The Challenge of a Lifetime

Racing the world's hardest one-day gravel race, Unbound Gravel with IBD.

by Cory Greenberg

Over the past few years, gravel racing has taken the cycling world by storm. A growing sector of competitions and events unlike anything else we have seen within the modern structure of cycling. For most of my time in cycling, now two decades to be exact, road cycling has dominated the space. Races on the weekends were centered around criteriums and road races that dotted the US landscape—races with iconic names and massive payouts fought for by the biggest teams. But that is no longer the case. Road cycling has taken a backseat in many ways. However, the World Tour and races like the Tour de France are still thriving. It's in the grassroots that the shift has been most profound, a change I personally would not have expected until I witnessed it firsthand.

Last year, while attending the Belgian Waffle Ride (BWR) in San Diego with the then team Human Powered Health, a professional road cycling team, I got my first taste of what "Gravel" and its scene were all about. I knew once I arrived and saw the thousands of attendees lining the expo in the heart of downtown San Marcos, California, that this event resembled the successful structure of Ironman more than a typical road cycling event. Racing in that event, seeing pros and amateurs alike on the same start line, all striving to conquer the same course and experiencing the same emotions—this was entirely new to me and sparked the next chapter for Ride4IBD.

During my time at BWR, I witnessed the new wave in cycling, one that presented a fresh challenge for me, both physically and mentally—on and off the bike. I saw this as the next chapter in my career and an opportunity to build the Ride4IBD movement. From that point on, as one would say, "it's on." The dream was planted.

Fast forward a year, and I found myself on the start line of Unbound Gravel, the world’s most prestigious gravel race and part of the Lifetime Series. The race spans over 200 miles through the Flint Hills of Kansas, starting and ending in Emporia, a small but welcoming town that, for one week in June, becomes the center of the cycling world. Unbound began over 20 years ago as a small, unique event with around 50 riders attempting to complete 200 miles for the sheer fun of it. Today, it is the premier event in gravel cycling, drawing the world's top riders along with tens of thousands of amateurs, all pushing themselves to new limits and striving to complete Unbound Gravel.

Honestly, going into this event, I had no clue what I was facing. This season has been full of new challenges for me, transitioning from full-time road cycling to off-road. It has been a learning experience—humble, yet rewarding. Starting a new team, Team Ride4IBD, planning a meaningful calendar of events, learning the requirements from training to equipment, logistics, support—both at races and at home—has been a crash course in gravel racing. It has found me chasing the best in the world, striving to reach their level one race at a time, all while managing IBD.

Unbound, like most gravel events, features long courses with minimal on-course support, technical trails, and challenging conditions. You're largely on your own to keep moving forward in case of mechanical issues between aid stations. Unlike road racing, where a team car is seconds behind you with spare wheels and a mechanic, gravel racing is self-supported. There are a few aid stations along the course where you can receive assistance, but it's primarily up to you to have what you need to finish the race.

Given all this, taking on 200 miles and racing it meant that training, nutrition, and strategy were crucial. For weeks leading up to the event, I worked with my coach to structure my training into a reverse pyramid, gradually increasing the time spent on the bike leading up to the event. Our goal was to reach up to an 8-hour training ride in the third week of training, which would approximate the time required to complete Unbound. Knowing Unbound would take around 9-10 hours of racing was daunting. Nutrition and maintaining the right training zone for prolonged periods were key considerations.

We developed a three-week training block, riding five days a week, progressing from three to five-hour rides in the first week, making six-hour rides my new norm by the second week, and building up to seven hours, with a final base ride of eight hours in the third week. After that, it was off to Kansas for course previews, some rest, and then game time.

However, the training for Unbound was unlike anything I had ever done. We scheduled long hours, focusing on maintaining the heart rate that I would experience during the race—not the high-intensity racing pace, but the sustained tempo that characterizes long-distance events. This zone is mentally challenging to sustain for five to eight hours of training and, to be honest, quite monotonous. Yet, it was necessary. I alternated between my road bike and gravel bike to break up the monotony, spending three weeks training in Germany, logging the hours and experiencing the accompanying emotions.

In hindsight, I can say that the training was much harder than the race itself. Enduring the grind of training made the race more manageable, and the time spent on the bike during the race passed more quickly than I had anticipated.

While the training regimen was set, the challenge was how to fuel that training. We opted to adapt my body to using more fat energy during training and then switch to a full-carb strategy on race day to maximize performance. To achieve this, we carefully monitored my fuel intake during training to maintain the necessary heart rates and zones while keeping my fuel consumption as low as possible, relying on body fat and becoming adept at using fat for energy during long events. On race day, I supplemented this with extra carbs to optimize my performance. Initially skeptical, as the nutrition industry tends towards high carbs 24/7, I needed to be mindful of my intake due to IBD, aiming to minimize gut issues, especially for a 200-mile race.

On race day, I set out with two fueling plans: one for a lighter tempo pace and one for a more aggressive race pace. Adjustments involved adding an extra Maurten 100 gel per hour if the pace demanded it—and it did. The race started aggressively, with everyone jostling for position to reach the first gravel sector well placed. It felt more akin to UCI road racing than a gravel race. With such a high pace, the first few hours flew by quickly, each sector pushing the limits as riders fought for space. Despite being well-positioned early on, I adhered to my fueling strategy of 2 Maurten 100 gels per hour and one 160 Mix of fuel, around 90 grams per hour.

Around the 3-hour mark, having maintained my place near the front, I began to feel a heaviness in my legs—unusual for that stage of a race. It progressed to a noticeable loss of speed, and I realized I had a rear flat tire. I hadn't initially noticed it going flat, aided by tire inserts to keep it rideable, amidst challenging gravel sectors. Unfortunately, I had to stop, losing contact with the front group to repair a torn sidewall in my tire. After about 8 or 9 minutes, I was back on the road, now trailing the front group and being overtaken by riders I had dropped earlier.

Thankfully, it was only half an hour until the first aid station where I received a new rear wheel with a fresh tire, along with fresh bottles and a hydration pack. I set off to chase down the riders out front over the next 120 miles, linking up with two riders from Bahrain Victorious who were aiming to reach their teammate, the gravel world champion. It was a fantastic group to be part of, flying along as we pursued the world champ. We were moving so swiftly that I remarked to Alex Howes, who was also in our group of four riders, that we were on the "Bahrain Express Train." After catching up to their teammate, the other two riders paused, leaving me to pursue those ahead on my own.

From that point, the race felt like my training— alone, focused on the effort and following my nutrition strategy. Over the next five hours, I made steady progress, passing riders and ticking off miles eventually linking up with a few others. Then came the final stretch, the ninth hour, the toughest of the day. It was the first hour where I began to count down the time left to ride, feeling the pain in my legs and losing my appetite. However, I stuck to the plan, took my last gel, and made the most of the final hours of this incredible experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Crossing the line after 10 hours, I completed Unbound Gravel, proving to myself that I could surpass my IBD diagnosis, race over 200 miles, fuel my day with minimal gut issues, and, for a brief moment, forget that I was an IBD patient and simply be Cory on his bike, having a blast in the middle of Kansas.

This was truly an amazing experience—weeks of hard training followed by a week of pure joy and fun in Kansas. I look forward to next year, hopefully bringing more Ride4IBD athletes to the Flint Hills of Kansas in the near future.

Unbound Gravel 2024—done and dusted.

Follow on Instagram for more of Cory’s IBD adventures : @corymike23

The Challenge of a Lifetime - Racing the world's hardest one-day gravel race, Unbound Gravel with IBD.