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ULTRA-ENDURANCE
REBECCA
RUSCH
AND THE
DIRTY
KANZA
By Hunter Allen
The Dirty Kanza represents the pinnacle of ultraendurance gravel racing. Over 200 miles, through
trying conditions, the Dirty Kanza is a test of
endurance that only the toughest survive. Once
past the 10-hour mark, a race really fals into the
ultra-endurance category. Rebecca Rusch, who
has won the Leadville 100 mountain bike race
four times and the 24-hour solo mountain bike
world championships three times, knows this
zone well. She has won the Dirty Kanza on three
occasions with her last win occurring in 2014.
Her power files from the event show just what it
takes to not only finish this event, but also what
it takes to win the elite women’s category.
I have analyzed hundreds of ultra-endurance
power files over the years, and they all follow a
similar pattern—The first four to five hours are
ridden at a strong tempo pace, usually around
80 percent of functional threshold power (FTP),
and from there the remaining ride is done at
solid endurance pace around 65 to 70 percent of
FTP. The winners generally create a gap over the
rest of the competition in the first four to five
hours. Unless there is a mechanical or serious
nutritional problem, the winner maintains this
gap and/or steadily grows it all the way to the
finish. After about six hours, most riders fatigue
at relatively the same rate, so if there is a gap it
generally holds or slightly grows.
In 2013, Rusch, had an incredible race. She rode
with the top men, and used the momentum
of that group to establish a solid lead ahead
of the second and third place women. It was
risky since the intensity was a high percentage
of her FTP, much higher than she would have
chosen to expend on her own. This creates a
potential issue—by riding at a high intensity
early on in the race, she would not be able to
maintain a strong pace in the closing hours.
Even worse, she risked bonking, cramping or
just completely fatiguing. In the first five hours
of the race, she maintained an intensity factor
48 • ROAD MAGAZINE
Rebecca Rusch during the super sloppy
2015 edition of the Dirty Kanza 200.
Jason Ebberts / TBL Photography
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of .86, which essentially means she rode at 86 percent of her
FTP, or the upper end of level three tempo zone. Contrast
this to the men and women who are professional triathletes
that ride at an IF of .75 for the bike leg of the Ironman. Even
then, they occassionally have trouble finishing the run strong.
Additionally, look at an intense Tour De France mountain
stage that is five hours long—the average IF for these falls
between .75 and .78. This really puts into perspective the
intensity of effort that Rusch put out, and she still had over
seven hours to ride.
Figure 1
Like I stated before, most normal pacing strategies in ultraendurance events include a more intense effort in the first four
to six hours as the winner establishes his or her lead. However,
this effort is generally not at 86 percent of FTP. Instead, the
effort is closer to 80 percent. This might seem like a small
difference on paper, but the 18-watt difference between 233
watts and 215 watts can be a large margin in a short race, let
alone a 12-hour event.
The ability to maintain her pace throughout the remainder
of the race is also remarkable. Breaking the race down into
segments from aid station to aid station exemplifies this steady
effort. Her wattage only decreased 15 percent from the first
two hours to the last two, from a normalized power of 236
watts to 200watts. Most impressively, in the last five hours her
average normalized power only decreased by two watts from
202 to 200! After an incredible first five hours, she not only had
enough energy to continue for the win, but she barely fatigued
in the later portion of the race.
Rusch continued her winning ways a year later, though her
path to victory differed. In 2014, a massive mud bog at about
an hour into the race completely blew apart the groups of
riders. This prevented her from staying with the front group
of guys, but she did exit this wheel stopping, fork clogging
section as the first woman. At this point, she said, “I was
psyched that I came out as the first woman, but the front guys
were completely blown apart, and there was no peloton or big
group at all to stick with. The race became a bunch of smaller
groups and one or two riders working together. At that point,
I realized I just needed to put it into a steady pace and stick to
that all the way to the finish. I caught some groups, but it the
conditions were tough, and that made it hard for any groups to
work together.”
The mud bog proved a trying section and Rusch rode at
295 watts, or 96 percent of her FTP, for that hour. This was
Figure 1: The first five hours of the Kanza were very intense for Rusch. She hung with the top men during this
time and created a significant gap on her competition. The intensity factor (IF) for this five-hour effort was .86 or
roughly 86 percent of her FTP. A comparable mountain stage in the TDF would be similar to .75 to .78.
Figure 2
Figure 2: Note the white line in the screenshot. This is set at 200 watts and shows that after the initial hard five hours to
establish her gap, Rebecca put it in cruise mode for the remaining seven hours. She showed almost no sign of fatiguing in
the later portion. This is 74 percent of her FTP and would be a dream for most Ironman triathletes to average for their
first five hours on the bike.
Rusche during the Red Bull Project Endurance,
in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Photo Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
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an important strategy, as the best racers will ride
most intensely during the hardest part of an ultraendurance race. This establishes the biggest gap on
the competition and makes the most sense from an
energy expenditure perspective. In this case, it was
mud that created the obstacle, but in other situations
a long or steep climb, a head wind or a difficult
trail can be the decisive section. The best riders will
generally win or lose the battle for the top step in
these demanding scenarios.
Figure 3
Rusch continued her performance in the rest of the
race and didn’t fatigue. Her average normalized power
was lower than the previous year, but from hour three,
with an average wattage of 164, until the final hour,
she actually increased her wattage and finished that
last hour with a normalized power of 171. Increasing
the pace over the course of nine hours is one
impressive demonstration of pacing.
Clearly understanding the demands of the event are
key preparation for any ride or race. For the Dirty
Kanza, the main demands are clear: complete a 200mile race on gravel roads through possible mud or
dusty conditions and do it in less than 15 hours.
The minor demands include: the ability to ride in a
paceline for long hours, proper fueling by eating and
drinking, pacing for 12 hours so you don’t fatigue
before the finish. Pacing is critical to success in any
bike race, but the longer the event the greater the
importance. Successful ultra-endurance riders can ride
at a higher pace for four to six hours to establish the
gap between them and other competitors. To train for
this kind of event, one needs training rides of around
14 hours to increase their endurance. Additionally,
FTP intervals will improve peak sustainable power
and also train the muscles to ride a tempo pace for
at least four hours. Here’s a workout to help conquer
an ultra-endurance road event. When you are able to
complete this workout without being totally crushed,
then you’ll be ready for your event.
Figure 3: In 2014, when Rebecca also won, she put in a super hour during the mud bog section. It was the hardest
part of the race, and she distanced herself from second place by 15 minutes then continued to grow that gap until
the end of the race. In any ultra-endurance race, push harder through the difficult sections to create a greater gap on
your competition in a shorter period of time.
ULTRA-ENDURANCE WORKOUT
EPIC POWER: 10 HOURS
•
First two hours at tempo pace, between 80-90
percent of FTP.
•
Hours three and four done at endurance pace
75 percent of FTP. Do 20 bursts during this
time for 30 seconds each and to a wattage of
120 percent of FTP.
•
Hours five and six need to include 60 minutes
at tempo pace again, 85 percent of FTP.
•
Hours seven through 10 are endurance pace,
at least 70 percent of FTP. It’s critical finish
strong as well. If you can push the pace to 85
percent of FTP in the last hour, do it.
Hunter Allen has online training programs available at
www.TrainingPeaks.com/hunter. Hunter also offers personal
coaching and consulting along with his team of coaches
at Peaks Coaching Group. You can contact Hunter and
his coaches directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for
coaching at all levels along with some fun camps.
A pre-ride portrait near Rusch’s home of Ketchum, Idaho.
Photo: Josh Glazebrook / Red Bull Content Pool