Lottery and Deferral registration is open. I’m officially registered and in on a deferral, so figured no time like the present to kick off this year’s thread. Anybody else?
Good luck to everyone trying to get in…my sense last year was that there was really no issue getting into the 200, but the shorter distance slots were very much in demand.
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Yeah, I think I had one too many cocktails last year and entered, got in, and promptly realized I didn’t own a gravel bike. So, here I am this year. At least I have the gravel bike issue solved!
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Pffft…details. 
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Wish that was the same for Leadville! No Unbound lottery for me this year, but I am going to try my luck for Leadville.
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Decisions. Thinking about doing the 200, but then remembered that by far the most fun I had this year was doing a 70 mile gravel race, and 200 miles on the bike is presumably somewhat miserable. Anyone have thoughts/regrets? Is Unbound 200…fun?
Define “fun”. 
At some point, you are gonna go through a bad patch. It just is inevitable. Mine hit me just after ~120 miles when my stomach shut down. Took until the second aid station until I got it sorted. Those ~30 miles were decidedly not “fun”.
The rest of the race was very enjoyable…but stressful. “Am I going too hard, am I eating / drinking enough, should I get on that wheel, should I let this wheel go, etc” But it was challenging and that was what I signed up for and I really enjoyed the challenge. The course was great and the atmosphere was amazing.
Glad I did it and checked that particular box.
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I would’ve expected the opposite with the 200 being the “premiere” race. I signed up for the 100 hoping it wasn’t as popular. Ultimately I would’ve just picked the race easiest to get into.
My understanding is that the 100 mile option is the most difficult to get into, even though the 200 remains the “marquee” event of the weekend.
I think a lot of people got apprehensive about the 200 mile after the mud fest of 2023 (or turned off by the organizers tone-deaf responses), so demand dropped this year. Will be interesting to see what happens for 2025.
I don’t know of anyone that entered the 200 lottery that did not get in this year, but there were a lot of people saying they did not get into the 100.
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The 200 is “fun” but it’s such a long day and there’s so much time for things to go wrong. Even though the 100 isn’t a short day it’s obviously much easier for people to fit in the training time for it. I was glad to finish the 200 but it’s a lot and I think I’m content to keep events under 100 miles in length
That’s really interesting. I’m in the 200 lottery, I sure hope it works out!
Joe
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I find the 200 to be enjoyable.
I’m not entering unless I have friends that enter. I do not want to handle training and logistics on my own
well f_________k
friends signed up
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What has everyone done in the past for lodging? Dorms the best option? Not looking like there’s a wealth of AirBnB’s or hotels and the hotels are all sold out anyways, so it’d probably involve staying 45+ minutes away otherwise?
I signed up for the Support / Crew option when I registered being that I won’t have a crew, probably should have checked if there were other options first, but assuming that works fine and they have their act together?
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I didn’t use the official race support crews, but I used 3 Feet Cycling last year and they were great. They would grab your bike when you pulled in, asked what needed to be done and get to it. Other volunteers would grab your bags and bring them over. Even more people would ask what drinks / food you needed while people were offering ice socks, etc.
The only issue was that they did not allow filled WBs or hydration packs when you dropped your stuff off. You can pre-fill them with your mix, just no water. I ended up with a poorly mix pack once I got going and that led to some stomach issues between the two aid stations (I was sucking down highly-concentrated stuff since the powder was all at the bottom of my pack). Make sure you have a plan to get the stuff mixed really well before leaving the aid station.
We have a travel trailer we take to pretty much all races that aren’t nearby. Haven’t had an issue finding a nearby site yet but we’ll see as I start to do some bigger races in 2025. My wife enjoys coming along and supporting. Until now it has been with our 3 year old in tow, but now have a newborn as well. I have my next race on Nov 17th, but fortunately it’s close by so we’ll bring the trailer up the morning before the race, hang out, then head out to the race the following morning. This will be a good “practice run” as a family of 4. Generally we all go to the race together and once it starts they head out for breakfast, coffee, and a park to play at, then meet met at an aid station or two over the course of the race.
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Dorms are the best option IMO for overall convenience. Just a few minutes from race start. Meals at the cafeteria included. Reasonably priced especially compared to any Airbnb options.
But if you go for dorms get in there and grab one as soon as they open up the dorm registration. also at some point shortly before the dorm registration opens up they will provide the link and you can go in and create your account on the ESU page which is needed when you register for the dorm. It allow you to enter your address and credit card info. It saves time when you go to register for a room. The rooms go quickly
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Quick question…
I’m looking to do this event in 2026, the 200mi. Should I enter the lottery this year and differ? Is that allowed? Or just roll the dice next year and hope I get in?
I’d love to do it this year, but I don’t yet have a gravel bike, will likely wait until spring anyways as winter is upon us here… Also, we have a 2 month old and travel with her and our 2 year old would be fun this summer, but much easier next year.
Thanks in advance.
Yes you can defer if you get in, but you lose a portion of your registration fee based on when you defer.
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90 days out you defer 50% per website
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