David Roche: The Journey to the Leadville 100 Course Record

Last month, in Leadville, Colorado, David Roche, a two-time national champion in sub-ultra distance trail running, shattered the long-standing course record for the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon. Roche finished the 100 mile / 161km "Race Across the Sky" in 15:26:34, more than 16 minutes ahead of the previous record set by Matt Carpenter in 2005. Even more impressive? This was Roche's first 100-mile race, and the 36-year-old won this year's race by a whopping 30 minutes.

Since his victory, David's taken to Strava to share his reflections on the race, from his training and fueling strategies to what motivated him out on the trail on his historic run (click on the activity to read David's full post).

Leadville 100 Strategy

"No secrets," David writes in a recent Strava activity. He's committed to being an "open book" about his experience at Leadville in hopes that sharing might help us understand more about what humans can do in ultras. To that end, following him on Strava gives you an inside look at what it takes to achieve such an incredible feat.

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Here are just a few of the many lessons we can take from David's posts:

• This isn't an overnight success story. "I stacked aerobic bricks for 18 years," David writes, "and it took those years of hard work for some commentators who haven’t been following on Strava to view me as an overnight success. This one is for the brick-stackers."

• Bring variety to your training. David's training included "lower volume for ultra, fast hill strides 3-4 times per week at end of runs (including day before race), uphill treadmill 20% for 10-15 min after most runs (not on Strava), big uphill TM threshold and Z2 sessions, building bike fitness via Zwift racing and outside Z2, steady/moderate running after speed/hill workouts (inspired by Mike Smith at NAU), downhill vert consolidated in final few weeks to harness the repeated bout effect, long runs with tempo"

• Don't ignore recovery. David's recovery routine consisted of "Vega protein shakes (aiming for 100+ g protein daily), tons of food, stretching, Roll Recovery, hot tub 3-5x per week for blood volume (including race week)"

Take a look at David's post for the full rundown, including his strength routine, supplement intake, and gear list.

Fueling the Ultra: 'History Comes with an Aftertaste'

With his sights set on the course record, David aimed for a whopping 500 calories per hour during the race. "My plan was to run every step of the course as close to aerobic threshold as I could, going into Zone 3 when I had to on climbs," David writes. "To do that for 15.5 hours, I’d have to slurp carbs like my life depended on it, since my glycogen burn rate would be high."

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"Here was the plan for every 2.5 or so hours based on training and the science showing that it’s possible to push up to 120 grams of carbs per hour at higher efforts:

• Hour 1: Science in Sport Beta Fuel gel (40g carbs), another Beta Fuel, Precision Fuel and Hydration 100 mg caffeine gel (30g carbs)
  
  [30 min break from gels]

• Hour 2: Beta Fuel, Beta Fuel, Precision gel without caffeine

"I supplemented that with sports drink in every bottle, mixed with Precision electrolytes, aiming for 24-36 ounces of fluid per hour."

So what's it like to slurp down gels for 15.5 hours? Well, let's hear from David again: "The post-100 gel burps are real. Forget pinching, the hottest way to evaluate whether you’re dreaming is belching. History comes with an aftertaste 🙌"

The Power of Community

David has shared his running journey on Strava for several years, and as he's shared his runs - and won his fair share of races - he's amassed a healthy following of fellow athletes. While David doesn't know every one of his followers, they have provided support and motivation for him in unexpected ways.

Recently, David posted about Roger and offered to share the longer story with us about how this fellow runner offered up the encouragement at all the right times.

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"For me, Roger represented this idea that someone who knew the course and knew the history just had a quiet confidence that I could achieve what felt like an impossible dream," David says. "He saved his comments for my best workouts, including a couple workouts on Hope Pass (the crux of the course), indicating that he knew what he was looking at and saw what I hesitated to fully let myself see: I was ready.

"I don't know Roger," David continues, "but I love Roger because he went out of his way to affirm a big scary dream. He represents how much Strava has played a role in my athletic trajectory. I derive meaning from athletics being a shared journey, and my Strava followers believed in me for a damn decade, whereas a lot of the world thinks this was some overnight success story. Strava knows. Roger knows."

Be sure to follow David Roche on Strava for more reflections on racing and more training and fueling tips.