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 Won a DH Event! No Really, I Did!

August 6, 2009

It’s official! I won the pro women’s Super D event at Crankworx. CO. Just 8 days after winning 24 Hour Solo World Championships, I found myself at the finish of a downhill event that took just a little over 13 minutes. Not the length of course I am used to, but it was a blast. I was hanging out at the Specialized demo booth at Crankworx. I was there signing posters, doing casual group rides and watching all the races. I did not take part in the cross country race because my lungs and legs are still fried from the effort in Canada. With lift access at Winter Park, a sweet trail system, and all the 2010 Specialized demo bikes available, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to work on my downhill skills. I did a couple of practice runs on the Super D course and on a whim decided to enter the pro women’s race on Sunday. The goal was not to hurt myself and to try to follow a few of the better women and try to learn from them. The race started with a run and about a 30 second uphill. I surprised myself and entered the single track first. From there, I just held on and kept waiting for the pass. The girl right on my tail would catch up on the more technical bits and I’d drop her anywhere that had some pedaling. We continued this yo-yo down the course and she was never able to pass me. It was a riot and she pushed me to ride faster downhill than I would have on my own. I finished the race a few seconds in front of her with a huge grin on my face, took home a bit of cash for my efforts, and accomplished a personal life goal of winning an oversized cardboard check. I rode the 2010 Stumpjumper and had an absolute blast on that bike.

Here’s the race results and photo proof that I won a downhill event!!!!

mountainflyer.com

Right now I am at home again in Ketchum resting up and changing gears for the next race, the Leadville 100. That one will take significantly longer than 13 minutes!

Cheers

Reba

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