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 the hotel room

November 4, 2011

I'm in the hotel room after day 2 with ice bags on my legs. There's no bath tub here, so I can't take a full ice bath.

It was a really tough day with about 45 miles of riding and 11,000 ft of climbing. The climbs were so steep that some of them were unrideable.

I guess it's typical Costa Rican style of power climbing. The 6 am starts with no warm up are a bit rough because every day shoots straight up out of the host town and there's no time to get the legs ready for the sort of punishment the day is going to unleash. I was climbing for about a while with the women's leader Adrianna Rojas. She got away from me one of the many steep climbs. I have a feeling she is more used to this style of riding than I am. The mountains in Idaho are just so different. Instead of sharp, 30% grades that blast your lungs and legs, I'm used to more steady, long climbs. Once Adrianna got away, Louise Kobin and I rode about the first 1/2 of the race together. It was really motivating to be riding with her and pushing each other. She is a super consistent racer and knows this course better than anyone out there. It definitely helped keep my head in the game. I got away from Louise at about 45 km, which is when I started to feel like I was warming up and could put more pressure on the pedals. We were told the stage was 63 km, but it actually ended up being 74. Nothing like thinking you have 1 or 2 km to go and it's really more like 8 or 9! I kept my head down on the rollers and tried to let the 29 Fate do it's work on the open roads. That bike is so fast descending and on the flats. I had a few close calls on some of the muddy, sliding descents, but managed to stay upright. It's like surfing and I've never been good at surfing.

The women's finishing places were the same as yesterday with Adrianna 1st, me in 2nd and Louise in 3rd. Adrianna now has about 16 minutes on me in the general classification. It's a hefty gap, but this is the sort of race where you and your bike need to make it through all four days.

Tomorrow is the big climb up the volcano. There are some really steep parts at the beginning, but most of the climb is a steady paved road where you can settle into a smooth pace. At the top, you head down for about 40 km. It sounds amazing, but the descent is really technical and tiring.

My plan is to put the work in on the hill and stay safe on the descent.

My Specialized teammate, Todd Wells, was 4th today after flatting and damaging his rim. Luckily he made it into the finish with his bike intact and still holds onto his general classification lead by about 7 minutes.

Remember to check out Velonews.com and Cyclingnews.com for photos and videos of each day.

Thanks for reading.

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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