I cannot wait anymore. «Save the best for last» - or just bring her in the midle! Or who am I to say who is best or not...at least I am a huge fan of this girl! I have seen her twice in Lake Tahoe, and just finally dared to go up to her and say «Hi» this december in Iceland. And guess what - she was totally as sweet and humble as everybody else!! Its so strange, because to me she is a big hero, but I guess she just sees herself as a normal girl. Still gave me lots of energy seeing her in the middle of the dark night in Iceland. Just a few weeks ago she won the worlds toughest mudder, and still came to Iceland to cheer on and help out in the changing areas!
Name/age/country:
Rea Kolbl, United States, Spartan Pro Team (but originally from Slovenia)
Instagram/web:
What brought you into this sport?
I grew up as a gymnast but when I quit after 11 years I gained a lot of weight. To lose weight and get healthy again I picked up running and quickly fell in love with trails. After a few years of slowly building my running mileage, I came across a Spartan Race on groupon and did it with a few of my friends. I loved it but thought nothing more of it as a fun event, until I returned in 2016 and raced in Elite. I did really well and figured I'd give this sport a more serious try :)
Favorite race?
Spartan Killington Beast & World's Toughest Mudder
I guess I also like longer race - 8 hour Toughest Mudders are my favorite, but anything over 10 miles is fun.
Favorite venue/obstacle?
Killington & Tahoe. Favorite obstacle: Stacks (Tough Mudder) and Tarzan Swing (Spartan Killington exclusive)
How is Your training?
I run about 80-90 miles a week in the mornings, all an trails and with considerable elevation gain. In the afternoons I do OCR specific workouts that focus on upper body strength, heavy carry abilities, and general strength. Three times a week I follow Yancy Camp workouts; on the remaining 4 days it's a combination of strength, carry workouts, and cross training such as biking or low impact cardio machines.
Do you have a life motto you live by?
There's a silver lining in everything :)
Your goal for 2019?
Go through the season uninjured, have fun at (most) of the races, and be the first person to win WTM three times in a row
