Seven is 78 miles with about 10,500 feet of climbing on 96% unpaved roads of quartz grit and clay, with sharp rock that can cut thin sidewalls. The signature climb around mile 35 touches gradients over 20 percent — steep enough that many walk it — and being mid-May in the Southern Hemisphere, mornings start cold with rain possible on the descents.

This is a twelve-week plan for Seven’s climbing and rough gravel, built around a body that recovers slower after fifty. It builds the climbing fitness the course demands with more space between the hard days, because arriving fit and uninjured is the harder half after fifty.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Structured workouts on your calendar, with real power and heart-rate graphs


• Strength work built in, with video walkthroughs


• Weekly notes from me, plus the Gravel Grit mental program


• A testing week and a mid-plan retest, so the plan runs on your real numbers


• The full Seven guide — terrain, gearing, fueling