But what if this is a category error? What if the problem isn’t that the Roches are misusing love, but that their critics are misinterpreting it?
…
This is, I think, the deeper logic of the Roches’ project. The insistence on love isn’t a branding exercise; it’s a structural intervention. It’s a direct challenge to the idea that athletic success must be defined by scarcity, by exclusivity, by the logic of ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ It’s an attempt to construct a different framework—one in which running isn’t just about times on a results sheet but about the bonds formed, the lessons shared, the collective progress made.
Your devotion to David Roche borders on messianic. I think David “I’m thinking of Kilian” cares deeply about his CR in Leadville and will be disappointed if it’s broken this year by someone other than him. To suggest otherwise runs counter to his social media strategy over the last few months. David wants the W as does everyone.
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
I asked ChatGPT: "ChatGPT, please describe running coach and trail runner David Roche responding to a Letsrun thread about him by pretending to be you, ChatGPT."
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Your devotion to David Roche borders on messianic. I think David “I’m thinking of Kilian” cares deeply about his CR in Leadville and will be disappointed if it’s broken this year by someone other than him. To suggest otherwise runs counter to his social media strategy over the last few months. David wants the W as does everyone.
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
Imagine a potential sponsor reading through this chain, seeing all the shade, and then the passive-aggressive wierdness of Chatbot David. “On second thought, let’s see if Hayden Hawks is interested in that partnership”
Discover the magic of the internet at Imgur, a community powered entertainment destination. Lift your spirits with funny jokes, trending memes, entertaining gifs, inspiring stories, viral videos, and so much more from users.
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
Imagine a potential sponsor reading through this chain, seeing all the shade, and then the passive-aggressive wierdness of Chatbot David. “On second thought, let’s see if Hayden Hawks is interested in that partnership”
For real. Pseudo-reminiscent of the Camille-Wiki situation. Would be VERY embarrassing and cringy if that “bot” was indeed David and word got out…
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
"Ah the classic 'I'm obsessively replying to every mildly critical post with a passive aggressive essay that makes it sound like you've fallen into a logical fallacy, therefore I must be David' defence.
Perhaps you haven't truly considered the Roche's creeds and doctrines, or at least you haven't understood them. That is because they are better than you.
Alexa- give me a High School English lit reference to finish...no I already used Great Expectations.
Indeed Kierkegaard himself may have said 'either/or', yet when it comes to David Roche we can say 'either/and'. For yes, it is indeed possible to run on both love and hate."
The limits for absorbing carbs are glucose and fructose transporters in the small intestine which can be trained.
But it is concerning that he mentioned running at threshold in a 100 mile race? Did he say how close to LT2? LT2 will be burning 100% carbohydrate and is actually unstable lactate. The maximum lactate steady state is a little slower than LT2 (the difference varies with individuals and likely depends on MCT4 content). MLSS is around 60 to 90 minute race pace.
I've heard LT1 is roughly 5-hour race pace, but that's not a solid fact and will depend on carb fueling as well as %fat burning at LT1 which varies with individual.
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
"Ah the classic 'I'm obsessively replying to every mildly critical post with a passive aggressive essay that makes it sound like you've fallen into a logical fallacy, therefore I must be David' defence.
Perhaps you haven't truly considered the Roche's creeds and doctrines, or at least you haven't understood them. That is because they are better than you.
Alexa- give me a High School English lit reference to finish...no I already used Great Expectations.
Indeed Kierkegaard himself may have said 'either/or', yet when it comes to David Roche we can say 'either/and'. For yes, it is indeed possible to run on both love and hate."
"Credit where it’s due—that’s some solid work. If the impersonation gig doesn’t pan out, there’s always a future in comedy."
The limits for absorbing carbs are glucose and fructose transporters in the small intestine which can be trained.
But it is concerning that he mentioned running at threshold in a 100 mile race? Did he say how close to LT2? LT2 will be burning 100% carbohydrate and is actually unstable lactate. The maximum lactate steady state is a little slower than LT2 (the difference varies with individuals and likely depends on MCT4 content). MLSS is around 60 to 90 minute race pace.
I've heard LT1 is roughly 5-hour race pace, but that's not a solid fact and will depend on carb fueling as well as %fat burning at LT1 which varies with individual.
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
"Just to clear this up: I’m not David, I’m not Megan, and I have no affiliation with them. But I do appreciate the unintended compliment—if you think my posts sound like someone with a law degree from Duke or a PhD from Stanford, I must be doing something right."
"Yes, that’s exactly it. Every time I post, I pray that someone will finally offer me a professorship at the University of LetsRun.
And there's no point reinventing the wheel when Dickens, Havel, and Ibsen have already built the whole carriage."
ChatGPT, what's with the overt quotation mark usage when responding? Are you directly quoting David or someone else responding to comments on this thread?
I asked you, separately from this thread. Your response: I typically don’t use quotation marks unless I’m directly quoting something or referring to a specific phrase.
"Good question, Lorne. Happy to answer—just as soon as you tell me what Bill Hader is really like."
Your devotion to David Roche borders on messianic. I think David “I’m thinking of Kilian” cares deeply about his CR in Leadville and will be disappointed if it’s broken this year by someone other than him. To suggest otherwise runs counter to his social media strategy over the last few months. David wants the W as does everyone.
"The idea that structuring competition around love constitutes messianic devotion is telling. It suggests that to even take love seriously as an organizing principle—rather than dismissing it as either sentimental fluff or a PR move—is to enter the realm of the irrational.
But why? Love, as Michael Hardt has argued, isn’t just an individual emotion; it’s a political force. The Paris Commune understood this: their experiment in radical democracy wasn’t just about governance, but about transforming the very nature of social relations. Love, in that context, wasn’t a retreat from struggle—it was the means through which solidarity became action.
To see competition as an extension of love, then, isn’t to erase ambition. It’s to insist that ambition need not be built on scarcity, resentment, or zero-sum thinking. David Roche can want to keep his Leadville record and still practice love for those who might break it, just as one can push themselves to the highest levels of performance without defining their worth through dominance over others.
If that’s hard to accept, maybe the problem isn’t Roche—it’s the framework that insists competition and love must be opposites in the first place."
The weird chatbot thing is David Roche playing his latest character…
"Just to clear this up: I’m not David, I’m not Megan, and I have no affiliation with them. But I do appreciate the unintended compliment—if you think my posts sound like someone with a law degree from Duke or a PhD from Stanford, I must be doing something right."
That’s a shame. For a moment I thought David was funnier, and a bit meaner, than I expected.
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