Out of the nine years that ElliptiGO has held the Elliptical Cycling World Championships on Palomar Mountain, Rusty Snow has triumphed seven times. He has reached the status of legend in our community of riders for his incredible performances. When it comes to sharing the love of standing up and riding, Rusty’s seven championship titles are not the only way he has come to stand out. In honor of that magic number, here are seven things you might not know about our November 2018 Rider of the Month.
Rusty helps other athletes heal. He has been practicing deep tissue structural bodywork for over 20 years.
Rusty is also a coach. He and coaching partner, Mike Swan, started Santa Barbara Running & Racing in 2004 and have been coaching runners of all levels in events from the mile to the ultra marathon. 45 of Rusty’s athletes qualified and will be running the Boston Marathon in 2019 — a great testament to their program’s success!
Rusty shares the power of ElliptiGO with his athletes. Within a year of purchasing his own ElliptiGO bike, he invested in one for the runners that he guides through training. He uses and advocates using ElliptiGO long-stride bikes because he feels they are, “…the absolute, hands-down, best, most running-specific tool to use for functional strength and for running fitness.”
Rusty’s training routes for the Elliptical Cycling World Championship are never flat. He says he climbs between 1400 and 4500 ft daily for 12 weeks, peaking around 20,000 feet climbed in a week.
Rusty is not just a wicked fast ElliptiGO cyclist. He’s a wicked fast “runnah.” Rusty will run the iconic Boston Marathon this coming April and ElliptiGO will be a primary part of his training. On a weekly basis, he plans to run between 70 and 90 miles and ride his ElliptiGO bike twice, climbing around 3000 ft on those days. Rusty was the Maine State Champion in the 2 mile and cross-country in high school, and an All-New England and All-American Cross-Country runner in college. He notably qualified for the Marathon Olympic Trials in 2000.
Before Rusty was a runner and ElliptiGO champion, he lived up to his name on the slopes. From 3 years old to 15 years old, Rusty was skiing downhill and nordic competitively. He then switched to competitive running in high school, college and beyond.
Rusty is a dad. Rusty is a father to two great boys, Miles, 17, and Blaise, 13, who are both doing well in school and on the right track. Rusty once asked what Blaise thought about his ElliptiGO riding. His reply? “Yeah…It’s cool that your dad is a world champion!”
Rusty, thank you for continuing to dare your athletes and yourself to achieve incredible goals. We’re proud to be a part of your journey, and we can’t wait to see what achievements still lie ahead.