Doom 2025

Latest Updates

• 5 days ago

  Doom Day 5: The Finishers Throne

  by Aaron Arnzen

  The 5th morning of Doom graced the finish line porch with passionate stories from the day 4 finishers, breaking down race tactics while each expressing an overwhelming sense of respect and appreciation for the Arkansas Ozarks that each of them were increasingly surprised by. It was evident there was also a strong sense of admiration amongst each of them, as well as race winner Natalie Peet, while they used foam rollers, compression boots, and sipped cups of instant coffee.

  Despite each being well versed bikepackers in their own right, the instant coffee was a byproduct of what was once an area “Water Boil Order” that eventually graduated to a state of having no running water in the ranch. This was largely the result of an area landslide from the seemingly endless amount of rain that filled the Boston Mountains in the days leading up to the race. This proved not to be a time of disappointment, but one of opportunity highlighting the vast grasp of the surrounding Ozark Gravel Cycling community, of which several different folks made special trips to the ranch delivering water, sports drinks, pizza, and more for riders to be able to enjoy after their finish.

  

  Inspired by continued ingenuity, the first ever Doom podium pictures were taken with makeshift steps, centered around the events official drink sponsor, the Finnish “Long Drink” cooler.

  Shortly after, two more of the races oldest riders crossed the finish line, including Jason Thorman Race Director of the Black Hills Expedition in South Dakota. Stories were shared amongst themselves, as well as Race Director Andrew Onermaa, who at this point was on the home stretch of his own week-long endurance challenge. These therappeutic porch sessions led way to more finish line celebrations, including the final two single speed finishers of the event, Les Acker and Daniel Mckinney.

  

  Just 10 minutes later, the Doom “Finishers Throne” accommodated the event’s 5th and final woman finisher, Katherine Anderson out of Tulsa Oklahoma. No stranger to long efforts in the Arkansas Ozarks, Katherine spoke of her own trials and tribulations out on course, rounding out the women’s top and only 5 finishers list with an official time of 4 days 14 hours 42 minutes. In the context of extreme Spring weather conditions from start to finish, this is a group of ladies that deserve congratulations and praise for years to come.
• 6 days ago

  Doom Day 4: The Women of Doom

  by Aaron Arnzen

  Day 4 of Doom brings a special sense of accomplishment and celebration to the finish line here at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. With this year’s route distance of 404 miles, including some extremely engaging backcountry single track,and elevation gain totals consistently rolling in over 45,000 feet across different head units, an official finish time of under 4 total days is rapidly becoming an unspoken, widely celebrated benchmark at Doom.

  

  Day 4 celebrations began with 2nd place Overall Women rider Carolyn Mason rolling into the ranch finish line with an official time of 3 days 2 hours 26 minutes. From Coppell Texas, Caroyn executed a very consistent ride throughout the race, bringing some comic relief to viewers and riders alike on Day 1, with her DIY USPS Mailer Pogies fitted to her handlebars. Initially inspired by several DIY gear write-ups from the folks at bikepacking.com, Carolyn acquired a pair of bubblewrap style mailers at the post office in Jasper, Arkansas the day before the race start, with the surrounding community of viewers assigning an unofficial product name, “Priority Pogies”.

  3rd place Overall Women’s finisher Mayella Krause kept Carolyn on her toes throughout the race, making a one big push through the final night of the race to try and track her down. With both riders encountering their fair share of unexpected obstacles on course, this wildly experienced Brazilian rider’s final task came 40 miles from the finish line when her 2nd and only other Sram AXS derailleur battery had ejected itself into the muddy roadside drainage slush. She recalls “mining for gold” deep into the Ozark soil before eventually giving up on her hunt and single speeding the final 6 hours of the race, reaching the finish line with an official time of 3 days 6 hours and 7 minutes, rounding out the top 3 Overall Women’s podium .

  

  Several other geared and single speed riders crossed the finish line throughout the remainder of Day 4, with one final female rider achieving the sub-4 day finish around midnight local time. With an official finish time of 3 days 17 hours 58 minutes, Park City, Utah athlete and coach Charlotte Turner rolled into the ranch with a multitude of emotions. Finishing her first ever solo bikepacking ultra, Charlotte shared a fond memory of enjoying a break and reset with the local cat at Byrds adventure center, with less fond memories running from the countless Ozark dogs scattered around the course.
• 6 days ago

  Doom Day 3: No Gears and More Finishers

  by Aaron Arnzen

  The third morning of the event brought us more sunshine, and slightly warmer temperatures, changing the dynamic of riders acrossed both the Doom and Despair distances. Just before 8 AM we welcomed in our first place overall Doom winner Tom Schwemberger, with second place overall rider Jacob Ashton rolling in just over 4 hours later. Coming in from Council Idaho, Jacob laid down an incredible effort, matching Tom almost mile for mile until Witt Springs around mile 180, where he decided to take a sleep, with Tom pushing on. With the majority of other front pack riders pulling out near Witt Springs, Jacob remained determined and followed through to the end with a ride that’s certainly something to be proud of.

