday night
April 15, 2009 -
All In a Week’s Work
April 2, 2009 -
Absa Cape Epic Stage 6
March 27, 2009 -
Absa Cape Epic, Stage 5
March 26, 2009 -
Absa Cape Epic, Stage #4
March 25, 2009 -
Cape Epic Stage 3
March 24, 2009 -
Cape Epic Stage 1 and Stage 2
March 23, 2009 -
Cape Epic Pre-Race/Prologue
March 21, 2009 -
USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series race #2
March 10, 2009

