Why David Roche Needed 4-Minute Mile Speed to Win the Leadville 100 (+ more secrets)

Many runners called The Leadville Trail 100 Run's near-20 year record "unbeatable." David Roche raised the bar with an astonishing 2024 performance.

David Roche is an elite trail runner and running coach. He's a two-time USATF trail national champion, the 2014 Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year, and former Mountain Runner of the Year.

As of August 2024, David is also the new course record holder of the Leadville 100 Mile Endurance Run, finishing in 15:26:34.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How David blends consistency with fun in his training

• The recovery routine that helped him perform at Leadville

• Specific workouts he used in preparation for the race

• Weekly mileage, strides, steep hill work, bike workouts, and uphill treadmill sessions

• Fueling and pacing strategies he planned for Leadville, including precision caffeine and consistent effort levels

• Using heart rate to ensure a proper and consistent effort throughout the race, and the confidence monitoring it gave him

• The mental side of training and racing, and how the support of loved ones helped

• How a 2024 near-death bike accident impacted his mindset around both life and his running career

Share this episode with your running friends who want to apply lessons from an elite runner into their own workouts!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Learn more about David and SWAP

• Follow David on Instagram

• Listen to my previous podcasts with David: this one on mechanical output, this one on power and speed development, and this one all about the long run. 

• David contributed his favorite injury prevention strategy to The Little Black Book of Recovery & Prevention along with 8 other elite athletes.

Thank you DrinkLMNT!

A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best. 

DrinkLMNT's products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.

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Thank you AG1!

We’re also supported by AG1, the greens superfood mix. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens. It’s recommended by professional athletes and has over 7,000 positive reviews.

One scoop per day is what I’ve been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I’m getting sick and can’t train.

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. They’ve made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable and rigorous with the 3rd party testing that they do.

For our listeners, they are offering a year’s worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop – the choice is yours. Check out AG1 to redeem your offer today.