The unbound gravel of the 2022 edition may have been rain-soaked and messy, but the 2023 edition reached a whole new level of difficulty brought on by the conditions, with "peanut buttery mud" running down many riders and clogging their equipment in the new sections early on.

In a large group, the riders left the well-paved gravel road after the start of Emporia and headed straight for "D Hill" at mile 10. This hill had not been used since 2015 and was a mud pit from heavy rains eight years ago. That flashback became a reality again as a multi-day storm in eastern Kansas again created sludge, creating chaos and splitting the race.

"It was barbaric, totally barbaric. It was unreal," expressed Dani Schlossbrey, who finished fourth in the women's 200.

"I was running well in the lead right from the start and then I hit the "peanut butter" mud and all hell broke loose. The field was broken up into pieces in that section, and while some racers managed to find their lines by avoiding those who had stopped and maintaining their momentum and running at the front, or by crossing the slippery, grassy, steep slopes, many more were caught in the mud.

Schlossbrey was one of the riders who fought back, picking up riders who entered firmer terrain after muddy sections.

"Today was the most hectic day I've ever had on a bike. It was brutal," said Nathan Haas, who finished 26th in his debut race last year, in an Instagram post. He quit this year's race soon after getting covered in mud.

"One section turned into peanut butter mud. It was totally maddening. After the downhills we were going about 50-60 mph and it was just a bunch of guys with bikes. It was total chaos."

The conditions after the heavy rain that fell all night took a toll not only on the riders, but also on their equipment. Some riders had paint scrubbing sticks to scrape the mud off their tires. They needed it.

"None of the bike companies designed their bikes to handle conditions like that. With narrow tire clearances and aerodynamic bikes, the wheels just don't turn," Haas said with a thunderstorm in the background.

"Unfortunately, the cassette is so muddy that once you get into gear, you can't even get back to the pedals after a long walk."

For Haas, that meant walking eight miles carrying his bike, just riding the downhill sections, and trying to wash his bike in the creek along the way, but ultimately there was no hope of returning to the race, and the rider who started 2023 with high hopes walked away. He was not alone. Australian gravel champion Brendan Johnston also tried to continue the race without being able to shift gears, but eventually finished the race. Anna Yamauchi broke her derailleur early in the race, but continued at single speed until the Eureka checkpoint, where she was repaired and finished 27th.

Lauren de Crescenzo also fell back in the mud, but hit some barbed wire and lost a position, eventually retiring.

Meanwhile, Australian debut rider Justin Barrow made it through the mud in good position, but suffered the same fate as de Crescenzo, hitting the deck and forcing him to retire.

Payson McElveen also retired with back spasms after crashing in a gravel loco. Paul Voss was also among those who failed to finish the run, as were Ruth Winder, Adam Blaiswick (who had successfully caught up to the top 20 before abandoning), and Jenna Reinhart, the early women's leader.

Ted King also retired from the Unbound Gravel XL, first losing the top when his wheel got stuck in mud and wouldn't spin, then pulling the plug at 4 a.m. after walking for two hours.

"I found my limits," King said in an Instagram story." Everyone still out there is one heck of a hero." It wasn't just the early stories of abandonment and delays that showed the effects of conditions. Keegan Swenson, winner of the men's unbound 200, finished in 10 hours, 6 minutes, and 2 seconds, 44 minutes longer than last year, when he finished one second ahead of 2022 winner Ivar Slik.

Women's winner Carolyn Schiff finished in 11 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds, beating last year's Sophia Gomez Villafagne's 10 hours, 27 minutes, 40 seconds.