If you could design the world’s toughest off-road challenge, it would look something like this.
It’s an endurance test. It borrows elements of time, speed, distance rallying, the Dakar and even orienteering. And it all happens in one of the world’s most stunning locations.
It sounds absolutely fantastic, but it’s not just a dream.
If you have literally any interest in hardcore off-road motorsport, the Rebelle Rally is absolutely for you.
Kendra Miller’s hand is raised. She’s done this event eight years now, and this year teamed up with Verena Mei – a former Formula Drift, time attack and Rally America driver – for the seven-day, 1500-mile onslaught.
“They’re 9-11 hour days, almost entirely on dirt – BLM land, OHV parks, forest service trails – and we’re sleeping in tents, exposed to weather ranging from -16F to 110F in rain, snow and dust storms,” the DirtFish instructor says.
“I keep going back for the adventure, the challenge, the sisterhood and self discovery.
No two years taking on the Rebelle Rally are the same, as Kendra (pictured) knows well
“Those finish-line feels are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. You’re exhausted, filthy, probably smell, feel hungry and you’re thirsty. You’re so glad it’s over but also want more!
“You get this wave of emotion telling you that you’ve accomplished something life changing but you don’t know what that looks like. It honestly takes a few months before you really understand what you’ve just done.”
It’s easy to see how the Rebelle Rally gets under the skin. Do it once, and you’ll do it again, and again, and again…
Based in the states of California and Nevada, the event prides itself on “blending the love of driving with the ultimate challenge of precise navigation”. Using relatively standard cars, this year Kendra and Verena were working together for the first time and officially represented Kia – driving a Telluride X-Pro that was “surprisingly stock” other than upgraded suspension, specific off-road tires, skid plates and reinforced bumpers.
“On the inside however the engineers at Kia really hooked us up,” Kendra laughs. “They stripped almost everything behind the front driver and passenger seats so we had plenty of room for gear.
“They really listened to Verena and I on the organization of the car, built us the most brilliant maxtrax rack, bolted things down and included things we didn’t think we’d need but ended up making our lives easy.
“We got a flat tire one day and other competitors were shocked at how quickly we managed the change. Partially because Verena and I are rallyists but also everything we needed to do the job was in easy reach. I still marvel at all the detail of it all.”
This author meanwhile marvels at the determination, and preparation, to compete in such a gruelling event. Kendra gives us just a sample of how hard she works as a navigator prior to the event.
The Telluride X-Pro Kendra competed in featured minimal modifications from stock
“Physically it’s about eating right, staying hydrated and moving the body,” she begins. “On the navigation side, I try to look at the things that tripped me up the year before and study/practice to be better at it.
“I’ll practice plotting lat/lon at different scales. Then I do daily things like driving with the maps on my car’s screen and always sitting in the window seat on planes so I can view the topography. If I’m a passenger, I watch land features to see how they change and imagine what they might look like on a map. If I go somewhere, I might print a map and play ‘what’s that thing?’ with my compass.
“The team at the Rebelle is always going to come up with a new curveball to throw at us and keep us guessing, so all I can do is try to improve my skills and hope it works out.”
It’s mind blowing – particularly when you consider this is not being done at the same professional level as the World Rally Championship or World Rally-Raid Championship.
“I am so proud to be part of it, to represent it,” Kendra smiles. “Privileged to know, compete with and be friends with the other women who call themselves Rebelles.
“It’s the sisterhood I never knew I needed and the greatest investment I’ve ever made in myself.
“The ability to let mistakes or force majeure go is vital. You’re going to have a mechanical or flat tire. You’re going to click a wrong checkpoint or take a wrong trail. Fix your mistake, deal with the thing, keep moving, next. Holding on to them will snowball on you.
Even though this event isn't a race, it is absolutely increasing participation in motorsports by womenKendra Miller
“I don’t know if there’s a most memorable moment from all the years, but this year it was definitely driving up to our last checkpoint of the rally,” she adds.
“We spotted the flag up on top of a mountain, and a trail up the face that we weren’t going to make it up. It had been such a rally, the whole way to that checkpoint we were nervous about time and I remember saying: ‘If we get this, I think I’m gonna cry!’
“We went around the back side, got the point and realized we might not have time to go back the way we came to get to the finish without timing out. So we walked up to the front side trail and peered down, watching the 4x4s carefully picking their way. I looked at Verena and said: ‘That way is going to get us to basecamp in time. What do you think?’ She looked back and said: ‘I think we can make it’.
“Down we went, we hit the lakebed at the bottom and absolutely went nuts cheering inside the car. We booked it across the dry lake bed (if you’ve never let it rip on a lakebed, it’s a must) and arrived at basecamp in time. We rolled up to the Rebelle mechanics team cheering for us, I hopped out of the car and let out the biggest whoop, hugged the car and then Verena and I had a jumping hug.
“You would have thought we’d won the whole thing just watching!”
That is how much the Rebelle Rally means. Simply finishing is a bigger achievement than victory at most other events.
But as an all-female event, the Rebelle Rally is a winner itself – pushing boundaries and redefining expectations.
Kendra loves the spirit of the camp, and she encourages anyone to take part
“Even though this event isn’t a race, it is absolutely increasing participation in motorsports by women,” Kendra believes. “I’ve seen so many women, myself included, compete in the Rebelle and go on to compete in stage rally, rallycross, karting, moto, and more.
“We’ve seen the impact here at the School with how many Rebelles have taken classes here. I meet dads and moms who talk about their daughters being interested and getting them behind the wheel.
“It’s really beautiful how we can go out chasing points and yet still slow down to make sure a stopped competitor is OK. Or come in to the basecamp tent, eat dinner and have a laugh with the team we were battling all day. We don’t have to do that, no-one taught or encouraged or mandated. It was just the nature of it.”
Kendra is grateful for the support she got from Kia.
“This was my first year competing on behalf of a manufacturer. I’d been warned about the pitfalls of factory team backing and am happy to report I experienced none of the downsides,” she shares.
“Verena and I both felt so supported. They really listened to our feedback and did their best to set us up for success, including having the team write inspiring messages on our helmets before delivering them at tech.
Kia were very supportive of Kendra and Verena's efforts
“When we crossed the final finish-line and got our phones back, I remember being worried about what Kia would say. Would they be disappointed with our lack of hardware? Nope. The first texts from them were ‘We’re so proud of you both’.”
Kendra does however feel that “it’s time to start bringing home hardware” in future years, but the onus is still on “having fun, working hard and getting better, and if I can inspire some folks to do the things that inspire them as well, even better”.
If you’re reading this and fancy a go yourself, Kendra has a message for you.
“There’s no such thing as ‘ready’, so just get into it. Set realistic goals, train to achieve them, move the bar as needed.
“Don’t hesitate to reach out to women you see doing the thing, ask their advice. We all want to see you out there and can’t wait for you to know how absolutely incredible you are.”
