David Torrence is Dead: RIP / Appreciation Thread

Very very sad news. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.

RIP David.

Just absolutely awful. DT was the man, great for the sport and a true inspiration. Never minced his words either. This is so shocking and sad.

That video of his downhill mile is magical. Just something stupid a bunch of friends decided to do in college. But the chaos and camaraderie is awesome. Some guys on bikes, some drunk dudes cheering him along from the back of a car at two in the freaking morning. More people need to do things like that and have friends like those guys. RIP, David.

Runing wrote:

Nothing certain at all, but judging by the way a lot of pro runners & people within the running community are tweeting about it, I'd have to guess that it was a suicide

Any people specifically? I've been perusing them and haven't noticed anything to indicate this. Just generic messages.

I saw the Big Wave thread when it was originally posted and I think we let him use some server space on the Cal Running Club domain to post the video (these things weren't so easy back in the day). We saw him at the track all the time and it was always really cool to see such a fast runner hanging out. I definitely associate him with that time of my life and feel like a little piece of me is missing.

If you are close to sub-4:00, you KNOW what you need to do: downhill...at night. RIP Big Wave Dave

Man, I remember only hearing his name before until he did an AMA on reddit with r/running. the page was pretty small at the time and I barely ever visited it, but I read through the AMA and it struck me what a funny, genuine seeming guy he came across as. I followed him much closer after that, and thought it was pretty cool that he wanted to represent Peru, even if he got some flak for trying to compete in an easier championship.

I'm really struck by the news as I'm sure a lot of people are. super sad, mostly dont want to know any of the story behind it.

Was really hoping this was a fake post. I was not fan of his divided nationalities, but I secretly cheered for him anyway. David had a very good career, but he wanted to be great and was doing everything he could to get there. In my brief encounters, he came across as truly a nice guy. I regret not accepting or even understanding the path he choose to realize his Olympic dream. Perhaps I need to give more thought to why people make the decisions they do. RIP

This is just so sad. DT was the first runner I started following closely whenever I first got into running because he was so positive, upbeat and entertaining. From his days at Cal, to the David Torrence Downhill Mile, to blogging on Flotrack about trying to make it as a pro, to the Puma Mile where he won his first sponsorship, to winning the US road mile champs, winning the US champs 3k indoors, finally getting his big sponsorship with Nike, improving to world class times, setting the AR in the 1k, all the way to becoming a Peruvian Olympian. The man was the poster boy of putting in hard work and paying your dues to reach greatness. I remember meeting him at the 2012 Falmouth Mile after he won. I had off-handedly tweeted the night before about travelling from out-of-state to come watch him win, and when I met him he remembered me from the tweet. A serious pro could have easily brushed something like that off and ignored it while focusing and getting in the zone for a race, but he didn't and it shows how down to earth and friendly DT was. He's a huge loss for our community and will be sorely missed. I wish nothing but peace and clarity for his family in friends in this time.

some people are insinuating suicide. given how great and nice everybody thought the guy was, I wouldn't be surprised. it's often the ones that appear the happiest that have the darkest demons. Of course, just as easily could have been a cardiac event or exhaustion, dehydration or partying. he was found at 7:30 am, so was he up early or was it from night before. they said there were no obvious signs of foul play, but... honestly, who knows... RIP

Our article on Torrence's life in running is now up:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/08/remembering-david-torrence-olympian-us-champion-us-peruvian-national-record-holder-legendary-downhill-miler/

Wow, what a loss for the sport.

LetsRun update: Our article on Torrence's life in running is now up:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/08/remembering-david-torrence-olympian-us-champion-us-peruvian-national-record-holder-legendary-downhill-miler/

For people asking about why he was in Scottsdale, it's because he was part of the Altis training group which is based in the area.

Rest in peace, David. Always enjoyed watching you race.

1:45/3:33:13:15

Something is not right! Being an elite athlete does not make you superhuman, but it is very-very difficult to die in a small pool with that level of fitness. Hitting your head and even having a heart attack, the autonomous will to live can get a man like David out of a pool. Anyone whose been in combat can relate to what I am talking about. Perhaps its not appropriate at this point to go there, but I can only suspect foul play or suicide.

From everything I know about David, he really connected with people. David was like Ryan Shay, a really inspiration athlete whose legacy will be more than running.

torrence fan wrote:

For people asking about why he was in Scottsdale, it's because he was part of the Altis training group which is based in the area.

Thank you for the clarification. Why don't they train up in flagstaff during the hotter months?

So upset by this loss. Torrence was a legend. Was probably my favorite current runner. His range from 800 to 5k made him an all-time US great. I loved his charisma and running style. Loved the way he worked with different coaches/groups to get better and try to improve his form and kick. He was so open to sharing his training insights with fans and he put out some awesome content with Flotrack over the years. Seemed like such a cool California dude. Wish I got to meet him.

Thoughts are with his family and friends. The letsrun community should take inspiration from David's life and be inspired by the way DT chased his dreams. RIP David Torrence.

Hitting your head and even having a heart attack, the autonomous will to live can get a man like David out of a pool. Anyone whose been in combat can relate to what I am talking about.

Unfortunately, wanting to stay alive is not some magical quality that can overcome a devastating spinal-cord injury, cardiac arrest, or getting shot on a battlefield.

Being a fast MD runner suited DT's personality perfectly. He was manic in word and deed, and he loved people for the sake of being around them, nothing more. Nature did not equip him with an off-button, and he made the absolute most of this oddity.

R.I.P.