You have 14h 39 min to beat the sun.
Subtract 30 minutes from that because they pushed the amateur start back to 6:30 again this year. I think the official time is 14h15m per the race guide last year:
ALL UNBOUND GRAVEL 200 RIDERS who finish before sundown (8:45pm) will be inducted into the “Race the Sun” Club and will receive a special award
Yes, as long as you are not in the elite race
Nice! How’d it play out for you? Did the front group stay pretty big for a while? Just looking at splits it looks like a group of 5 went off the front after checkpoint 2?
I fell off the front group early and paced the rest of the day. Would love to hang on longer next year, and maybe end up on that first page of athlinks results.
That was my goal for 2023. I think I would’ve been close except for the mud.
Good luck this time around!
Same. Lost a cleat in the first section, just didn’t enjoy the 2nd.got to Hamilton when the sun was going down with a Bontrager ion mini light. I was not a great time.
I was with the lead group till the first check point and chased the rest of the day. It was a pretty large group and i just tried to surf wheels at the front. The techy areas sorted people out if you got in bad position you had to chase back on. I need to weather the storm a little better in that section. Not sure I really targeted that type of effort in training as I had mostly done crits.
Hello. I was wondering if anyone had experience with the dorms at Unbound. Are they like hostels where a number of people stay in one big room or are they individual rooms where your stuff is safe? I’ve booked a hotel (about an hour away 
) and I don’t know if I would even be able to snag a dorm room, but if they are open concept, I may not want to try. Thanks!
Single, double, and quads. Mattress isn’t great and bring your own bedding
Thanks!
Dorms were really a great value. Plus you get the meal plan and the cafeteria food was really pretty good.
It’s looking like the North course again this year. From what I’ve read, it’s a bit rougher, but also less muddy (if the conditions are wet).
Correct on all counts…that said, some of the newly added MMR’s to the north can get pretty bad. They had to re-route a short section of the course this year due to mud / water.
You can probably still find the videos of a police 4x4 splashing through the section that they had to avoid…if there had been an incident, there was likely no way to get riders help. Which was the primary reason they rerouted it…
ETA - found the video. If this section is left in for next year, expect mayhem.
I will be lining up for the 200 for the 7th time this year - 4 finishes and 2 DNFs, so yeah, I am a bit of a glutton for punishment. I went to grad school in Manhattan and studied the tallgrass prairie so this event and area are close to my heart. I stay with friends I met back in the 90’s that used to put on a spring triathlon right there at the Emporia State campus every spring. For many of the participants this is the peak of our racing and social calendars. I can understand anyone without that sort of connection that it is tough to find a 'why do this to myself" reason to return. Since the Lifetime purchase I also understand some hesitation in the entry prices, the expensive room and board options and the unrelenting heat and humidity. It’s not for everyone, but it is for me …
Emporia Dorms Open for reservation today at 10 AM Central.
Also Barns and Noble is selling sheets and towels this year, which is a nice touch.
https://secure.touchnet.com/C20725_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=17
Thanks! I got a room. So stoked. Glad all the hard parts are done 
Sold out in 10 minutes 
Glad I booked!
Now all I need to do is book Sea Otter and Unbound Flights, pretty sure I’m good (logistically) for the season after that…
The dorms always fill up immediately. There’s a FB group called “Emporia Short Stay Options” that you should join if you’re looking. Plenty of locals offering up options on that group, especially as you get closer to the event. Emporia isn’t a large Air BnB community, so inventory is minimal and goes quickly. Sometimes you’ll get luckier working directly with a homeowner willing to rent their house out. Things always open up as you get closer to the race and people defer their entries.
First day of training camp. I’m doing the 50 miler but need to lose about 20-30 lbs between now and Unbound.
