sounds like you are ready for the XL 
Racing unbound was one of the most rewarding accomplishments I’ve had. I could see a mud year going awry, but in 2025 I found conditions to be excellent.
Other than a slightly elevated risk of flats over some other courses, I didn’t find the terrain to be abnormal.
It’s in the back of my mind and I’ll probably give it a go at some point. I just struggle with the idea/feasibility of actually racing for 350 miles. I think I’d need to treat the XL as more of an adventure than a race. Otherwise, I’d probably lose my mind at the first convenience store stop waiting in line while the draft train pulls away. Just a different kind of event and mindset. I think my big struggle would be sitting on the bike and dealing with the rough terrain for that long. My body and undercarriage are pretty much at their limit by the end of the 200, more so than the legs.
@BCM Would you recommend adding Unbound as a Gran Fondo rather than a Gravel event in Plan Builder? What would be the differences in training, and why does that approach make more sense? I’m racing the 200 this year. Thanks!
I think @grwoolf might be better to answer, but my thoughts:
Gran Fondo a great choice if it’s going to be a more steady state effort. Maybe Rolling Road race if you’re going to try to stick with a group that has you doing more VO2 efforts? I haven’t looked at the Gravel plan to see the profile it’s designed for though.
Basically - boils down to steady state vs punchy efforts in specialty phase I think
Based on today’s podcast where Jonathan suggests Gran Fondo for Leadville, I’d think it would be appropriate here. But, it seems like groups are more important at Unbound than at Leadville.
Groups are important at Leadville for certain parts, but in general it’s a steady state power race, whereas Unbound there can be a lot more punchiness for as long as you try to stay with a fast group (especially the front one) at the beginning. But, if you’re just riding your own pace, keeping it Sweet Spot and under - then Gran Fondo a great choice.
Agree with this. And it really depends on how someone plans to approach the race. The safe approach is to pace conservative early and don’t blow yourself up with all the surges required to stay with over-zealous groups. That’s going to give you the best shot at a decent finish and reduce the risk of having a really miserable day (ie - implosion). I think Gran Fondo is good for that.
If wanting to roll the dice a bit, staying with those punchy groups early can buy you a lot of free speed and bank a lot of time. But you have to know where to draw the line and not go too deep. If wanting to maximize your position/group early, it will require a bunch of punchy efforts for the first couple hours, so Rolling Road Race probably makes more sense with that approach.
Last year, I tweaked my own plan for the month running into Unbound. I was pushing big volume and that was the top priority, but I worked in some 30/30’s to build some punch without adding too much fatigue. It seemed to work well. The prior year, I got dropped from the front group earlier and was pushing more watts (because I was constantly closing gaps). Last year, I had better punch and was better able to respond to the surges while actually using less watts (less chasing, able to stay near the front and avoid the rubber band effect). It’s kind of like a crit dynamic as the groups sort out for the first couple hours. And I think this dynamic is relevant whether you are trying to stay in the front group, the 3rd group, the 5th group, etc.
I wouldn’t worry about the plan, just get into plenty of group rides w fast guys so you can hold wheels. On gravel if possible. The trainer isn’t going to provide this ability nor handling skills.
Holding wheels is definitely a skill I need to work on.
Less than 4 months out, I hope everyone’s training is going great.
I’ve got about 1 month of base training under my belt and feeling good so far. I raced the last couple weekends and was surprised how quick I’ve regained some fitness with mostly steady state and a little over/under work. I plan to take things a little slower and easier this year, felt like I might have peaked too early last year and ended up overtrained.
Reminder to start thinking about tires - the popular models/sizes can be hard to get once spring rolls around. I’ve been experimenting with different tire choices the last couple months and have reverted back to my trusted Race King 2.2’s (which I ran last year). My unbound setup is going to be very similar to last year, just swapping in wider/taller wheels with the Zipp Xplr’s. I’ve also upgraded to Force e1 shifters/brakes, the braking power is a big upgrade from the old Rival’s I had previously. I’ve been running a dropper, but will probably pull it off for race day to save a little weight. I’ve had the Seigla since last May and have raced on it quite a bit, but it still gets me amped up every time I ride it. It’s just a perfect fit for how I like to race.
I have the old Lauf True Grit, so I’m ‘stuck’ at about 45mm for tires (at least in the back, I could go bigger on the front). That is a good looking bike though!!
My 2:45 dynamic endurance ride this weekend was too long on the trainer! 
