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Green grassy hills in the Flint Hills near Manhattan, Kansas, with a dirt track and a wide sky
American Jael / Unsplash

Unbound Gravel course maps and checkpoints

Five unmarked gravel loops through the Flint Hills from downtown Emporia, from 25 miles to the 350 mile XL.

June 3 to 6, 2027 Emporia, Kansas

Unbound Gravel is a gravel race out of Emporia, Kansas, run by Life Time since it bought the event, then called Dirty Kanza, in 2018. The new name was announced in 2020. It started in 2006 with 34 riders and now draws about 5,000. For 2027 the event weekend is June 3 to 6: the XL starts on Friday June 4 and the 200, 100, 50 and 25 on Saturday June 5.

Every distance is a single loop on gravel and dirt roads in the Flint Hills, some of them barely maintained, and the course isn't marked. You navigate from the GPS file. Cell service is known to be spotty out there, so put the map on your phone before you leave town: GPS shows where you are without a signal.

The 2027 routes weren't out when this page was checked, so the map shows the 2026 courses, and the checkpoints and cutoffs below are 2026's.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Life Time UNBOUND Gravel presented by Shimano. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Unbound course map

Every course's checkpoints on the Goat Maps topo map. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Unbound courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
XL357 mi (575 km)13,986 ft (4,263 m)36 h
200 Mile207 mi (333 km)8,345 ft (2,544 m)20 h 30 min
100 Mile106.2 mi (171 km)3,894 ft (1,187 m)
50 Mile49.1 mi (79 km)1,442 ft (440 m)
25 Mile27.8 mi (45 km)680 ft (207 m)

Unbound XL

About 350 miles alone through the Flint Hills, with no checkpoints and no crew.

Distance
357 mi (575 km)
Climbing
13,986 ft (4,263 m)
Time limit
36 h

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In 2026 the XL started at 3:00 PM on Friday and had until 3:00 AM Sunday to finish, 36 hours. There are no official checkpoints and no outside support anywhere on the course: you resupply from stores in the towns the route passes, and the guide lists them with their opening hours. Matfield Green, at mile 161, had neutral aid from Life Time with GU and water.

You must carry a satellite tracker registered with Follow My Challenge. The tracking fee is part of the entry, and you can rent a tracker if you don't own one. The minimum age is 18.

Cattle grazing on brown autumn prairie near Matfield Green, Kansas, under a clear sky
American Jael / Unsplash

Unbound 200 Mile

The original race: 207 miles in 2026, with three checkpoints for crews.

Distance
207 mi (333 km)
Climbing
8,345 ft (2,544 m)
Time limit
20 h 30 min

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The 2026 route went south from Emporia behind a police escort for the first 3.3 miles, then looped back in from the north. Texaco Hill came at miles 59 to 63 and the steep Teeter Hill at mile 69. A new section, W Road, came at mile 130, and the Lake Kahola dam at mile 178. The finish climbs the paved Highland Hill and comes back to Commercial Street.

Crews meet you at the three checkpoints and nowhere else. The two water oases have water only. Cutoffs are set from an average of 10 mph. In 2026 the 200 started at 6:30 AM, with the elite men and women ahead of it at 5:50 and 6:05. Elites feed in their own zones, separate from the checkpoints since 2026. The minimum age is 16.

A spring view over green prairie and wooded creeks on the Konza Prairie in Kansas
Mary Hammel / Unsplash

Unbound 100 Mile

Just over 106 miles south of Emporia and back, with one checkpoint.

Distance
106.2 mi (171 km)
Climbing
3,894 ft (1,187 m)

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

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The 100 started at 7:30 AM in 2026 and went south behind the same 3.3 mile escort as the 200. The one checkpoint, where your crew can meet you, was Olpe High School at mile 54. Its 2:30 PM cutoff is soft: you can carry on after it, but neutral aid isn't guaranteed. Camp Alexander at mile 70 is a water oasis with water only, and crews can't meet you there. Riders must be 14 or older.

A gravel nature trail over green hills on the Konza Prairie in the Flint Hills, Kansas
Mary Hammel / Unsplash

Unbound 50 Mile

North through Lyon County, with one aid station at Camp Alexander.

Distance
49.1 mi (79 km)
Climbing
1,442 ft (440 m)

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

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The 50 started at 9:00 AM in 2026, with the juniors' race at 8:30. The aid station at Camp Alexander, at mile 32, had water, bananas, oranges, chips, cookies and GU. The finish is the same as on the longer courses, up Highland Hill and onto 12th Avenue before the chute on Commercial Street. Riders must be 12 or older, and e-bikes are allowed.

Unbound 25 Mile

Non-competitive, with no awards and one aid station at Camp Alexander.

Distance
27.8 mi (45 km)
Climbing
680 ft (207 m)

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find the next checkpoint without a signal.

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The 25 started at 9:30 AM in 2026. It follows the other courses for the first few miles, then turns back east across Highway 99, which the guide says to cross with great care. Camp Alexander's aid station is at mile 20. The minimum age is 10, and e-bikes are allowed.

