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.

Dirt Sweat and Gears. Fayetteville, TN

May 11, 2009

Here’s mud in your eye! And ears, nose, mouth, and drive train, shoes, gloves! Dirt, Sweat and Gears took place this last weekend in Fayetteville, TN. It is one of my all time favorite races because the course is the most excellent single track, the race boasts equal prize money for pro men and women, the competition is always stout and the race director really takes care of every detail to make the race fun and extremely organized.

This was also a stop on the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance series and my goal was to use this 12-hour race as training for 24-hour worlds and to increase my points lead in the national series. The Tennessee hospitality was alive and well again this year. We were given an official race vehicle for the weekend from Land Rover Nashville, free lodging from locals and more Southern hospitality than you can imagine. The only thing more remarkable than the TN hospitality was the incredible tenacity of the TN mud.

The region had been hammered with unseasonably heavy rains all week. When I arrived on Wednesday, the rain had stopped but the forecast for the weekend was extremely threatening. Just outside of Nashville, tornado warnings, severe storm warnings and 100 mph winds were coming our way. I was able to pre-ride the course on Wednesday and Thursday. It was slippery, technical and way more difficult than previous years. The rain had exposed more roots and rocks than usual. The climbs and descents were really slimy and treacherous. I tested a few different tire choices for the race and the Specialized Storm tires were the only ones that would allow me to keep a small amount of traction. Specialized team mechanic, Benno Willeit, had told me that the Storms were the last resort just before putting on the running shoes. Benno’s pre-race advice turned out to be way more accurate than I ever would have imagined.

As soon as the announcer shouted “30 seconds to start”, the rain began. I laughed out loud on the start line and was excited for an adventurous race. The first lap was slippery and a bit like surfing, but the rain kept the mud thin and the course was mostly rideable. I finished the first lap in about 1:20 in second place in the pro women’s field. The rain had stopped by this time and the start of lap two is when the fun really started. The combination of 300 riders sliding around and the cessation of the rain had turned the mud into peanut butter consistency. My lap time jumped to over three hours for the 2nd lap. Like most people, I ran out of food and water. Shifting was no longer an option due to the globs of mud, leaves and sticks that were jamming into the drive train. Eventually, the mud became so thick that pushing your bike was no longer an option because after about 10 feet of pushing, the mud would collect on the tires and form a solid casing about 5 inches thick and prevent the wheels from turning. One racer described the experience like pushing furniture uphill. The only option was to scrape as much mud off as possible and shoulder the bike. I hiked, pushed, slipped and tried to shuffle when I could for hours and hours. Each time I attempted to ride, the result was the same: sticky mud, wheels stop turning, put the bike back up on my bruised shoulders and keep trudging.

Most of the field had dropped out by early afternoon. My stubbornness and adventure racing experience had moved me into first place in the women’s field by the third lap. I ended up racing for about 10.5 hours and completed only 40 miles, which was good enough for the win! Jeremiah Bishop won the pro men’s field and he completed 5 laps. In comparison, in previous years I completed 10 laps and the leading men rode 12 laps.

This was by far much more of an adventure race than a cycling race, and the worst conditions I have ever ridden in. It was a frustrating race and not nearly as much fun as being able to ride those trails, but I am proud of myself for pushing on and adapting to what Mother Nature handed us.

Thanks to Mom and Glenn for crewing in such difficult conditions. Thanks to Travis from Biker’s Choice for wrenching for me and cleaning the dirtiest bikes I have ever seen.

I’m still cleaning the mud out of my ears and attempting to get my race clothes clean. I am also icing my shoulders to try to alleviate the bruising.

Thanks for tuning in.

Next stop, Spokane for a 24-hour race on a duo team!

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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