Unbound Gravel Stories - Anna Ferguson – Stronger Than What Tried to Break Her
- James Ion
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Instagram: @clevelandchickbikes
Unbound 100
Words James Ion - Photography courtesy of Anna Ferguson
Anna Ferguson isn’t riding Unbound Gravel to make a comeback, she’s riding to build what comes next.
Seventeen years ago, cancer tried to stop her. It didn’t.
Today, she’s clocking miles that challenge every tired assumption about age, endurance, and who belongs on a start line.
Anna doesn’t just represent survival, she represents a shift. A shift in what strength looks like when it’s measured in decades, not seasons. For Anna, it’s not just about getting back up, but about creating something bigger, stronger, and entirely her own.
At Unbound Gravel 2025, Anna won't be chasing a comeback story, nor will she be trying to erase anything. Rather, she’s going to write her next chapter right into the Flint Hills surrounding Emporia.
Training this year for Anna has been about working smarter, not longer. Cleveland winters mean a lot of Zwift rides, strength sessions, and purposeful fueling.
She’s tested everything: sweat rate, sodium loss, gut training. She’s dialled in a menu that includes Skratch Superfuel, Maurten gels, LMNT grapefruit salt, and homemade vegan rice krispies treats. To say the least, she is prepared, now it’s just the legs that have to finish it off!
“I used to think survival was enough,” Anna says. “But real strength? It’s what you build next.”
She’s excited to meet other women out on the grass plains, women chasing finish lines, chasing freedom, chasing their own impossible, and maybe, on the roughest miles, lean into the silent, fierce company of a new kind of sisterhood.
Her motto heading into the race is simple: “Ride far, not fast.”
Because the only competition is the person she was yesterday. Every mile, every cramp, every stretch of Kansas crosswind she beats back is just another reminder that she’s stronger than what tried to break her.
Her finish line goals are happiness, exhaustion, triumph, and an AF cold beer with Pizza. Safe in the knowledge that her story is not just about survival but one of strength. The strength to keep going and to build on!
Follow Anna on her journey to Unbound and witness what strong means!