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.

I'm in a Holiday Inn in Green River

September 7, 2010

I'm in a Holiday Inn in Green River with Greg. The first ever 24 hrs of Leadville was a blast. I raced with a media team of friends in the mixed co-ed division. Jon, Adam and Kristy were awesome to race with and I loved being at an event with little stress and the time and energy to experience the event and cheer for the other riders. Normally when I'm racing 24 hour events solo, I am in my own world and miss much of the festivities of the event. This was different. I got to crew a bit for Greg on some of his laps, watch the other solo and team races unfold and catch up with some old friends. The course was a really fun, fast 18 mile lap that had a bit of everything, including plenty of climbing and altitude. There was also great single track, hike a bike and some very fast descending. I did the first lap and turned a 1:25 lap time. My goal for the rest of the race was to try to keep consistent lap times and I was able to do that nearly down to the minute. The UCI Masters World Champs that I'm heading to in Brazil will be about a 1.5 hour race, so I treated this weekend as basically repeated race laps in preparation for next weekend. Our team, named V02 Min, had a battle back and forth with another co-ed 4 person team called the Flatlanders. Ironically, the Flatlanders were mostly from CO! It was fun to have a bit of a race going on during the race. They ended up taking the win, but I view the race as a great success. We each rode three laps for a total of 12. I got to catch up with old friends Jon and Adam and also got to introduce Kristy to her first mountain bike race! Everyone did day and night laps and we got through the race with just one flat tire and no other great dramas. Jon did promise to make Outback Oven cookies and I never saw any of those. He did share his Ipod with me for my night lap though. Adam made friends with everyone and Kristy really rose to the occasion and even took the last lap of the race.

It was also really great for me to see a bunch of my sponsors getting behind this first year race. Thanks to Specialized, Light and Motion, Hammer Nutrition, Buff and Beyond Coastal all came on board. I tried out the brand new Light and Motion Seca 1400 and it's fabulously bright. I'm sure that's why my night lap was as fast as my day laps.

I'm not on a super quick turn-a-round with gear and clothing to head to the beach in Brazil. I've got my Era already packed up and a whole different bag of clothing ready. Greg is dropping me straight at the airport in Salt Lake City as he drives home to Idaho.

Stay tuned for updates on Brazil!

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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