  

  With a time of 2 days 9 hours and 34 minutes, Jacob Loos of Bella Vista Arkansas rounded out our Men’s Overall podium while claiming the top step in the Single Speed category. Jacob is now the first rider to complete ALL FOUR Doom Grand Departs, all via single speed, writing his name down in the Doom graveyard forever. 2nd place Doom Single Speed finisher was Travis Jolly out of Knoxville Tennessee rolling in with a time of 2 days 12 hours 58 minutes. Coming off a big overall win at last years Trans North Georgia in poor conditions, similar to this this year’s Doom start, Travis exited the Buffalo Headwaters singletrack section near mile 40 in first place overall, battling it out with single speeder Edward Rogers well into the first night. Edward encoutered a seemingly endless amount of tire issues before eventually running out of plugs, tubes, and patches, calling it in Harmony near mile 275. At a similar point in the race, Jacob had overtaken Travis, and maintained that lead through to the finish. Rounding out the Doom Single Speed podium was Nate Griffee out of Fayetville, AR with a time of 2 days 14 hours 59 minutes. Nate’s finish made the evening a bit sweeter yet, joining Jacob as the only other 4-time Doom finisher.

  Before welcoming in Natalie Peet as the Women’s overall Doom winner at the end of the night, the rest of Day 3 was filled with joyous individual and group finishes from Despair riders soaking up their final moments in the Ozarks, sharing hot meals, cold drinks, and stories from the saddle.
• 7 days ago
  3

  Natalie Peet is First Woman to Finish 2025 Doom

  by Guest
• 9 days ago
  5

  Tom Schwemberger Wins Ozark Gravel Doom 2025

  by Nic Morales
• 9 days ago
  1

  Liz Thompson is First Woman to Finish 2025 Doom Despair Route

  by Guest
• 10 days ago

  Doom: Day 1 Video Recap

  by Miles Arbour

  The organizers just published a short video recap of the first day of Doom. Freezing temperatures and challenging conditions forced many riders to back out of the race, but some continue to push on.

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Doom (@ozarkdoom)
• 10 days ago
  1

  Jack Peck Wins Ozark Gravel Doom Despair

  by Nic Morales
• 10 days ago

  Day 1 at Doom 2025

  by Kai Caddy

  Photos by Kai Caddy

  Cold temperatures and steady drizzle welcomed riders at Doom’s grand depart Sunday. Mud, washouts, flood debris and deep, fast-moving water crossings after four straight days of rain in the area added to the gloom on and kept average speeds low.

  Tom Schwemberger was holding onto the overall lead at mile 158 as the day ended. Jacob Ashton and Nicholas Elliott were just a few miles back each, while Matthew Turner was still pushing hard from fourth place six miles behind Elliott. Natalie Peet has a dominant lead in the women’s field 127 miles in.

  By mile 57, Schwemberger had started to pull away, but there were only 18 minutes separating first and 10th place. Things really shook up at what was the only resupply of the day for many at mile 62 in Kingston. Positions shuffled as some riders elected for longer periods out of the elements than others.

  Conditions are expected to improve Monday, but riders face a frigid night with lows in the 20s after spending most of Sunday battling temperatures that rarely moved above 40 degrees.

  
• 11 days ago
  1

  Congrats to 2025 Ozark Gravel Doom Dismay Winners: Will Gavato and Morgan Chaffin!

  by Nic Morales
• 13 days ago

  Grand Depart Delayed till Sunday...

  by Kai Caddy

  Heavy rain and thunderstorms have battered Arkansas since Wednesday resulting in Doom race director Andrew Onermaa pushing the grand depart to Sunday at 7 a.m. and rerouting of all the courses. The rain continues to pour at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch as riders begin to trickle in for check-in this afternoon. A flood watch is set to expire as the race begins tomorrow, but temperatures have dropped. Highs Sunday will be in the 40s with the temperature at race start expected to be in the 30s.

  

  “I still wanted the riding to be really good,” Onermaa said of the reroutes. “I didn’t want to just include a bunch of pavement or choose directions that weren’t fun. I still think these are phenomenal routes, and even if there weren’t high waters, I think these would be some of the coolest routes we’ve ever seen. It’s amplifying the routes in every element. We can expect that this is gonna be the craziest year yet.”

  
• 15 days ago
  23

  Rigs of Doom 2025

  by Miles Arbour
• 29 days ago
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  Doom 2025 Route Breakdown (Video)

  by Miles Arbour
• 59 days ago
  2

  DOOM Dismay 2025 Course Breakdown (Video)

  by Nic Morales