Saturday, November 14, 2026 · Douglas, AZ

Ride the BorderLands Medium on a plan, not a hunch

The Arizona Gravel Championship's open course: sixty miles of Cochise County gravel from Douglas, no field limit, and the one the Under 20 state titles are raced on. Below is the ride the way the model rides it: your finish at three paces, where a fast rider gains on you, the climbs that cost the most, and a fuel plan timed to the road.

No card. No account needed to try it.

01 · The course, as the model rode it

60 miles, 2,757 feet of climbing

60.3 mithe 2026 Medium course
2,757 ftClimbing · 46 ft a mile
3,716 to 4,668 ftLow and high point
3Climbs that decide it
The BorderLands Medium: elevation, the climbs that cost most, and where to eat 60.3 miles between 3,721 and 4,668 feet. Shaded and numbered: the 3 climbs the model rates costliest. Amber dots on the axis: 5 feeds for the guest rider at moderate pace. 3,700 3,900 4,100 4,300 4,500 4,700 1 2 3 6.3 mi, 0:25 in: 59 g carbohydrate18.6 mi, 1:03 in: 64 g carbohydrate30.5 mi, 1:47 in: 74 g carbohydrate39.3 mi, 2:14 in: 44 g carbohydrate47.2 mi, 2:44 in: 16 g carbohydrate start10 mi20 mi30 mi40 mi50 mi60 mi ft
the climbs that cost most, numbered as in the table belowa feed, for the guest rider at moderate pace

The organizer posts the route without a climbing figure; it runs in Cochise County from Douglas. The figures above are the model's own reading of the organizer's 2026 RideWithGPS route for the Medium course. The day runs the Long course, capped at 150 riders, and the International Parade Lap across the border into Agua Prieta.

02 · Your finish

3:19 to 3:46, depending on how you ride it

The rider the app opens with, 185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve, at the app's three pace settings, beside a fast rider. Your own numbers move all of it.

the guest rider (185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve) at the app's three pace settingssteady to aggressivea fast rider (150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve)

Riding it steady costs 18 minutes against moderate; riding it aggressive saves 10 minutes and takes your anaerobic reserve down to 65% at its lowest, against 82% at moderate. At 3,716 to 4,668 ft the thinner air takes about 5% off a rider coming from sea level, and that is in these times.

03 · A fast rider against you

Where the 41 minutes go

A fast rider

150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve, aggressive

2:47

292 W average, 21.6 mph

The guest rider

185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve, moderate

3:28

201 W average, 17.4 mph

How far behind the fast rider the guest rider falls, mile by mile The line is the guest rider's deficit to the fast rider at each point of the BorderLands Medium, over the course's elevation. It ends at 0:41. It grows fastest from mile 41 to mile 52. 0 0:30 1:00 41 minutes behind at the line start10 mi20 mi30 mi40 mi50 mi60 mi
the guest rider's deficit to the fast riderwhere it grows fastest

The deficit grows fastest from mile 41 to mile 52, 12 minutes of it in 10 miles. It takes in climbs 1, 2 and 3: watts buy the most time where gravity is what you are paying, and on the flat and the descents the gap barely moves.

04 · The climbs that decide it

3 climbs that decide it

WhereClimbGradeTimePower
141.5 to 42.3 mi97 ft2.1%4:02225 W
249.5 to 50.7 mi180 ft3.0%5:37239 W
350.9 to 51.5 mi152 ft5.1%3:24277 W

For the guest rider at moderate pace. Ranked by what each one costs as a share of the ride, not by how tall it looks, then listed in the order you reach them.

05 · Fuel, timed to the course

257 g of carbohydrate, 5 feeds

About 74 g an hour at moderate pace. Each feed goes in about 20 minutes before the model says you need it, on an easier stretch rather than on a climb, and none in the last 20 minutes, where it could not be absorbed before the line.

FeedMileInto the rideCarbohydrate
16.3 mi0:2559 g
218.6 mi1:0364 g
330.5 mi1:4774 g
439.3 mi2:1444 g
547.2 mi2:4416 g

From the burn the model puts on this course: work along the route, carbohydrate share from the pace, what your glycogen holds for your weight, and 400 kcal an hour through the gut for a glucose and fructose mix. Move the feeds to the aid stations you will actually use; the plan updates.

06 · Progression

Between now and November 14, 2026

Your likely finish, and how likely the goal is

Set a goal time for the BorderLands Medium and the app reads your recent rides against this course: a likely finish range, its middle, and your goal marked likely, possible, a stretch or unlikely. With a power meter from measured watts; without one, from your speed on your own ground.

The same clock, week by week

What your best riding of each week would finish in on this route, so you can see whether the training is moving the number, not just adding miles.

The climbs you have ridden

Each of the climbs above, checked against what you actually ride: covered, mostly covered, thin or not ridden, so the next session goes where the race will hurt.

07 · How it is solved

Physics first, then your numbers

The route is cut into short segments and each is solved for the speed your power holds against gravity, rolling resistance for the surface, and air, thinner at altitude. On twisting trail your speed is capped by how fast you can corner, and on the far side of a climb you keep the speed you carried in. The time on each segment is added up, the reserve you spend above threshold and win back below it is tracked the whole way, and the carbohydrate is burned where the work is done. It is fitted against recorded races: on a Chequamegon 40 validation ride it predicted 2:24:28 against an actual 2:24:20.

Three steps before race morning

  1. Load the route. The organizer posts the 2026 routes as a RideWithGPS event. Export the Medium as a GPX track and upload it.
  2. Say what the ground is. Mark the pavement through Douglas and any rough doubletrack, or describe the route in a sentence. Worth 13 to 17% of a finish time.
  3. Set your pace and get the plan. Weight and fitness once, then the finish forecast, your reserve on every climb, the fuel plan and the markers that matter on your head unit. No power meter required.

BorderLands Gravel questions

How long does the BorderLands Medium take?

For the guest rider the app opens with (185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve), the model puts it at 3:28 at moderate pace, 3:46 riding steady and 3:19 riding aggressive. A fast rider at 150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve is around 2:47. Put your own weight and fitness in and it forecasts yours.

How much climbing is there?

The organizer does not publish a climbing figure for the BorderLands Medium. The route file the model rode measures 2,757 ft over 60.3 miles, between 3,716 and 4,668 ft.

Which climb costs the most?

Climb 3 on the chart, 50.9 miles in: 152 ft at 5.1%, 3:24 at 277 W for the guest rider at moderate pace.

How much should I eat?

At moderate pace the plan is 257 g of carbohydrate over the ride, about 74 g an hour, in 5 feeds. Each goes in about 20 minutes before the model says you need it, on an easier stretch, and the last is at mile 47 so it is absorbed before the line.

Is the surface right?

The model rode it as dirt road throughout, on a gravel bike. The organizer describes a ride through the diverse landscapes and borderlands of Cochise County. Surface is worth 13 to 17% of a finish time, so tag the sections in the app and the forecast follows.

Is it free?

Yes. Load the route and run the whole plan as a guest, no account. Pro ($9 a month, or $59 a year) adds saved routes and plans, a saved athlete profile and the head unit export.

Other race plans

Same model, one page per course.

Every race on the calendar

Plan the Medium before the start line decides it for you

Same course, your weight, your fitness, your pace. Two minutes of setup now.