Good training plan for a 60 mile, 10,500ft (ORAMM) MTB Race

Training
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Hi All,

I am looking for some suggestions on what training plan to do next. I am roughly 14 weeks out from ORAMM 2021, a 60 mile, 10.5K ft MTB race.

I completed the XC Pre-season plan (5 weeks ago) prior to a B-Race, and now wrapping up Volcano Climbing plan this week. I was considering Mountainous Gran Fondo or Gravel Grinder 100. I anticipate I will be in the saddle on race day for around 7 hours, depending on conditions.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas on the above plans which would be best for such a race?

Thanks in advance!

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MGF has more climbing than the GG100. Could also do the In-Season XC plan and add extra endurance time to the weekend rides/workouts.

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Thanks for your reply @ErickT - I actually did not consider the In-Season XC plan and will look into it as an option.

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Welcome to the forum @paschmann!
You’re in a pretty common situation- event not quite 100 miles, but more climbing than a standard century. I would recommend the Gravel Grinder 100 plan. I think that you’ll need the higher volume, considering the 60 miles will take much longer than an event of the same distance on the road, which is what the Mountainous Gran Fondo is directed toward. The GG100 plan also does include enough strength/cadence/climbing workouts to maintain the strength you’ve gained on the Volcano climbing plan, while continuing to build it. Even though the GG plans do not specify that they are good for any particular amount of climbing, they are written with the knowledge/assumption that gravel races are far from flat. But with that in mind, I would also incorporate lots of climbing into the routes you choose for the weekend long rides.
I’d steer away from the In-season XC plan- that’s meant more for shorter, more intense events so it won’t give you the endurance stimulus you need.
Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

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What distance is this intended for? I usually do 20-26 mile events with 2-3k of climbing.

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Hello and thanks for your reply @Coach.Suzie.S - I looked through the XC in-season and agree I might need a little more volume. This training block starts today for me and I picked the GG100 based on your advice. I will update at a later stage with some progress reports.

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Yes, that’s fitting for the XC MTB plans. A distance of 15-25 miles, or duration of 1-2 hours or maybe 2.5 hours at the most, depending on the person.