David Roche GOES HOME DEVASTATED from Western States

Roche DNF confirmed.

DNF confirmed.

Right on schedule

That was not on my spreadsheet.

The "he coulda won this thing on a good day" quote from wifey will live in infamy. Show some respect to your competitors. Good riddance.

Beat me to the punch.

I guess he needed a few more ounces of caffeinated human breast milk in this heat 😂

And no hate, happy to separate the athlete from the... ...personality. He shot his shot and this was reasonably predictable given the (real) numbers.

Pure hate was not the best fueling strategy for Western States apparently.

love to see it... talks a big game and didn't even make it to mile 70, hahah. all that indoor treadmill training didn't work out so well

She also said "he's a good person" for continuing on to the river.

To bad for David that he turned around and came back.

Well it was supplemented by runs on the gravel road around the reservoir across the street.

Damn. I was looking forward to it coming down to the fastest miler.

It's still possible it'll be won on the track Paris Roubaix style (by someone else lol). How f'n cool would that be.

It’s Christmas on Letsrun!!🌲🎅

"Whatever anyone thought might happen today, that image will stay with people far longer: Megan running after David, knowing it’s over, knowing he needs help, and walking him back herself. Not a coach, not a commentator, not a story manager—his person. No optics, no narrative strategy—just love, and concern, and the raw moment where ambition meets human limit.

He gave everything. They both did. And when the body said no more, they listened.
For all the noise swirling around this race—threads, videos, takes—this is the moment that cuts through it. It’s not triumph or schadenfreude. It’s care, in real time."

Honestly, I think 90% of us predicted this outcome, so it's no big surprise.

At the same time, I wonder what would happen if David actually went for a good time and finish at Western, instead of an all in approach and inevitable blow-up. The dude is fit, and the terrain suits him. I think he definitely has the legs to get a top10 with a different strategy, maybe even a top5. Too bad we'll never know.

For the most part he was barely hanging on to podium for guys from Colorado. We all knew he was going to drop - physically not top 10 material, and mentally weak.

Congrats. You can hold onto this "win" while you're sitting in traffic Monday morning.

That's a shame