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.

Hello!

June 6, 2010

What fun week of racing. Spending 7 days in a cabin wasn't nearly this fun when I was a kid. I made so many new friends, re-connected with old friends, and can't wait to do this race again next year. Pennsylvania has incredible riding, so ignore those people who make fun of the Amish.

Stage 5 was fun mini XC racing, while Stage 6 was back to the asthma attacks, struggling to breath the thick, soupy air and just survival riding again for me. It was really disappointing because the stage was really technical riding that required power and effort that I did not have. I was flat as a pancake and could not put in much effort without wheezing and gasping. So, I did a fair bit of walking, struggling, and a bit of falling on slippery rocky terrain. I was basically riding like a grandmother. I could not really race and was again just trying to get to the end of the day in one piece.

I'm a bit baffled by my intensely adverse reaction to the air here. I can ride in Leadville at 10,000 ft and not feel a thing. Coming down here where the air is thick, warm and moist would seem to be easier, but for me it has the opposite affect. The locals are all saying this is a really bad pollen year. The medics also tell me that when it rains, like it did last night, it makes the pollen worse. Stage 2 and 6 seemed to be similar weather combinations and were the hottest, most humid days and the two days where I had a huge amount of trouble with my breathing. I have not felt super fast the whole week, but those two asthma days were beyond anything I've ever felt before. I made it into the finish, so I'm still officially in the race and solidly in 3rd. There is still one more 25 mile stage tomorrow, but for me it will have to be a casual social ride. The men's GC is hotly contested and 2nd - 4th are separated by seconds, so they will have an intense horse race. Greg is solidly in the lead for single speed and the women's GC is also fairly settled, so it seems as if tomorrow will be a fun ride for many people and a nice cap to the week of hard work.

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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