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.

The TSE wrapped up on Saturday

June 14, 2010

The TSE wrapped up on Saturday and I struggled through another day of being allergic to Pennsylvania. I finished the race in 3rd, which was a bit disappointing for me. Not because of the placing, but because I did not ride like myself last week. I wasn’t really able to race like I wanted to and had to limp through a few of the stages just to finish. The race itself was one of the best stage races I’ve done in my life. The organization was spot on. The prizes were incredible and every single racer got a sweet jersey in their race bag. I was blown away with how good the trails and the course design were. We rode on new trails every day and every stage was completely different. Staying in the scout camp with the mice and lots of other racers added to the ambiance. I got to know some great East Coast riders and work my skills on their trails. My asthma and performance issues were a disappointment, but the race and the experience definitely were not. Thanks to Greg’s parents, Glenn and Brenda for showing up and to my Mom for coming out to volunteer.

Recovery from the hard week is underway, the millions of mosquito bites are healing and I’m already on the next trip. I had about 24 hours at home to clean all the musty, swampy stench out of my clothes and head back out the door. I’m in Ashland, OR this week for a SRAM product launch and media rides. We’ll have four days of fully supported shuttled riding on the sweet downhill trails here. SRAM has invited a bunch of media and set up everyone’s bikes with XX, XO, Avid and other sweet parts. My role is to ride with the journalists and have fun. My accommodations are a huge step up from the scout camp and I doubt my hotel has mice or bed bugs! The riding experience will be completely different and mostly gravity fed. I’ll be riding a Safire and and Enduro this week and learning how to sit back and let the bike do the work instead of my legs. At the end of the trip, I’ll be racing the Ashland Super D and see if I’ve learned how to go fast this week. I’m sure we’ll have some great video and photos from the event, so I will post some of that stuff later.

or anyone reading this, our new Ask Reba monthly giveaway for June has started. All you do is write me a question that you’ve been dying to have answered. At the end of the month, I answer some of the questions and the BEST question wins free gear from Adventure Medical Kits and Beyond Coastal. To check out the answers to last month’s questions and the winning question, scroll down the blog posting! There were some great questions. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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