Reliance Deep Woods is two race days of mountain climbing in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest — no course markings, just you, your GPS, and the woods.
The gravel runs to eroded roadbeds and embedded rock, the climbs are long forest grades, and Sunday’s stage starts on legs that raced Saturday. This is a twelve-week plan for that weekend, built around a body that needs more recovery after fifty: all the climbing the course demands, dosed and spaced to be absorbed, with strength work that keeps you durable on rough ground instead of worn down by the buildup.
70 MI · 8,100 FT CLIMBING · UNMARKED FOREST GRAVEL · 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 Reliance Deep Woods guide — pacing, gearing, fueling, and navigating an unmarked course
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Arriving at the weekend fit and uninjured — the harder of the two after fifty.
For the rider over fifty who still intends to race. · 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