 Roche at 2014 Loon Mountain Race | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | June 22, 1988 Millington, Maryland |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Ultramarathon |
David Roche (born June 22, 1988) is an ultramarathoner and running coach. He currently holds the record for the Leadville Trail 100.
Roche began his college athletics career as a football player at Columbia University. [1] He took up endurance running while in graduate school at Duke University. He won the 2012 USATF 10k Trail Championship and received the 2014 USATF Trail Runner of the Year sub-ultra award. [2] [3] [4]
Roche won the Quad Dipsea Race twice, in 2016 and 2019, and the Way Too Cool 50k in 2016. [5] [6] He has also competed in the duathlon, placing ninth in the 2009 World Triathlon Duathlon Championships. [7]
In 2024, Roche won the Leadville Trail 100 in 15:26:34 in his first 100-mile race. He broke the previous 19-year-old record held by Matt Carpenter. [8]
Roche currently coaches, alongside his wife, elite runners including Grayson Murphy, Clare Gallagher, Amelia Boone, Allie Ostrander, Stephanie Garcia, Erin Clark, and John Kelly. [9] He often works with athletes with a history of disordered eating. [4] Under his coaching, his athletes have achieved top finishes at the Leadville Trail 100, World Mountain Running Championships, and Barkley Marathons and competed in the 2024 US Olympic Trials. [8] [10] [11]
Roche and his wife published a book, The Happy Runner: Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer, in 2019. [12]
Roche previously worked as an attorney for the Environmental Law Institute and a contributor to Outside. He is married to Megan (Deakins) Roche and has a son. [2] [13] [14]
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