I remember first hearing about Unbound (then Dirty Kanza) back in 2014 when I first started college in Missouri. There was this “crazy” race one state over in Kansas in which temperatures soar, mud rips apart bikes, and rocks shred tires. Oh, and they ride 200 miles. At the time it was inconceivable, but somehow I knew I would line up one day. In the meantime, we would make jokes after our 100 mile training rides, can you imagine if we were only half?! Well now I’ve done it and I can. 

As we lined up in Emporia in the wee hours in the early morning, I couldn’t believe it was finally time. This race requires an immense amount of respect and preparation and the time to execute had finally arrived. 

It was my first ever Unbound, but it was a first for the event as well. This would be the first time the women had their own start WITH enough time separating us from the men that we would have our own race. From start to finish we could conquer those miles by our own power; not drafting off of men. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect as we rolled out of town. Who would make the move? Who would set the pace? Would the pace ratchet up slowly in a race of attrition or would there be one huge attack that would split the field. I was ready for anything. I spent a little too much time in the opening miles following small attacks that were quickly reeled in. I burned too many matches that way, but it did ensure I was there when the move that mattered stuck. 

The group went from 60 to 25 through one of the rougher minimum maintenence roads. After that, every uphill section, every rocky or uneven descent was a chance to shed someone from the group. We were whittling down the group one person at a time. 

Going through the Aid Station at mile 75 was insanely hectic. We all came screaming through town, darting in each and every direction across the road. You had to keep one eye on the crews so you didn’t miss your support and one eye on the other races who were suddenly stopping or swerving when they saw their crew. 

We stop for less than 20 seconds. I put a foot down, one person ripped the USWE pack off my back, one person stuffed more First Endurance Liquid Shots in my pocket, another person replaced my bottles, and one person lubed my chain. Another person was dedicated to watching when the other women departed and when he yelled “The first woman has left.” I yelled, “Let me go” as I started riding away before my pack was even fully on my back and I buckled it on the fly. 

Somewhere around mile 75, Lauren took a flyer. She rode aggressively off the front and with 125 miles to go, no one followed. She soloed ahead of the group with her gap growing from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Some women appeared to be stressed, but I thought this was best case scenario. Lauren is extremely strong and every minute she sat out ahead of the group was a minute she was working hard. She was blowing through her matchbook and I wanted to wait as long as possible to reel her back in. 

After nearly 60 miles we caught Lauren, the group Phad whittled down to 10 in the chase and we were now at mile 125. We had 75 miles to go. 

For the next 75 miles we both worked together and tried to shake each other. But no one would budge. 

As the miles ticked down, two things became more and more apparent. 

1. It was looking like it would come down to a sprint finish. 
2. I had a chance at winning Unbound! 

In the closing miles of the race, everyone was trying to tilt the hand in their favor. Everyone was fighting for position, and also fighting to stay off the front. No one wanted to do more work than anyone else. Suddenly it felt like the entire race was being analyzed as we all tried to size up who would be the biggest competitor in a sprint. Who has wasted energy? Who had done the most work? Who was tired? Who had been sitting in, drafting, and was feeling strong? 

With half a mile to the finish there was one final climb and I decided to put my eggs in that basket. I hoped to break others. When you ride that long and feel that tired, your mind will look for any excuse to give up. I wanted to give them that excuse. I sprinted up the climb, going into the lead. I wanted to break wills, but when we crested the top of the climb with 800 meters to go, my competitors had followed and I had showed my cards. 

I entered the last corner in 4th wheel but as we sprinted, I got boxed in. There were girls on both sides of me, squeezing me inward, I had to touch brakes to avoid collision and I lost my momentum. I crossed the line in 8th, only 2 seconds behind 1st!!

That’s racing. Positioning and tactics are a part of it. I’m so incredibly proud to have been in that group and to have been a part of that historic finish. A 9 up sprint finish after 202 miles is pretty unbelievable.  

One of the concerns expressed when fighting for our women’s only start was that gaps in the women’s field tend to be larger than the men’s field and we could end up all riding 100 miles alone. Quite the opposite happened. Left to our own devices, we proved that we are well matched and hyper competitive, it’s actually the men’s race that creates big gaps in the women’s field.

Another concern was that without the ability to draft off of the men that our race would take too long. Well, in a women’s only race, with the ability to only work together, we posted the fastest female winning time in the history of the event. 

Even though I didn’t win, I’m beyond thankful to have been a part of this historic moment. We proved that we have what it takes. We proved we deserve our own race and boy oh boy did we put on a show!