Thomas's story: Mid South

BaseCamp athlete Thomas Gosnell shared his experience at the 2026 Mid South gravel bike race in Oklahoma.

Evelyn and I travelled to Stillwater for the 2026 Mid South Gravel Race on March 14. I was racing, and Evelyn was my support crew. We loaded up the van and left Tucson Tuesday afternoon and arrived at our VRBO in Stillwater Thursday afternoon. (I need to give a shoutout right here to Menachem Brodie and Lori Tompson for their strength and conditioning plan. You don't really notice an increase in strength until you do something you have not done in a while. For me it was removing the rear seat from our van before the trip. It had somehow lost weight since the last time I removed it.) The VRBO was an easy 2.5-mile bike ride to the race start—a route I have ridden more than 1000 times to and from work in the 15 years we live in Stillwater.

Friday morning, I did the SRAM/Zipp Shakeout Ride to get my legs opened up and ready for the next day’s race. There I met one of my BaseCamp teammates, Buddy Mixon, who is an incredibly strong but laidback dude riding his fatty while dressed in casual attire and sandals.

On race day I got to the start early to get a good position. When they opened the corral for the start, I discovered I was lined up next to Tina Hart, Kaci Wall, and Tracy Steele. There was a chill in the air, exacerbated by the anticipation of the start, but surprisingly my mind was settled in the present moment. Thank you, Carrie Jackson. When the gun went off, the race was on. I pushed my pace for the first 20 miles (IF of 0.90) before settling in for the long haul. Thank you, Tim Cusick. My goal for the day was a podium finish. I had planned my nutrition and pacing strategy to get me there. Evelyn met me at the Guthrie aid station 62 miles into the race. There I ate a sandwich with a handful of dill pickle chips, swapped out my hydration bladder, and restocked my supply of dates and maple syrup for the last 44 miles.

Coming into the Guthrie aid station, I was in 3rd place. Leaving the aid station, I was in 4th. I caught up to the 3rd place rider at about mile 83. We chatted for a bit before I rode on without him. At mile 89, I botched the crossing of Wildhorse Creek and went down. It was a soft landing, but it did interrupt my flow. My derailleur looked like a mud dauber’s nest. Thank goodness for the SRAM Eagle direct mount transmission, which did not bat an eye and continued to operate perfectly—other than the sound of the mud that had settled into the drivetrain. Between mile 20 and mile 92, I had ridden with an intensity factor of 0.74. In estimating my nutrition needs pre-ride, I had used an intensity factor of 0.75, so my nutrition was spot on.

At mile 92, the wheels could have come off the wagon. I have been having occasional heart arrythmia. I do not feel it happen, and it does not appear to be life-threatening, but it is concerning. At mile 92 the high HR alarm sounded on my Garmin. With 14 miles to go, it was time to SAIL. The final 14 miles of the race are lumpy, to say the least. I felt strong enough that I could have crushed them, but with discretion being the better part of valor, I backed off my effort. I focused on recovering on the downhill and limiting my efforts on the uphills trying to teeter on the edge of the arrythmia. For those final 14 miles, my IF dropped to 0.68. When I entered the aid station at mile 95, I was in 3rd place. I had no need to stop, so I rolled on through. As it turned out, the rider ahead of me at the aid station seriously bonked and dropped from 2nd to 4th place for the day. Thank you, Hexis and Namrita Brooke.

The final 5 miles to the finish were mostly downhill, and I savored the free speed while still restricting my effort. When all was said and done, I finished 2nd in my age group (70+). A big shoutout to Coach Greg Waggoner for his guidance in getting me from the midpoint of Cycle 3 to being prepared for a 106 mile gravel race. Thank you, Greg. I could not have done it alone.