David Roche GOES HOME DEVASTATED from Western States

They don’t update the website with a ton of frequency. Myself and other former swap athletes were listed for months and in some cases years after leaving.

Weird! You're saying that the official information they put out about their professional services in coaching isn't factually correct?

Can confirm this. I was still listed on the website for about a year after I left.

I googled Clark Havighurst because we matched on Tinder and I found this thread. It’s good to see this man sticking up for his colleague. I don’t know what to make of this thread, but I must say, now I’m excited for our date. I hope you’re reading this Clark. See you soon!

Me and Michelle would love an invite to the wedding -- if things work out of course!

My dear Sarah,

I’m so terribly sorry… I… allow me to explain.

My name is not Clark Havighurst. It’s Chuck. Chuck Bratwurst. I’m not a lawyer. I’m a septic technician. I thought that I might have better luck at “e-dating” if I appeared accomplished and successful. It all started a few weeks ago…

I had just finished pumping a tank up in Boulder when I noticed someone doing 100 x 100m repeats off 75m speedwalk rest. As a huge ultra running fan I assumed this could have only been the best in the sport… David Roche. I went over and introduced myself, and told him about my dating dilemma. He said, “no problem, Chuck. Hey you remind me of one of my professors at Duke Law. Yeah! you look just like Clark Havighurst!” From there I got the idea to “borrow” Clark’s identity. David was incredibly helpful and I think I even saw him do a zone 2 cooldown around 4:20 a mile. Anyway never mind that.

But oh gosh, this is all becoming too much. Now Obama is involved?! I’m so sorry I let you down, everyone. Sarah I want to say that everything I told you was TRUE! (Other than my name and job. And professional skills. And my height). I understand if you no longer want to go on a date, though I’d still be willing to if you do.

I’m sorry

I’m sorry Obama

I don't understand the hate for this guy. He seems very nice and he tried his best and fell short. Nothing wrong with giving it your all even if you don't succeed.

This thread delivers with professors and tinder matches and even barack obama weighing in.

I don't see the Roches going to Ukraine and serving as volunteers anytime soon...

I love your honestly, I feel the same way. Not jealousy, but envy, but the more I look back on it, maybe being a random middle-class dude is good enough

correct, I know she has a MD, and give her some props for getting that BUT she's not really a practical every day doc...

As good as Roger doing the SJD vid reviews...

Not the ether necessarily, but the local Andy's.

I see a partnership with Seth by the end of the '20s!

It's missing a Mante Te'o catfishing scheme.

Something that hasn't really been discussed yet is the impact that a concussion can have on you as I understand David had one not that long ago in his bike '100 ft high' bike crash.

I've had a few, and it can cause severe fatigue, headaches, irritability etc.

It can also cause changes in personality etc.

Wasn't his bike crash just last year? Maybe he has not completely recovered from it - although given his track record, I am sure if it was affecting him we would have heard about it.

I'm struggling to understand why the Roche Fandom is so bemused by the criticism that he attracts. It seems he invites criticism. I call it Guru Syndrome - he lacks humility, he never addresses how he might be wrong; instead he's chosen to weaponize his audience against anyone who questions his methods and ideas. As I pointed out in the 104 page "sub-4" thread: "Roche is everything we should have learned by now not to trust - he's arrogant, he's greedy, he's a liar, and he's addicted to attention. Despite this, it's hard to hate him. He is so transparent in his self interest that I kind of respect him."

What's ironic is that it's the attention of the Fandom that led directly to his DNF in the race. It's only useful to heap praise upon a person and call them a legend if it's earned, if it's anchored in truth. Unearned praise leads to overconfidence - and this has caused Roche to overestimate his ability. We saw this with him predicting low 14 hrs in the run-up to the race. With this mindset, failure was inevitable. Moreover, all the adulation has turned him into what we call in sports psych a 'serial contrarian' - he's no longer thinking straight but instead has become addicted to the thrill of going against the grain. Here's what I wrote a few days out from the race in relation to his so-called 'taper':

"It seems like David is having difficulty relinquishing control. He's compulsively training hard at a time when he should be resting up. This is common behaviour in sub-elite athletes who are about to face their first important, competitive race. They use training to manage anxiety and low self-confidence. Effort is equated with progress, even when the opposite is true. A lack of “doing” something "special", even during the taper, brings doubt to the surface. Tapering for an ultra is about training the mind to trust what you’ve built. True confidence is quiet. The taper isn't a test. But for an ego the size of David's, the need for external validation is constant and outweighs the need for restraint."

"Of course, this could also be a form of self-sabotage born from fear of failure, regret and inadequacy. That would explain why David already has a couple of excellent excuses up his sleeve (knee injury, ankle injury) for when he starts to struggle in the race. There's no doubt he's in good shape physically, but this race will be won by whomsoever is the strongest mentally."

"As a psychologist and runner I find this gradual descent into madness truly fascinating. However, David needs to be careful, he seems to be forgetting he's a coach first and foremost. It's one thing to experiment on yourself and expose your own body to unreasonable risk, but his irrational training methods appear to be bleeding into his coaching practice. This never ends well for a coach!"

“This reads less like sports psychology and more like a moral fable—your own little Dostoevskian narrative about hubris and downfall, cast in clinical drag. Whatever flaws David Roche might have, they don’t justify this degree of projection or the glee with which people frame his DNF as psychological comeuppance.

If you want a real theoretical lens, skip the pop psych and reach for Bakhtin. What’s playing out here is pure carnival: the public ‘crowning’ of an ultra-running guru, followed by an equally ritualistic ‘decrowning’ the moment he falters. This isn’t psychological analysis—it’s grotesque realism in a singlet. Roche becomes a figure through which the crowd processes its own anxieties about effort, vulnerability, and failure.

The irony, of course, is that his openness is what makes this all possible. People claim he’s ‘addicted to attention,’ then proceed to psychoanalyse him for sport in threads hundreds of posts long. It’s all rather like the moon blaming the sea for the quality of its tides.

Maybe we should all try talking about running the way he does: with more wonder, and less judgement.”

Some of the responses (AI) hearken back to the good old days of the Bekele "Expect great things" thread.

TLDR.

Can I get a Cliffs notes version on why there is a 13-page thread on this guy? I know he is the Leadville Trail 100 record holder but have no idea if that is significant. What else do I need to know?

Don't be too harsh as it just hit me - is he just a younger version of me? Ivy grad who didn't actually run on the team in college but others are jealous of because he's found a way to make a living in this sport?

Is he just a younger version of you? Hard to say. Can he make posts that aren’t replete with typos and completely reliant upon the word “as?”