Anastasia Rubtsova: on Becoming Skyrunner World Series Champion

Let's take a look at the results of the 2024 season:

• Jiayrah – Russian Cup stage, track records on VK and skyrunning race (18 km, 1860 m+);
• Skyrace des Matheysins (25 km and 1930 m+) – 1st place (Skyrunner World Series stage);
• Aktru VK, Russian Skyrunning Championship in the "Vertical Kilometer" discipline – 1st place;
• Kaiserkrone Skyrace (25 km and 2770 m, Skyrunning World Series stage) – 1st place;
• BLACK LYNX EXTREME (Russian Cup stage "skyrunning race") 25 km and 1700 m – 1st place (3rd overall) and track record;
• Matterhorn Ultraks 27 km and 3175 m D+ (Skyrunner World Series stage) – 1st place;
• Inthanon Skyrace (Thailand) — 30 km and 2440 m, Skyrunner World Series stage – 1st place (with a 27-minute lead over the nearest competitor!!);
• 2 Peaks Skyrace (Korea) — 25.9 km and 2400 m D+, Skyrunner World Series stage – 1st place;
• Marató dels Dements, final stage of the Skyrunner World Series 2024, 42.5 km and 3800 m D+ – 1st place.

Nastya, congratulations once again! Tell us about  your main race of the season, how did it go? I noticed that you look very serious on all the photos from the course and a bit baffeled at the finish line. It was very tough, wasn’t it?

- Hi! Thank you so much! To be honest, for the first time this year, I didn’t want to smile at all during the race. I was thinking about one thing only: “keep going, grit your teeth and work hard", like that. It was mentally tough as well. I ran the second half almost alone, there was no one to stick to. At the finish, I just couldn’t believe that it was all over!

Did your competitors keep you on your toes? I was following you and was really worried when you weren’t showing up at the checkpoints (after 20 km, I think…)

Yes! The level of competition in the final race was so high that we were all literally running one after another. From the very beginning, some girls took off like rockets. At one point, after some jostling, I took the third position. I couldn’t even see the first girl; only when I settled into second place did I hear that the first girl was 20 seconds ahead. After 11 km, I finally saw her. We ran together from then on, up to about 22-23 km. I managed to pass her and after that, I really didn’t know who was where. I didn’t even know that someone was approaching me on the descent. Did you see the fight for 3rd and 4th place, what was happening at the finish line? The checkpoints didn't work at some point, and I’m glad I didn’t know about that. I even received an email saying something like: “don’t worry, the checkpoints weren’t working, but you're all good.”

This is the battla Anastasia was talking about

How has your relationships with other girls developed? Who did you find interesting to compete with? And to chat with?

- It's interesting to compete with all the girls! Really. I always get nervous and even a bit intimidated by those who I’ve never raced against before. There were girls some of them on the last stage, like Oihana Kortazar and Julia Font. They are so psyched to race! I knew that we are all on the same level. I'm enjoying competing with Hillary! She is a very experienced athlete, who prefers difficult technical and long courses!

Usually I don’t communicate much due to difficulties with languae; I still speak English poorly, which I'm ashamed of, I feel like I’m not educated enough or something. I’ll improve it. Nevertheless, I'm glad to join conversations, and that does happen often!

I would call Iris Pessey my friend now. I’m always very happy to see her! This time, I also got to know Denisa, the 2019 SWS champion. We lived together with her and Oihana. We had so much fun and laugh the night before the race, when I was doing a face mask — but I really just don't have time at home for self-care and beauty procedures.

Which race in the series was the most memorable for you — the most difficult, the easiest one, which was the most beautiful, etc.?

- This year, the KAISERKRONE SKYRACE in Austria stood out the most. It turned out to be technically challenging and almost without markings. We were warned about it and given trackers. We had to rely on the watches and GPS-track almost completely. It was hot as hell as well! When I got to the hotel, I lay on the floor and that was all I could do. I lay there until the evening, ending up having just enough time to take a shower and go to the award ceremony. I could only rinse off in cold water. Then I seemed to revive a bit, even managed to eat a little.

My favorite race among those I participated in still is the MATTERHORN ULTRAKS (you can read Nastya’s story about her participation in the race here). The mountains there are real and high! The views are stunning, and the trail's difficulty is off the charts. Pure adrenaline all around! For me, it’s the most beautiful one.

A place where I could relax... I wanted to take it easy in Korea, but still ran as I could. Maybe I just don’t know how to relax? I also wanted to run calmly in Thailand; eventually, I calmed down in the end and ran more relaxed there. 

Share your training secrets with us, please. How do you manage to train throughout the season with small children? Do you do strength training?

-Of course! First of all, I want to thank my coach Elena Menshikova (Rukhlyada)! She always comes up with interesting workouts, I neve het bored! In general, I had too many challenges this season, a lot to come through. I travelled to the mountains with my kids twice. And I went without them, too; by the way, this is not easier mentally.

When we are at home, kids go to daycare and mom goes on a run. If I need to do an uphill training, it takes me half a day, taking the travel time into consideration. If not, then about 2.5-3 hours. At home, I only manage to run once a day. After that, I need to take the kids to their classes, feed them, walk them)) Just like any typical mom. My kids are still pretty little, I can't leave them alone.

Yes, I do strength training, and some brutal ones! You can wear yourself out with them. When I need to be gentle on my knee, I run on a treadmill inclined at 15%; I've done running workouts on there for the last three times. I've been on the treadmill for 2 hours. By the way, there’s also a cool machine – a staircase like an escalator. You can get a good workout on that if you don’t have time to travel.

We always try to adjust the workout to the life circumstances. Life doesn’t always go smoothly for us; there are various diseases and household chores. Usually, I spend about 15 to 50 minutes on strength training. And I always feel my butt after lunges. I know my weak points, and they always remind me where they are. And races are excellent training as well.

