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.

As I sat on the floor

May 17, 2010

As I sat on the floor in the Sydney airport about to begin the super long journey back to Idaho I reflected on this week's incredible journey. The Ingkerreke Commercial Red Centre Enduro is in the record books and hopefully the 5 days of hard racing is stored in my legs for further use in the season. The final stage was a 45 km mass start and might have been my favorite stage of all. It's hard to decide because every single day was unique riding with a ton of single track through wonderful desert terrain. The men's field had changed yellow jersey wearers nearly every day, so the final rankings came down to the last day. The women's race was also fairly close with just about 10 minutes separating 1-3 places in the overall. I was sitting in 2nd at the start of the last stage with just a one second margin over third. Given the crazy terrain and tire eating rocks, it was still anyone's race. I felt strong on the last day, but not fast. I could tell in the first 30 minutes that I was not going to set the course on fire that day. I still rode hard and kept it in the back of my mind that a flat tire would be all it would take to change the rankings. The course was really technical today with some new sections of single track that were really hard to follow. There were also some rocky, Moab-type sections with small drops and some exciting terrain. The race director, John Jacoby, also dealt up a classic hike-a-bike section for a few kilometers at the very end of the stage. Since I know John so well, I knew he was loving giving the racers a super hard finish just to top off a grueling week. I loved the last section where there was virtually no trail and you were running and riding through the desert scrub trying to find a clean line. It definitely reminded me of my adventure racing days and I was loving it. It was one of the hottest days of the week and drank all my water and was still wanting more. We finished the race right near the Todd River and the location of the original spring that Alice Springs is named after. Rapid Ascent had cold watermelon and cheers waiting for everyone at the finish line. Gracie, who is 1/2 my age, won the stage and moved up into 2nd overall. Jodie finished off a super solid week and held onto her first place finish. She will be heading to Europe shortly for the remaining world cup XC races. I finished 3rd and was really happy with my performance. I would have liked to have been able to drum up a bit more top end speed for some of the shorter stages, but I know it's early season and this race is preparation for bigger goals later in the year. I was super impressed with the race organization and the level of competition in Australia. It was also really fun to see the Aussie spirit alive and well. People here just seem unbelievably happy to be riding their bikes and pushing themselves. They have a way of being super competitive, but with a smile on their face and a kind word as they pass you.

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