GRUSK climbs to Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia — 82 miles of mountain gravel.
The grades are long and steady rather than steep, on forest roads that run from smooth dirt to rutted, washed-out double track — and the climbing does not end at the summit. This is a twelve-week plan for that day, built around a body that needs more recovery after fifty. The climbing load is real and so is the spacing — hard days are dosed to be absorbed, with strength work that keeps you durable through the build.
82 MI · N/A FT CLIMBING · WV MOUNTAIN GRAVEL, RUTTED FOREST ROADS · 12 WEEKS · 7–11 HR/WK · MASTERS 50+
WHAT'S INSIDE
- Hard climbing days spaced to be absorbed — real load, real recovery, on your calendar
- Strength with video walkthroughs — the durability work that matters more every year
- Weekly notes from me + the Gravel Grit mental program
- A testing week + mid-plan retest, so the work fits your recovery, not a template’s
- The full GRUSK race guide — pacing, gearing, fueling, mountain weather
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Arriving at the start line fit and uninjured, with the climbing work absorbed.
For the rider over fifty who still intends to ride it hard · plans@gravelgodcoaching.com
Hey, I'm Matti. I spent 11 years at TrainingPeaks, where they trusted me to teach coaches how to coach at TrainingPeaks University. I raced Amateur Elite with Rio Grande Cycling Team and podiumed my age group at Unbound 200 in 2026. I have a degree in biology and exercise physiology from St. Olaf. I'm also a middle-aged dad of three, so I know training doesn't happen in a vacuum. I help gravel riders get stupidly fast without becoming the person who brings a food scale to a party