Garmin Gravel Worlds 300 2024 Race Recap
- Mathew Wollmann
- Feb 19
- 7 min read
August 24th, 2024, my third iteration of the Garmin Gravel Worlds 300. A 300-mile bike race on mostly if not all gravel. I chose at the beginning of 2024 to only focus on one race. I am/was/still am in the middle of a career change from Law Enforcement to Aviation, and I needed to focus on that. With that being said I still felt that I was prepped and could no doubt accomplish the event without absolutely murdering myself. I was heat acclimated, had just finished 100 miles in the Black Hills the week before, and had put in the work. Usually, the night before I'm in bed by 10 PM getting a full night's rest. This event is challenging. It doesn't start until 5 PM Friday. To truly be well rested ideally you sleep in until past noon. This is not my style. I'm usually up bright and early and continue to pace around thinking about the race all day. I tried a different tactic this year.
Emily and I stayed at the Graduate by Hilton Hotels in Lincoln. It's a downtown location which provided a fun time for Emily while I raced for 20+ hours. A beautiful view of Memorial Stadium as well. It also provided a fun Thursday night for us! We started by eating at Napoli's Haymarket. We ate here the year before and enjoyed some outdoor seating. A couple of glasses of wine later and a belly full of pasta, we decided to explore a bit. We soon found an Arcade Bar about a block away. A few drinks there and some amazing arcade games, we then hit up the Starlite Lounge next door. A VERY cool 1940's 1940s-style lounge, also, with amazing drinks.
By this point, I was not focused on hydration by any means. I hit the bed around midnight and indeed, slept in past or near noon. No regrets. I felt amazing and carefree for the first time on race day. Maybe I've unlocked a new race tactic? Probably not.
We made it to the race start without any issues. Being that I've done multiple ultras I'm very used to the process and not much can take me by surprise at this point. Knowledge I would have loved to have had for RAW 2021. The venue and race start was changed to the fairgrounds which I think was a great move on behalf of the organizers. A massive structure to house all of the vendors. And plenty of parking.
I'll do my best to recall the events, but it has been almost 6 months, so I'm sure I'll miss some details. I went with my tried and true setup for this race. As you can see in the photo above I had a super lilght setup with two aspero bags. A top tube bag with essentials such as plugs, CO2, lights, battery, etc. Things I would need quickly. My saddle bag contained a light rain jacket, two extra embark maple pouches, and my shaded oakelys. I started the race with clear lenses on so I didn't have to stop and transition between the two. I had done this the year prior and found it to be very beneficial. I had my Red Shift aero bars mounted up and everything felt fantastic. I had also switched out my normal saddle for my Sworks Power saddle. This turned to be a great decision. I run two bottles on the bike frame with Embark maple mix, and a USWE Rush 8L Bike Hydration Vest with Nuun electrolyte tablets. Race weather proved to be gorgeous with a tailwind most of the night. A chance of rain depending where you were on the course closer to morning, but I wasn't worried.
A lot of familiar faces and names in the ultra community. The Vegan Cyclist also made an appearance which was fun to see. As we kicked off the race, I had just a few goals going into it.
Sub 24 hrs, stoked if sub 20 hrs
Top 20 overall
Sub 1 hr off bike time
I hung with the front group until about mile 12. From years past I knew better than to try and hang with them. Another 5 of us stuck together until about mile 40. After that, it was pretty much solo work with a passer-by to chat with the entire night. My goal of staying on the bike, and making my gas station stops fast AF was paying off. I stopped at miles 57, 131, and took only a bit longer at 189 because I needed an 8-minute snoozer and needed to wait for the store to open. Just before sunrise. I set my alarm and laid my phone on my chest, hoping someone would steal my bike. That night I was all over the road. Literally yelling out loud to wake up. Digestively I was great. I always felt full and had no cramps. Things were going very smoothly.
I love having my Garmin 1030 synced with my phone. The outpouring of support from everyone is amazing to see come across my screen. Thank you! My wife is the most of those texts. " You are in 14th Place right now. Tyler is in 7th"
"Another day, another slay!!!"
"You are now about 2.5 miles behind the next guy"
That one made me kick it up a notch. I was only 7 spots back from the VC. I knew I wouldn't catch him, but still, that feeling was amazing. In ultra, 2.5 miles feels like lightyears away. You could be watching a blinky light from the person in front of you for a couple hours at night with no progress.
As the sun rose I knew that the hard part was behind me. Even with no sleep, a sunrise will bring you to life. It's an amazing feeling to be recharged by its energy. I pressed on and came to my next stop at mile 250 ish. A train was blocking the road. I picked up my bike and hiked around it over the tracks. I had places to be. I stopped and refueled, dumping a 1/2 gallon of water over me. It was starting to heat up and temps were projected to rise above 100 with heat indexes up to 105. To the side, were bags of ice just melting. I asked if I could have some of that ice. I then filled my jersey, helmet, and neck with as much ice as I could fit and took off. Other riders were beginning to show up. Seeing another rider after a long night is comical. You both just look at each other knowing what you both went through, but only say, "You good?" "Yea, I'm good."
I always love when people ask, "Going for a bike ride today!? Little hot out!" I reply with yea great day to ride. "How far ya going?" Well, I've got 50 miles left. "Left? How far have you gone?" 250.... The look they give you is priceless.
At this point Anthony Allopenna and I rode a lot of miles together. The headwind picked up but it was honestly refreshing with the heat. The gravel roads were halfway decent, with only a few with big chunky rocks. We were beginning to get into the roller portions of the course, which were mentally draining. So it was nice to have a friend by my side.
At mile 270 we stopped at a VERY well stocked aid station. Almost anything you could ask for. We both left there well refreshed and ready for the next 30. Topped off on water, I strictly used my bottles now to spray over my body to keep cool. It was HOT.
We had the pro women fly by us for the 150 course which is always fun to watch. FAST! We must have just missed the pro men but would find stragglers here and there. At mile 287 I began to feel my first cramps. Anthony decided to stop at Casey's. I knew that if I stopped I don't think I would get any better, and would run the risk of losing a few spots. I pressed on. At this point, I was almost out of drinkable water and was out of water to spray on me. I began to stop sweating, developed a headache, and the cramps got worse. Uh oh, I've been here before. Thankfully I knew to just back it off a bit, and I found my way to my 3rd Gravel Worlds 300 finish line.
Goals going into it.
Sub 24 hrs, stoked if sub 20 ✅ 21 hrs 53 min
Top 20 ✅ Finished 19th overall, 17th overall mens
Sub 1 hr off bike time - 106 min 👎SO CLOSE! But in 2023 my OBT was almost 3 hrs. So a massive improvement.
It's always fun to look at the data. You can see my heart rate start to rise as the temps increased. As I was welcomed by the Hotvet's and Emily, I knew I was in trouble. I looked over at the med tent, and they looked at me. I just walked over and said I need an IV. Sooooo I got myself a free IV! And a steak dinner that night.
Overall I truly think each of us needs to do at least 1 massive physical task each year. Remind ourselves what we truly are capable of. For some, it's a 5k. For others in an ultra event. But PLEASE don't underestimate yourself. You are so capable of greatness. And for the love of god never degrade your abilities because of someone else's accomplishments. Do YOUR best. It will never become any easier, only faster.
What does 2025 have in store? I don't know. Someone help me talk Seth Hotvet into racing Gravel Worlds 300 on a tandem.
We loaded up the bike and set the GPS to home. Only a 284-mile drive. Nice...
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