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.

March Madness

March 11, 2010

Hello Friends-

I’ve been home nearly a month from my great training and racing camp in Argentina. I returned home to snow on the ground, but variable winter/spring weather in Idaho and all I wanted to do was ride my bike! One day I’m skiing in 25 degree temperatures, the next day riding on the road outside as the thermometer hits 50, then back inside on the trainer the next day as the snow falls again. It’s the time of year when I have to take advantage of any little break in the weather to get outside on the bike. Argentina was such a great early season trip for me and now I’m so ready to be cycling. I did head down to the Spa City Marathon in Arkansas so that my race fitness would not wear off. It was a 6 hour race and the #2 stop on the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance Series. It’s a great 10 mile single track loop that you repeat as many times as you can in 6 hours. I completed 6 laps and won the women’s division. It felt really great to be on the Era again breathing hard. There was also the double bonus of getting to see my Mom on this trip. She drove over from Illinois and took care of water bottles and nutrition for me. I guess you never grow out of needing your Mom around every once in a while. Thanks Mom!

March is Media Month for me! I was really honored and pleased to find that both Shape Magazine, Fitness Magazine and Biciclub (Argentina’s biggest cycling magazine) all have feature articles on me this month and some great gear mentions for my sponsors. Check them out on the news stand. If you can read Spanish, the Biciclub article is great! There is also a great article written by my teammate in Argentina on her Outside Online blog. She talks about racing with me and our experience in Argentina for the Tour de la Patagonia.

The Mountain Town Movie Tour is also in full swing! By the time you read this, I will have the Sun Valley and Missoula shows under my belt and will be on the road for Colorado, Park City and Jackson Hole. The first event in my hometown was a huge success with a nearly sold out show and a pre-party that was wall to wall people. All of the movie screenings are 100% fundraisers for the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and their local chapters in each town that I am visiting. The Sun Valley show raised over $5000 for the Wood River Bicycle Coalition and will go towards keeping trails open where I live. It was a blast to share the Leadville Trail 100 experience with my friends through this film. I received a number of comments after the showing thanking me for the inspiration, for the community fundraising efforts and for showing them what it is I really do for a living! Everyone here sees me out training and riding my bike, but it’s nothing like seeing a real race unfold on the big screen. There are too many sponsors of the tour to list here, but THANKS to all of you who have supported the movie tour.

Finally, I want to share a few great pictures from Argentina with you. All photos in this newsletter are from Michael Darter. He did a great job of capturing the Argentina experience.

Take Care and Happy Trails

Stats for Rebecca Rusch are coming soon.
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