But looking out the window at the 3 feet of snow on the ground reminded me it was my only option!
Beautiful looking bike!
What bars and aero bars are you running? I’m building a new gravel rig this year and trying to gather some opinions.
I still have my True Grit and a Seigla. Both are great. I still ride my True Grit especially on flat rides when I don’t need the extra gear I have on the Seigla or if I’m just doing an easy road ride I’ll just take the True Grit for the comfort factor over my road bike.
The bars are some older trek aero road bars and the aero bars are profile design. I like the adjustability on the aero bars, but they are pretty heavy. I wish the bars were narrower, it’s just hard to find carbon road bars that are approved for clip on extensions.
2 Months out, gonna be here before we know it.
Fitness is decent. A few steps behind where I was last year at this time, but that was the plan after feeling like I peaked a bit early last year. And I’m also 57 and pretty much pushed myself to overtraining last year, so genetic potential is going in the wrong direction and not sure I’m willing/able to make up for that in training. If I can get my fitness close to last year, I’ll be happy.
Weight is ahead of schedule, about 8-9 lbs lighter than I was this time last year and already lower than my original race weight goal. Not trying to lose more weight, but really watching my diet and struggling to get enough calories to keep up with the training volume. Concerned about losing power, kind of hard to compare to last year when my training approach was different. My scale says it’s basically all fat I’m losing, but I wish I had done a couple dexa scans over the last few months to confirm.
Equipment is fully sorted. I’ve got tires ready for pretty much any condition. Weather usually makes it a last minute decision, but it will be Race King 2.2’s if dry. Maybe not the fastest option on the South Course, but I’ve tested a few other options this winter and keep coming back to the RK’s. They just inspire confidence for me.
I’ll be up in Emporia last week of April/Early May for the the La Grind stage race and to pre-ride the 200 course (or my best guess on the course if it’s not released by then). If anyone is looking for a warmup race on some of the roads shared with Unbound, I highly recommend La Grind. Great people putting on a great race for a great cause.
RK 2.2 for sure will destroy even a Lauf frame if its a repeat of 2023 (I tested in some mud and it was not pretty). I hope they re-route the south route to skip both mud sections regardless of the race day conditions. I will probably bring some Pathfinders 45/50 as I trust them for flat protection more than the Schwalbe G One (I have been training on 40s and they are ok on road).
My biggest question is if I should pick up a pair of Zipp XPLR since I can get a set with 25% discount on BTD or spend $$$ on the new Roval’s (love how Roval’s ride in general vs Zipps).
In my experience, there is no amount of clearance that allows someone to ride when you hit that really sticky stuff. I was there in 2023 (my first Unbound) and went small with 42 pathfinders in my checkpoint. That gave me about the same clearance with I get with 2.2’s in my lauf. Had to walk/run for a while on that early section, but was mostly able to ride the fence line and had a great day. I’m kind of torn on the mud stuff. I like some adversity to rip the race apart and I love riding in the mud, just don’t want to off the bike for extended periods. I personally thought 23 was a reasonable mix, but I also knew it was coming and absolutely buried myself to be near the front when we hit it. With the number of people participating at all different levels of experience, I’d say they made the wrong call in 23 not bypassing the early mud, but that was personally one of my favorite days on the bike ever. I think a good approach going forward would be to keep nasty sections like that in the 200 and 350, but try to avoid it in the shorter distances (and make it very clear to people what they are signing up for). I think they will err on the side of avoiding any long muddy sections, mostly because of the challenge of providing medical attention.
I was thinking the other day how it’s funny that this race is much bigger than Leadville but on this forum, the Leadville threads is huge and the Unbound ones are small.
I’m currently running 45 G One RS tires. I can’t go bigger on my Lauf True Grit. what are people’s thoughts on them as tires? I’ll be doing the 100 and not on the pointy end of anything but my saddle!
Yeah, not sure if it’s a MTB vs. Gravel thing or just the nature of the events. Leadville is a much more complex problem to solve in my opinion with pacing, altitude, equipment choice, etc., but Unbound has it’s complexities also.
That’s a solid tire in my opinion. Some of it will depend on the course. It looks like they are mixing it up and going West this year (at least for the 100), I don’t know too much about the terrain in that direction. But I know for the typical south and north routes, the 100m courses are much tamer than the 200m versions. The gravel close to emporia (where the 100 courses have gone the last few years) is much less chunky and 45’s are going to be a great choice.