Rachel Lemcke

Unbound: When Nature Rewrites Your Story

MAY 3, 2024

Rachel and Logan Lemcke bought a Storyteller Overland Classic MODE as a wedding gift to themselves. Little did they know it would be an avenue to a world of life-changing trails, races, and community.

Rachel Lemcke is a former collegiate swimmer turned ultrarunner. Over the course of her running career, she has held two Fastest Known Times, took first female at the 2021 Old Dominion 100, and placed fifth at the notorious Run Rabbit Run 100 in 2022, as well as being the course record holder at the Hellgate 100k.

After graduating college in 2018 and finishing an intense competitive swimming chapter of her life, Rachel signed up for two road marathons in 2018 and 2019. It was not long before she realized she fell in love with these longer runs, and in 2019 she completed her first 50 miler and 100k. Ultrarunning became her ticket to freedom.

Photo of Dad, Son and dog in front of an adventure van. [Luke, Dad & Pickles]

“One minute your watch is at a 7-minute pace and then it’s a 15-minute pace,” she explained. “The intensity of intervals and segments wasn’t there, and the terrain, silence, and pace of these long runs helped me cope with anxiety and mental health.

I had to focus on my feet and the terrain and doing what was right in front of me. It was such a fantastic opportunity to be present with what was right in front of me.”

Most races were canceled in 2020, but she did manage to become the course record holder for Hell Gate 100k.

In 2021, she went on to take first female at the 2021 Old Dominion 100 and fifth at the notorious Run Rabbit Run 100 in 2022. By 2023, she took third at the Gorge Waterfalls 100k and fourth at the Grindstone 100k race.

Rachel and Logan reside in Colorado Springs, CO, where Rachel continues to run for Team rabbitELITE and work as a running coach, with a focus on trail and ultra athletes. She particularly loves to participate in races that they can bring the van to. “I take the van for my own training and races, but also so I can cheer on my own athletes!”