Rebecca Rusch - Rusch to Glory: Adventure, Risk & Triumph on the Path Less Traveled

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Copyright 2014 by Rebecca Rusch and Selene Yeager

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by VeloPress, a division of Pocket Outdoor Media.

4745 Walnut Street, Unit A

Boulder, CO 80301-2587

Distributed in the United States and Canada by Ingram Publisher Services

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014946296

ISBN 978-1-937715-25-0 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-937716-61-5 (e-book)

For information on purchasing VeloPress books, please call (800) 811-4210, ext. 2138, or visit www.velopress.com.

Interior design and composition by Heidi Carcella

Photo retouching by Paula Gillen

V.3.0

My most memorable impression of Rebecca Rusch came in Morocco, during the 1998 Eco-Challenge. In the competition, we asked that four-person teams race through the rugged Atlas Mountains, carrying all their own food and water, and often sleeping just an hour a night. As you can imagine, competitors were forced to push their mental, physical, and emotional limits in order to succeed. Many racers later told me that they found the Eco-Challenge to be a true judge of their character, simply because in the face of such severe hardship they found out what they were truly made of. Several of my later television programs, such as Survivor and even The Apprentice, put competitors in similar situations, but nowhere did this play out more radically than in Eco-Challenge.

Night was falling at Checkpoint 11 during that 1998 Eco. It was the last stop before a long and dangerous rappel into a gorge near the town of Tinghir. But there was a problem: One team was lost and had not been seen or heard from for more than 12 hours. Team Rubicon had somehow misread its maps and could have been anywhere within the steep crags and canyons. I was personally leading the search party by helicopter. As the hours passed and darkness would soon require that we suspend the search, I became more and more frustrated. But just when all seemed lost, the men and women of Team Rubicon limped into the checkpoint, safe and sound.

With most teams, that would have been the end of it. After marching off course for more than 12 hours, they would either quit the race or sleep until morning before attempting something so daring as a thousand-foot rappel down a sheer cliff face in the dark. Once it became clear that Rubicon had no intention of quitting, I demanded that they halt for the night. Clearly, there were severe safety issues at stake. Each and every member of the team was exhausted. You could see it in their body language and in their eyespure, utter, bone-deep fatigue.

I expected that Team Rubicon would welcome my decision. In fact, each member of the team was obviously relieved that I demanded they sleep before pushing on.

Every member except one.

Rebecca Rusch took charge, insisting that she and her teammates be allowed to choose their own competitive path. By resting for the night, she argued, they would fall even farther behind the competition.

I argued back. As the television cameras caught the moment so vividly, I told her that she was being foolish and perhaps risking her life. And at what cost? It was clear that Team Rubicon would not win the race. Why press on when the most sane thing to do would be to sleep and wake up to start fresh?

But thats what makes Rebecca Rusch such a special individual. Many of us pay lip service to the concept of pushing our mental, physical, and emotional limits, but that notion is more than just a mere concept to Rebecca. In a world that all too often settles for mediocrity and conformity, Rebecca knows that the secret to success is being your best in all you do. And once you establish that baseline, you push through it.

Again, and again, and again. Never settling. Never resting on her laurels. Never once striving to be anything but her best.

Within these pages you will learn how Rebecca does this, and how you can do it too. You will read these words and be inspired. What you do next is up to you. Perhaps it is enough right now that you hold this very special book in your hands, knowing that a great adventure is about to unfoldone that will at the very least make for a very entertaining read, and at the very most may change your life for the better.

I relented that night in Morocco. Team Rubicon was allowed to bash on into the fading light. But I sent a team of mountain guides to follow behind, just to ensure that they were in capable hands.

They were, thanks to Rebecca. And now, so are you.

Mark Burnett

Los Angeles, California

July 2014

For years, my friends and colleagues told me I should write a book. I was flattered and intrigued, but reluctant. I felt that I didnt have the skill, an acclaimed name, or anything relevant to say, and that writing about my accomplishments would come off as egotistic. Also, I figured Id likely never have the fortitude to make a project this big happen. But when VeloPress approached me with the same suggestion, I sheepishly admitted that I had turned over the idea in my head a few times: I do have some really good stories, after all.

A willing publisher and support from fellow racer and writer Selene Yeager was the invitation I needed to nudge me to finally dive in. All I had to do was say yes and they would guide me through the process. My career has been a long, hard push to pitch, sell, and convince sponsors, partners, and teammates that I was worth the risk and that my unusual path was a worthy one. But here was this next challenge coming to me on a silver platter. I was not accustomed to this kind of presentation, but I knew it would be foolish to pass it up.

My original intent for this book was to use my experiences to create a tool kit people could use to go beyond their own perceived limits, as athletes and as people. Through the difficult process of researching and mulling over lifes lessons, the book took an unexpected change in course. I came to realize that simply relating my personal stories and experiences was the best way for me to expose my struggles alongside my triumphs. This book chronicles my strengths and weaknesses, my highs and lows in the context of my own adventures as a professional athlete. During this tough writing journey, I realized that were all wired to learn and grow through experience, and experience connects us to the world and the people around us. I sincerely hope theres something in my story that will resonate with you and give you a nudge to chase your own dreams.

Writing this book has been one of the biggest, scariest, most intimidating challenges Ive ever tackled. Over the course of this project Ive had to trust, collaborate, and ask for more help than I imagined. I hope that many hands will thumb through these pages and many hearts will be touched and inspired by these stories. Even if that doesnt happen, I will remind myself that the biggest rewards in life come from hard work and commitment and are often not the payoff that was expected. I have a feeling this is one of those situations.