Rebecca Rusch

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S-Works MTB Helmet

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.

Great weekend in Portland with some work

March 15, 2011

Great weekend in Portland with some work, a mountain bike race and it only rained a little!


Specialized and West End Bikes  brought me out for the grand opening party of their shop in Portland.  The store is huge and really nice.  It's in a historic corner building that used to house Django Records.  Glass on two sides of the building and some really amazing old architecture mixed with the clean, swanky design of the new shop.  I knew one of the new owners Mark Ontiveros from one of my Specialized Susan G Komen CA to Vegas rides.  You get to know someone pretty well when you ride 600 miles together.  Mark is a ball of energy and his passion shows in the shop.


Since I was here anyway, I reached out to a few friends to find a bike race on the weekend.  There had to be one since Portland lives and breathes bikes.  I found this cool race about 3 hrs drive from Portland. OK, not as close as I'd wanted, but word on the street was that the course was a giant 30 mile single track loop.  Sounded good to me!  I shipped my bike to West End, and hitched a ride with a friend of a friend from a local cycling team, Filth and Fury. David is the self proclaimed "tech nerd and Masters C pack fodder" on the team.  He was super entertaining on the long ride and the only bad part was he blew up his derailleur during the race and had to get rescued on a Gator.  Apparently, he's blown up about 5 derailleurs in his short cycling career.  He runs Shimano derailleurs.  Maybe that was his first mistake.


So, it was 6.5 hrs of driving for 2.5 hrs of racing and 100% worth it.  Despite the massive bottle neck and 30 minutes of waiting to pass a congo line of  riders on 8 inch wide single track, the course was awesome.  Its out in the middle of a winery and private land and the trail builders here have been super creative.  It shows that you don't need much terrain to make great single track if you are good trail builders.  Despite a bad start and a bit of waiting, I had a decent race for early season and really enjoyed being on my bike outside.  I finished just behind local 'cross phenom, Sue Butler.


The whole weekend was a blast and the rain didn't hit Portland style until Sunday morning for my flight out.  I forgot about Daylight Savings Time and luckily Ken from Specialized called my room to make sure I didn't miss my flight.  I'm back home now for a 10 day really hard training stint before heading back down to Argentina to race again.   The travel is going to get ramped up here really fast, so I will have to make the most of these days at home.

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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