The Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour: Racing, Recovery, and Raising Hope
In 2025, I’m doing 11 gravel races throughout the Midwest to celebrate that my heart is beating normally again and to raise money for pediatric cardiac care.
I’m calling it “The Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour 2025.”
I’ve had two ablations in the past two years to fix ventricular tachycardia, and the second, done last September, seems to have fixed the problem.
So I plan to ride the gravel races next year, culminating in the U.S. national championships, and raise money for pediatric heart care at the Herma Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee.
I’m nervous putting this article out into the world since there’s no guarantee the heart issue won’t return.
But I’m trusting in the process and will keep training and working toward the goal.
Gravel Racing is a Challenge
My goal in riding these races is to show myself and others that we can overcome all sorts of challenges and setbacks.
As a coach, I want my athletes to do hard things, find challenges that are a little scary, and embrace the work they need to do to reach their goals.
My training and racing will inspire others to get after their adventure and bucket list goals.
Plus I want to support kids with challenges far greater than mine.
All the money I raise goes directly to the Children’s Hospital Foundation, which funds the Herma Heart Institute.
Tentative Heart and Gravel Tour Dates
The tentative schedule is this:
- March 1 Dirty South Roubaix, Alto Pass, IL 60 miles
- March 22 Hell of the Wind, New Liberty, IL (Big River Gravel Series) 60 miles
- April 5 Rough Road 100, Morris, IL 64 miles
- April 12 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI 60 miles
- May 3 1904, Illinois City, IL (Big River Gravel Series) 80 miles
- May 10 Hungry Bear, Cable, WI 60 miles
- June 7 KKD Gravel, Farmington, MN 80 miles
- July 5 Riding Dirty Gravel, Viroqua, WI 63 miles
- July 12 Burning Quad, Erie, IL (Big River Gravel Series) 80 miles
- August 23 Coon Fork 40, Eau Claire, WI
- September U.S. Gravel Nationals, LaCrescent, MN 88 miles
We’re Raising Money for the Herma Heart Institute
This will also be the first race for which we’re raising money for pediatric heart care at the Herma Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee!
This race is not just a test of my endurance—it’s a chance to support the kids, who have challenges far beyond mine.
Their grit inspires me to push harder.
These are kids with long stays in the hospital for transplants and open heart surgery.
Nutrition Means Better Fat Metabolism
After listening to Dr. Laursen and Marjaana Rakai on the Athlete’s Compass podcast, I started on a low-carb, high-fat diet to improve my fat metabolism.
I need to keep working on consuming more healthy fats in my diet to make me more metabolically flexible so I can burn both fats and carbohydrate as fuel during a long race.
Most of my training is fueled by higher fat snacks (though the carb-filled fruit bars at Mama D’s are delicious).
For the races, though, I’ll be consuming one Embark Coffee Maple syrup, each packet of which contains 85 grams of carbohydrates.
I'm continuing to watch my blood pressure and other heart health markers with this diet.
Heart Issues Made Me Adapt
Life throws curveballs—ventricular tachycardia was mine.
But the thing about endurance athletes?
We learn to adapt, rebuild, and persevere.
That’s why I’m racing gravel again.
As I tackle this first race of the Heart and Gravel Comeback Tour, I’m racing for more than personal goals—I’m racing to support kids with heart challenges.
Join me in making a difference by donating or sharing your own story of perseverance.
Here’s the link to donating to the Children’s Hospital Foundation
Three Things About the Heart and Gravel Tour
- After two heart surgeries for ventricular tachycardia, I’m returning to endurance racing, proving that setbacks don’t have to define the future.
- The tour isn’t just about personal achievement; it’s about raising funds for pediatric heart care at the Herma Heart Institute.
- The comeback from heart surgeries have required some nutritional and training changes.
Need more?
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Paul Warloski is a:
- USA Cycling Level 1 Advanced Certified Coach
- RRCA Running Coach
- Training Peaks Level 2 Coach
- RYT-200 Yoga Instructor
- Certified Personal Trainer
Simple Endurance Coaching supports everyday endurance athletes with holistic, personalized coaching to accomplish their adventure and bucket list goals.