What Rutan doing is great, however it's not a glider in my humble opinion.
Would we consider Bob Harris the altitude record holder if he towed to
49,009
and then glided back to Cal City?

Of course not.
The SS1 is a Rocket Plane, it qualifies under the "Aircraft launched by a
carrier Airplane" category, exactly like the X-15 decades before, which
never claimed a "Soaring Performance" Record.

FAI specifies a Motor-glider as being a "A fixed wing aerodyne equipped with
means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight without
thrust from the means of propulsion."

The X-15's and SS1's performances are 100% dependent on their engines and
ballistic trajectories (coasting) after engine shutdown, they can't sustain
soaring flight by utilizing any atmosphere generated form of lift to improve
performance beyond their limited glide ratios, so their flights can't be
technically considered "Soaring Performances".