Rea Kolbl
My name is Rea Kolbl, I am 27 years old, and I’m in love with obstacle course racing. Sports have always played a big part in my life. I grew up in Slovenia where I spent my childhood mostly in the gym, competing for 10 years on the Slovenian National Gymnastics Team. In 2010 I moved to United States for college where I picked up trail running.
Between 2012 and 2016 I competed in several trail ultramarathons, winning 6 races, setting 5 course records, and winning my age group at a 50 mile trail race.
In 2016 I discovered obstacle course racing, which perfectly blended my childhood obsession with my current passion of trail running, and I’ve never looked back since.
In 2017 I completed my Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University and moved to Boulder, Colorado, to focus on my athletic career. In the past two years, I’ve ran over 50 races, stood on the podium for almost 50 of those, and won 25. In 2017, I placed second both in the Spartan Championship Series and in the United States OCR Championship. My biggest achievement last year was winning World’s Toughest Mudder, a 24 hour obstacle race. I completed 90 miles, tying for the female distance record, and became the first person to lead the race from the start to finish.
In 2018 so far, I won two Toughest Mudders (8-hour long obstacle course races), and I’m currently in third place for the Spartan US Championship Series. I also checked off an item from my bucket list – a month ago I finished my first Sky Race, placing 2nd at the Broken Arrow 52k.
I hope to inspire others to join me in the mud, and to show the next generation of girls that “like a girl” means strong, powerful, and fast.