Tell us about your recovery. Do you have enough time to rest? How do you eat?

-If I have time, I have a massage once a week. It’s not much, but it helps! Sometimes we go to the sauna; I love the sauna. At home, I can't go to bed on time everyday, but still I have to get up at 7 in the morning. So whenever I leave home, I sleep and eat all the time. Occasionally, I use massage roller and do myofascial release (MFR). A roller isn’t always convenient to carry, so it can be replaced with a glass bottle. I love using the ball for my feet; sometimes it hurts so much that sparks come out of my eyes. And for my feet, nails are also good: I stand on them at home for 15 to 30 minutes. And if I feel really lazy, I still do stretching, at least a little bit. I try to stretch every day on a  week before the race.

I actually eat a lot because I feel like it! I eat a lot of greens and I love seafood. In the mornings, I drink coffee and smoothies made of buckwheat and bananas. I try to minimize sugar but I don't get rid of it completely. I eat chicken, turkey. I might eat meat for three days in a row, or I might crave it once in three weeks. I always try to cook at home myself. That’s about it; there’s no specific scheme. You just need to remember that our diet should contain the healthy and necessary nutrients we need.

How’s your garden? For what else do you have time?

This year, I was in the garden just occasionally. I haven’t even cleaned the greenhouse yet. And that chore hangs in my head like a dead weight! When I return, I’ll immediately clean everything there! This approach brings not as big harvest as it could be. I had a lot of tomatoes, beets and carrots, but all the cucumbers got overripped; I even managed to freeze all of that. I even made and conserved tomato juice during the home breaks in between races. All the cabbage was eaten by slugs while I was away. There was a lot of greenery at the beginning of summer, but then travels began and it all came to an end; now we have to buy it. I also had onions and even two watermelons this year! They were so delicious! I want to plant more flowers, but they need care...

Tell us what gear did you use in your last races — shoes, backpack? What gear would you like to try?

I consistently use a Compressport backpack; they also have a nice white one! It's very convenient, it also has loops for poles, and the poles sit there well, without the risk of falling out.

For shoes, I use Nnormal Kjerag. Amazing shoes! I really like them. I also bought Adidas Terrex with carbon plate. I tried them in my garden – I liked them! They are very bouncy. I will try them out more. But for technical trails, I’ll surely choose Nnormal.

I would like to have super lightweight clothing for all seasons. Both membrane and down jackets, shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, pants, and everything super lightweight. Almost all brands now have super lightweight stuff, I would love to have such a kit for myself.

How do you travel with your daughters? Give advice to mom athletes! Any life hacks?

I have to say right away that traveling with 2 girls is not an easy task at all. But if mom is happy, then the kids will be too, believe me! Can you imagine this — a mom with two kids, one duffel bag, a suitcase, and three small backpacks… Everything still needs to be moved around somehow.

Usually, this is how it goes: the duffel bag is on the back, my backpack in front. Suitcase in one hand, on which a child sits with her little backpack. And the other child with herlittle backpack needs to be held by the hand. And you immediately become THREE in everything you do. The one truth that saves is – we never remember the hardships of travel, but the emotions from the whole trip stay with us forever. There’s really no need to be afraid. This year I thought about why I do this. I came to a conclusion that I go somewhere mainly for myself — because I have one life, and I strive to live it here and now. Since it’s been THREE of us for a long time, there's not much we can do — we just go! We go because mom needs to train or compete, because this is how I express myself. There’s so much out there for traveling with kids!

By the way, since I can’t carry two girls at once, they have to walk by themselves a lot. When you are open to the world, help comes from many places. I’m grateful to everyone who has ever helped me with the girls; tso many people did that, honestly! The main thing is to learn to negotiate – first with your own mind and fears. Then make a decision, consider everything, prepare, buy, book... and that’s it, there’s no turning back.

With kids, you also have to learn to negotiate: how long we’ll walk, where we’re going, when we’ll go, and who can sit on mom’s shoulders in what order and for how long. If we need to speed up, we have a wonderful game called “start - finish” – so, with quick bursts, we reach our goal quickly. “Wolf and Bunny” also works well. We explore the grass on the way, collect berries, weave wreaths, and gather pine cones… They always want to climb on rocks, and at that moment my heart sinks.

I'm also curious: have you thought about ski mountaineering? Are there people there who do ski touring? Do you have the terrain and snow for it?

I actually really like ski touring. We don’t have snow in Vladivostok, but there is some on the nearest hills, which takes about 3-4 hours to get to. I also struggle with downhills! But it’s such a pleasure! This year in April, we went ski touring as a family in Arkhyz-Dombay, and then also to Elbrus. It was amazing! This year, I’m already waiting for the season to start.

Of course, I would like to try ski mountaineering as a sport. But there’s a BUT. Where will I find the time for everything???

What are your plans now that you’ve achieved such a high level? Will you run this series of races again, or will you turn to ultras? Or would you try to win other series of races, like the Golden Series?

I probably won’t run that entire series again; I don’t want to for now. It’s too much mental load. But who knows, maybe I’ll rest and go for it again. Actually, I’m currently considering participating in individual races, such as Monte Rosa; I would like to race in China at the Adventure race. I definitely need to try something new. I’ve also thought about the Golden series, but again – it’s a series. I don't have specific plans; there are chaotic ideas that I will take a closer look at after the rest.

How do you feel after achieving what you’ve been aimong for all season?

After the race, I felt completely empty. It was a strange state, to be honest. Today it’s better! It hasn’t fully sunk in yet what happened. It’s just a fact. But inside, there is certainly a huge feeling of joy! Joy from the work done, I’m genuinely happy that it all worked out!

Nastya, we wish you a speedy recovery and an interesting and successful next season!