Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545984
8 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com 2026 EnduroGP Recap 2026 EnduroGP Recap What Comes Next? What Comes Next? By Rachel Gutish By Rachel Gutish Photos By Mastorgne Photography Photos By Mastorgne Photography Nothing changes, really... just that now there's two stars on your wrist ta oo instead of one. You smile. Pop the bo le. Shake hands, pose for photos, hold the trophy high. Bite the med- al. Later that night, you lay your head down on whatever you're using for a bed, and you fall asleep. And when you wake up the next morn- ing, you're s ll the same person you were when you woke up the day before. Did you know that roughly 25% of Olympic ath- letes experience symptoms of depression in the months immediately a er the Games? Interest- ing stuff. Most of my first-person ar cles for Trail Rider are intended to be funny. I've always felt that laugh- ter is the meaning of life. They are also true not just in the sense of being factually accurate, but also spiritually honest. This is why I love wri ng for Trail Rider. Kurt is willing to print almost any- thing I write, no ma er how unconven onal. I don't have to put my stories in a suit and e and send them off for a job interview. I don't have to sugarcoat or polish or spin. I can write from the heart, and my stories can be themselves. That being said, I have mixed emo ons sharing all this. I just won a world championship—my second. Most racers will never have an opportunity to even race an EnduroGP, much less bring home back-to-back world championships. I can prac cally hear the judgment: how could I be so spoiled in life that even winning a world championship somehow isn't enough? I don't think I've ever had a season like this, that looked so good on paper but felt so bad internally. It really started back in December; the setup for a good season is all in the off-season. I had some serious health issues. I kept trying to train. I'd wake up so red I couldn't get out of bed the day a er. From December to February, I was sick more days than not. Had several sinus infec- ons, one that turned into bronchi s, with a lingering cough that made appearances as late as April. For near- ly a month, I had a nosebleed every single day. I'd be on the rower and once my heart rate and blood pressure hit a certain level, the instant blood spray would make my li le corner of the pole barn look like a crime scene. I could barely eat; I lost twelve pounds I didn't have to lose. Finally, at the Sumter ANEC, I completely fell apart. I was in bed a full week a er that, only ge ng up long enough to finally drag myself to a doctor, as I should have done a month prior. When my bloodwork