The Gravel of Marathon runs Sunday, November 15, 2026 in Greece. The 121-kilometre UCI qualifier climbs 2,020 metres while repeating a 36-kilometre lake, farm-road, stream, ramp, and dam loop three times.
This eight-week Time-Crunched plan narrows the work to repeatable race efforts, one purposeful endurance ride, and lap discipline, repeat-climb durability, and variable-surface control. The compressed runway protects recovery while still proving food, fluid, tire, repair, and pacing decisions before race week. Recovery remains deliberate throughout the compressed build.
75.2 MI · 6,627 FT CLIMBING · THE ORGANIZER PUBLISHES APPROXIMATELY 90% OFF-ROAD TERRAIN · 8 WEEKS · 4–6 HR/WK · TIME-CRUNCHED
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, so the plan runs on your real numbers
- The full Gravel of Marathon guide — terrain, gearing, fueling
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