Rebecca Rusch: Endurance Athlete

race reports

RACE REPORTS/NEWS

	August 21-24 , 2008 - American Mountain Classic, Brianhead Utah Last weekend, I was summoned by Specialized to attend a brand new stage race in Utah. I had heard about the event earlier in the year, but had not committed to attending. It boasted 160 miles of racing over 4 days at 10,000 feet and higher. Read Full Entry

	August 14 , 2008 - 24 Hour Nationals Just six days after my 24 Hour Solo World Championship win in Canada, I found myself lined up in Wisconsin for 24 Hour US National Championships. This time, I was racing on a four person women’s team with three of my good friends and training buddies from Ketchum, Idaho. Read Full Entry

	July 30, 2008 - 24 Hour Solo World Championships The 24 Hour Solo World Championships last weekend was a complete success. The training and pre-race logistics were perfect. My crew and equipment were dialed, and the race unfolded better than I could have imagined. Full Race Report

	Dirt, Sweat and Gears Race Report, May, 8 2008 It should have been called Mud, Sweat and No Gears. The riding conditions at the 12 hr. race in Tennessee on May 3rd were some of the worst I have ever encountered. This includes the famous mud in Costa Rica and the torrential rains in Scotland. The race overall was a blast, but trying to ride and push a mud laden bicycle wasn’t a ton of fun. Full Race Report

	24 Hour World Championships, Laguna Seca, CA Sept 1-2, 2007 Last weekend was the highlight of my new endurance mountain biking career. After less than two years of mountain bike races, I was able to ride away with the 24 Hour World Championship title!!!! The race took place in Monterey, CA and boasted around 2400 ft of climbing per 14 mile lap. I didn't really believe that there could be that much uphill crammed into 14 miles, but from the way my legs feel today, I am a believer. The course had a bit of everything including super high-speed downhills, twisty single track, sand pits, stairs and of course, LOTS of uphills. My bike odometer clocked speeds as fast as 41 mph on a downhill and as slow as 3 mph on some of the uphills. The only bit of flat trail was coming through the transition pits. Full Race Report and Photos

	2007 24-Hour MTB Nationals at Wausau, WI I felt really confident going in and had our crew more dialed in than usual. This season we have been working on faster food handoffs, pit stops and other tidbits to shave off minutes. The course is very technical and the 13 mile loop is mostly tight, twisty singletrack. The climbs are fairly short and the course took a great deal of concentration. I rode nearly 250 miles in 24 hours and felt strong for the duration. I held onto second place behind Monique Sawicki who won. The two of us will face off again at the 2 hour World Championships in 4 weeks.

	2007 Saab Salomon Mountain X Race, Savoie, France - July 2-7 This race was unique in that it featured a new sport each day in teams plus an additional trail run each day that scord individually. We stoped each night at different designated campsites around the Savoie region of France. I raced on a women's only team but were mixed in with various coed and all male teams

	2007 Cowbell Challenge, North Carolina Last Weekend I was out in North Carolina for the Cowbell Challenge, a 12-hour mountain bke race that is part of the USA Cycling Ultra Endurance Series. I went out there to gather more points in my quest for the overall title and as a tune up for 24-hour mountain bike Nationals at the end of July.

	2007 Adventure Racing World Championships in Scotland The Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 will take the best teams worldwide on a journey right into the rugged wilderness of Western Coast of Scotland and Lockaber region. This area contains some of the most stunning views of snow-clad peaks and isolated shorelines.Follow our Rebecca Rush as she races with her team in this epic event. Race Report & Photos

	Reba 1st at Payson Stampede , Arizona - May 5-6 Rebecca blew away the elite women's field in this 24-hour Solo MTB race...she put in 8 more laps than the closest woman and also finished 4th overall. Reba's photo in Cycling News

	Dirt Sweat and Gears, Fayetteville, TN - Apr 27-28 Rebecca took 2nd at this 12-hour solo MTB event on the Tennessee/Alabama border. The night before the race, she was signed posters and gave away sponsor swag at a pro athlete meet-n-greet. Check out these great links: CyclingNews article & race results Video of the solo pits...Reba is 2nd bit Race website loaded with links

	Sea Otter Classic, Laguna Seca, CA - Apr 12-15 Check out this cover story on Rebecca from the Montery County Weekly for the Sea Otter Classic. Read Article

	Rebecca 4th in La Ruta de los Conquistadores, Costa Rica Nov 3-6 2006Rebecca finishedthis grueling 3-day solo MTB staged race from the west coast, through jungles and across the mountains to the east coast in 4th place in 21:32:44. It was gorgeous, but tough...and needed some single track in Reba's opinion.

	RebeccaTakes 2nd at 24-Hour Solo MTB World Championships,Conyers, GA - Oct 7-8 2006Rebecca took on one of the toughest fields of elite women contenders ever assembled at the World Championships in Georgia and put in an impressive 2nd place finish. 1st Sue Haywood, 26 laps in 23:19:59 2nd REBECCA RUSCH, 25 laps in 23:31:34 3rd Louise Kobin, 25 laps in 24:46:38 4th Katrin Van der Spiefel, 24 laps in 23:59:13 5th Monique Sawicki, 22 laps in 23:06:32

	Rebecca and Team Red Bull/Coolmax At AR World Championships, Sweden (Aug 16-23) Read detailed race report.

	Rusch Takes 24-Hour MTB National Title, Wausau, WI (July 29-30) In only her 2nd 24-hour MTB race, Rebecca put in a stunning performance at the National Championships in Wausau, WI over the weekend. The race began Saturday at 10am on a wet course from torrential rains just a few hours earlier. Last year's champion led the women's race the first two laps with Rebecca hot on her heels. On lap 3, Reba overtook her and never looked back again. On every subsequent lap for the rest of the race, she added progressively more time to her overall lead...on lap 15 her lead was up to 58 minutes, an almost unheard of advantage at this level. Reba has qualified for World's which will take place in Georgia in October. CONGRATULATIONS, Rebecca!

	Team Buff/Coolmax, Captained by Rebecca, At Primal Quest, Moab, UT(June 25-July 4) Read detailed report of the race

	Rebecca Has a Chapter in New Book, Women Who Run Shanti Sosienski has a new book out with motivational / inspirational insights from a variety of women who do run. A chapter is devoted to Rebecca, so you might enjoy picking up a copy from Barnes & Nobel or Amazon.com. Read more

	"Organize Like A Pro" in Women's Adventure Magazine Features Rebecca Great article in the June issue is all about Rebecca and how she manages to keep her athletic gear organized, within reach and readily identifiable...also includes some cool sponsor pix. Read more...