Getting an entry

Every distance is a lottery. For 2027 it's open from November 1 to 11:59 PM Central on November 15, and results come by email on November 21. Entering is free; your card is only charged if you're picked. One entry per person. Life Time Club members can enter early, on October 25. The 2027 fees weren't published when this page was checked.

If the lottery misses you, there are other ways in: the Training Camp with an entry to the XL, 200 or 100, qualifier coins handed out at other gravel races, ten hours of volunteering, a charity place or a coaching package. Entries aren't refunded or transferred, but you can defer to the next year until the expo opens, 1:00 PM on June 3, 2027, and then pay the next year's fee again.

Crewing the 200 and 100

A straight gravel road between dry grass and fences in Kansas
Tim Umphreys / Unsplash

In the 200 and 100 you must have someone at the event who can come and get you if you drop out. Several riders can share a crew, and Crew For Hire covers riders without one. Crews may only help at the checkpoints and must stay off the course, on paved highways: a crew car seen on the course gets its rider disqualified. Bring the colored hang tag from packet pickup, which gets you into the checkpoint parking.

Don't follow your phone's directions from Madison to Matfield Green. They send you down the course. The guide's way is Highway 99 back toward Emporia, then I-35. Matfield Green has very little parking, so the organizer suggests crews use only Madison and Council Grove. Every rider still gets neutral aid there.

Getting to Emporia

Emporia is on I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike, about 108 miles southwest of Kansas City, 87 miles northeast of Wichita and 58 miles from Topeka. In town, park on the 700 block of Merchant Street behind Mulready's Pub if you're early, or on the side streets, but not on Constitution Street.

The organizer's hotel partner is HotelPlanner. There's also camping at the Lyon County Fairgrounds, Emporia RV Park, Mill Creek Campground and Eisenhower State Park, and the organizer suggests nearby towns if Emporia is full.

Weather and what to carry

Green grassy hills in the Flint Hills near Manhattan, Kansas, with a dirt track and a wide sky
American Jael / Unsplash

June in Emporia averages a high of 85°F and a low of 63.5°F, with 4.53 inches of rain over the month, by NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals. Some years the afternoons have topped 100°F. Others have brought rain and hail, and rain turns the dirt roads to mud.

The 200 guide's required kit is a helmet, a way to navigate, a phone, enough water to go 50 miles (it suggests at least 2 liters) and food to the next checkpoint. It also recommends two or more spare tubes even on tubeless tires, plugs, a pump and cash for stores. The race uses the MyAlerts app for severe weather warnings along the route.

Unbound checkpoints and GPS coordinates

For crews and spectators: each place on the map in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Emporia, Commercial Street (start and finish)

    1,148 ft (350 m)

    38.40834, -96.18014

  • Madison (200 checkpoint 1)

    1,086 ft (331 m)

    38.13766, -96.13600

  • Texaco Hill (water oasis)

    1,657 ft (505 m)

    38.09088, -96.35342

  • Matfield Green Old Homestead

    1,306 ft (398 m)

    38.15915, -96.55929

  • Council Grove High School (200 checkpoint 3)

    1,230 ft (375 m)

    38.65970, -96.48762

  • Americus (water oasis)

    1,161 ft (354 m)

    38.50712, -96.26143

  • Olpe High School (100 checkpoint)

    1,217 ft (371 m)

    38.26560, -96.16939

  • Camp Alexander

    1,148 ft (350 m)

    38.41764, -96.10738

  • Casey's, Madison (XL resupply)

    1,096 ft (334 m)

    38.13608, -96.13748

  • Casey's, Eureka (XL resupply)

    1,089 ft (332 m)

    37.82610, -96.29389

  • Jump Start, Florence (XL resupply)

    38.24023, -96.93704

  • Short Stop, Council Grove (XL resupply)

    1,230 ft (375 m)

    38.66134, -96.48740

Unbound FAQ

When is Unbound Gravel 2027?

The event weekend is June 3 to 6, 2027, in Emporia. The XL starts on Friday June 4, and the 200, 100, 50 and 25 on Saturday June 5. The 2027 start times weren't out when this page was checked; in 2026 the 200 started at 6:30 AM.

How do you get into Unbound Gravel?

Through the lottery, open November 1 to 15, with results on November 21. If you miss out, the Training Camp, qualifier races, volunteering, charity places and coaching packages all come with guaranteed entries.

Is Unbound part of the Life Time Grand Prix?

Yes. The 200 is one of the seven events in the 2027 Life Time Grand Prix.

Can you have support at Unbound?

In the 200 and 100, a crew can meet you at the checkpoints only, and you must have someone who can pick you up if you drop out. The XL allows no outside support at all. Anyone can buy from stores along the way.

Is the Unbound course marked?

No. You navigate from the GPS file, and the organizer only marks some big turns and dangerous spots. If you leave the route, you have to rejoin it where you left it.

Is there cell service on the Unbound course?

It's spotty in the Flint Hills, enough to have troubled live broadcasts of the race. You still have to carry a phone. Download the course map in Goat Maps before the start: your phone's GPS shows where you are on it without a signal.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.