Uwharrie Forest Gravel Grinder is 55 miles on National Forest dirt and gravel doubletrack, with about 4,300 feet of climbing that comes as short, steep, repeating hills rather than long climbs — the Uwharries’ kicks at miles 15 and 45, and a technical Jeep Climb near mile 27. Late February in central North Carolina runs 30s to 50s, with real mud risk after winter rain.

This is a twelve-week plan for a punchy day of short, steep repeating hills, built around the hours you have to train. Most of the work is repeatable hard efforts and handling on rough doubletrack, the two things a course of constant kicks asks for.

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 Uwharrie Forest Gravel Grinder guide — terrain, gearing, fueling