Rebecca Rusch

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.

short blog....

November 4, 2009

i wanted to write a short blog and thank everyone who helped make my trip to New York City such a success. I would never have thought that such a short trip could have afforded me such exposure in mainstream media. The crew at Outside Media set up a wonderful trip and made appointments all over for me. Now that I am in planning mode personally for next season, I don’t know how they do it full time, it’s amazing.

During my trip I met with Laura from Travel & Leisure, and she wrote a blog about me and my favorite places to ride . Well lo and behold, it was picked up by the New York Times! You can check it out and share it with your friends, it’s a great feeling to be recognized by a media outlet that usually focuses on baseball and football. Already I have been receiving some queries from Women’s Health looking for bike tips, and Shape Magazine also confirmed an article for March. The trip is paying off.

Thanks again to everyone who made this trip possible, and thanks to all my fans on all my social media sites. That is a new avenue I started this year, and the interaction is really fun for me. I look forward to more to come, and now I have to pack for South America!

Cheers

Reba

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.