About this episode
This week I sit down with Rebecca Rusch – one of the world’s greatest adventure athletes. Rebecca is a 7-time World Champion, best-selling author, activist, and Emmy winner. In addition to superhuman success on a mountain bike, she has performed at the elite level across a multitude of disciplines including rock climbing, white water rafting, and multi-day adventure events like Eco Challenge. Still crushing it at 50, Rebecca is redefining human capability in real time. Beyond athletics, Rebecca is a TEDx speaker, author of Rusch To Glory* and the founder of the Be Good Foundation. In addition, she is the event producer of Rebecca’s Private Idaho, a bike race in her hometown of Ketchum, and the protagonist in Blood Road, an extraordinary documentary that chronicles her 1,800 km mountain bike adventure along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to reach the site where her U.S. Air Force pilot father was shot down in Laos more than 40 years earlier during Vietnam. Dubbed ‘The Queen of Pain' by Adventure Sports magazine, Rebecca was named #6 on Active.com’s list of the World's Top 100 Athletes, Singletrack.com’s Mountain Biker of the Year, Sports Illustrated Adventure Racing Team of the Year, and Outside magazine’s Top 20 Female Athletes of the Year. Rebecca's accomplishments are beyond impressive. But today's conversation lives beyond elite performance to explore things like curiosity. The richness of adventure. Feeding the soul. Continuous personal growth. Redefining age. Contributing to the greater good. And giving back. But most of all, this is about what can be gleaned by leaning into the unknown. And living outside the comfort zone. Because there is so much more to this incredible woman than athletic prowess. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Rebecca. My hope is that it leaves you re-evaluating your personal limits. And inspired to live more adventurously. The visually inclined can watch our entire conversation on YouTube here: bit.ly/rebeccarusch450 (please subscribe!) Peace + Plants, Rich
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Rebecca Rusch Is The Queen Of Pain from The Rich Roll Podcast gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- Rachel Entrekin Runs On Joy: How She Won The Cocodona 250 Outright By Letting Go Of The Outcome Jun 15, 2026
- Touch Grass: Andrew Yang Returns To Talk Phone Addiction, AI's Cognitive Toll, & The Fight For Your Attention Jun 8, 2026
- ROLL ON: Enhanced Games Jun 4, 2026
- Paul Rosolie Met An Uncontacted Tribe & Is Trying To Protect Them: On Preserving The Amazon To Save All Life On Earth Jun 1, 2026
- How to Stop Sabotaging Your Own Life With Joe Hudson May 25, 2026
- Inside My 72-Hour Psychedelic Iboga Therapy With Julie Piatt May 21, 2026
- Smile, Or You're Doing It Wrong: Andy Glaze On Relentless Positivity, PTSD, & The Healing Power Of Movement May 18, 2026
- What's Going Right: Dr. Paul Conti On Self-Sabotage, Trauma & Why Being Hard On Yourself Is Slowing You Down May 11, 2026
- Pay Now, Love It Later: Why I Work Out at 4 AM & The Mindset That Wins The Long Game May 7, 2026
- David Epstein On Why Constraints Drive Creativity, The Myth Of Productive Freedom, & How Limits Make Us Better May 4, 2026
- What We're Still Getting Wrong About Women's Health & Fitness: Dr. Stacy Sims Live Apr 27, 2026
- ROLL ON: Stop Optimizing Your Life & Start Living It, Seeking Depth Over Algorithms, The Future of Podcasting, Artemis II, Media Diet & More Apr 23, 2026
- In Waves & War: Marcus & Amber Capone On Psychedelic Treatment For Veteran PTSD, Rebuilding Life After War & The Mission To Heal A Generation Apr 20, 2026
- Everything Is A Story: Journalist Nick Bilton Thinks AI Might End Humanity & How Stories Could Save Us Apr 13, 2026
- Rebuilding My Body & Starting Over After Spinal Fusion Surgery Apr 9, 2026
- The King of Moab: Ultrarunner Max Jolliffe On Winning Moab 240, Recovery From Heroin Addiction & Why Suffering Is His Greatest Teacher Apr 6, 2026
- Rich Speaks On Tiger Woods, Addiction & The Wounds That Fame Can't Heal Apr 2, 2026
- Arthur Brooks On The Crisis Of Meaning & How To Actually Find It Mar 30, 2026
- Decoding the New U.S. Dietary Guidelines with Simon Hill: What They Got Right, Wrong & Why It Matters Mar 26, 2026
- Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia & The Lifestyle Levers That Keep You Sharp with Neuroscientist Dr. Tommy Wood Mar 23, 2026
- Stanford Professors Bill Burnett & Dave Evans On How To Design A Meaningful Life Mar 16, 2026
- Sobriety, Relapse & Redemption: Rich Speaks On Shia Labeouf & What True Accountability Looks Like Mar 12, 2026
- Ken Rideout On Why Everything You Want Is On The Other Side Of Hard Mar 9, 2026
- The Handyman of High Art: Tom Sachs On Why Creativity Is The Enemy, Why Talent Is Overrated, & The Disciplines That Define A Life Mar 2, 2026
- Decoding Looksmaxxing: The Crisis Consuming Young Men & The Real Path To Self-Worth Feb 26, 2026
- Walk With Weight: Michael Easter On The Evolutionary Case For Rucking, Building Real Resilience & How To Stay Adventure-Ready For Life Feb 23, 2026
- From Death To Life: Dr. Dawn Mussallem On Surviving Cancer Twice, Running A Marathon Post Heart Transplant, & Why Mindset Matters More Than Medicine Feb 16, 2026
- AMA: Alex Pretti, Alex Honnold, Peter Attia, & Finding Hope In Dark Times Feb 12, 2026
- RRP LIVE: Alex Honnold On Climbing the Taipei 101 Skyscraper Feb 9, 2026
- The New Science Of Breath: James Nestor On Why Most People Are Breathing Wrong Feb 2, 2026