Looking for great gravel or 50+ mile mtb races on the right side of the country for 2025.
What should i target?
Im doing Rule of 3 again- because its great, not doing BWR Asheville because its not a fair price. SE Gravel Shennendoah 100and 5points50 already on my radar.
Im thinking theres some mid-atlantic stuff or ohio, Michigan, Indy stuff i dont know about.
Any suggestion that are worth a drive?
Also in Virginia, Cynthia Carson’s race, Gravista, is great. www.ridegravista.com
Depending on how far you’re driving, Wilmington Whiteface 100K is a MTB event, do-able on a gravel bike (but not the fastest) in the Lake Placid / Adirondack State Park area of upstate NY. Smaller event but I’ve enjoyed it. A little bit like a 100K version of Leadville in terms of course profile without the altitude in that it has everything from Pavement to Gravel to Singletrack, but a lot more singletrack than Leadville does - maybe 45-60 minutes? Some long climbs and long fast descents which are harder to find on the east coast.
To me, it’s worth it if the drive isn’t too bad, or if you want to spend a little time in the Lake Placid area, which can be a really cool area for sightseeing, hiking, road / gravel / mtb, fishing, etc. And, Lake Placid has the whole Olympic Training Center / Olympics vibe going for it too. I normally do it and I’m 4-5 hours drive, but conflicts with Unbound this year.
If you’re coming and going just for the event and coming from further away, not sure I’d do it though.
The US Marathon National Championships are in Roanoke, VA, in July. It’ll probably be hot, but Carvins Cove has an awesome trail system, which should make for a great race even if it might be in the low 40-miles instead of 50+.
I second WW100 in Lake Placid. Did it this year and it was a great event to prepare for Leadville in my case. The entire weekend has bike related events so there is plenty going on if you are making the trip. As mentioned the course has a mix of surfaces but is probably best on something with suspension as the singletrack and long gravel/dirt descents have some chunk to them.
When I lived in the other side of the country I was a fan of ORAMM and any of the Pisgah Productions events, that area will need to recover from the recent floods but I hope they come back stronger.
Yeah, getting to pisgah isnt the easiest thing to do right now
Pisgah stage race is a super fun MTB stage race. I’ve done the 5 day version and am signed up for the 3 day for next year.
These are mid Atlantic specials
Transylvania Epic (never done but heard awesome things) - https://www.tsepicmtb.com/
Shenandoah 100 - epic never miss it. i do the 100k
Wilderness 101 - good east coast type2 fun
Grusk - gravel (never done but heard awesome things)
Hilly billy roubix - heard its coming back this year
Vermot 50 is in late September in Ascutney, VT. Phenomenal race, great vibe, fun trails. Definitely an MTB race. Bonus points as they raise money for the Vermont Adaptive Foundation.
Homegrown Gravel 100 gravel race in Franklin, GA might be something to watch as we get closer to February. Race is 2/22/2025.
It was a pretty standard local event last year but there’s now a $10,000 prize purse which may make the event more popular and boost field sizes. Lauren De Crescenzo won the Women’s last year and Michael Garrison won the Men’s.
Good course with lots of selection points, nice start location, and high production on the event overall. No reason it couldn’t be a bigger regional event, all the pieces are there IMO.
Pisgah 111 was my A race and that obviously didn’t happen. As a flatlander (South MS), a course with that much elevation was my BHAG for the year. To make it up, I plan on doing Pisgah Stage Race. We visited that area this summer for the first time and fell in love.
Putting Homegrown on my list. Would much rather do well-run small races like the Mississippi Gravel Cup and Gravista than the giant Lifetime races. Wait. Homegrown used to be Border Wars? Did that two years ago definitely worth going back for.
How does this area handle wet weather? I know macon area gravel can get a bit messy,
Just in case someone wants to do some endurance racing in GA this year, heres a cheap entry that supports our local club.:
Have you looked into the Southeast Gravel series races? There are 6 races, I believe, and they are based in NC/SC. Distances vary but there’s usually a shorter route (around 40 miles, give or take) and a longer route (usually 70+ miles) for each event. Very well run races and great gravel routes
I did it in the rain in 2023 when it was called Border Wars. Same area but not sure how much they changed the course. Rained the whole time and the course held up pretty well although there were a couple slick stretches. Video: Border Wars 2023
While we’re talking about Vermont, here are a few great gravel events:
I did Rasputitsa and Muddy Onion this year and I must say, while Rasputitsa has a higher profile, the Muddy Onion was the more enjoyable event. The weather could have played a part, but the terrain, scenery, and overall vibe was just incredible.
Adding to the Vermont list, let’s not forget the Slate Valley Epic. Slate Valley Trails are some of the most fantastically well-maintained and designed MTB routes in the state and racing the Epic this summer was the most fun I’ve had racing my bike in years. (It was also my first flat bar race 
)
Yeah, I’m more excited about Muddy Onion every year than I am about Rasputitsa at this point. Kip (owner of Onion River Outdoors) and team do an amazing job putting on the ride. The routes the past few years have been fantastic, especially last years, but the race is also just super well organized and well-run.
Aid stations are perfectly placed and well-stocked, the routes are clearly marked so you don’t have to pay much attention to your computer, and the general vibe is just really open and fun. And the rolly stuff along the ridgeline around Cabot last year was so freaking beautiful, just an awesome and memorable day.