David Roche | Western States 2025 Pre-Race Interview

Jun 27, 2025

David Roche, a professional runner and respected coach, shares insights ahead of his debut at the 2025 Western States 100. He highlights the importance of kindness and community in trail running, fostering deep bonds among athletes. Roche discusses the emotional journey of endurance running, emphasizing personal growth through ultramarathons. Innovative training strategies take center stage as he reveals the significance of speed in endurance events, offering advice on pacing and injury management. His upbeat perspective encapsulates the spirit of running.

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ANECDOTE

David Roche's Gratitude and Excitement

David Roche expresses deep gratitude and excitement for competing at Western States 100 for the first time.
He credits the broader Free Trail community for their uplifting support throughout his journey.

INSIGHT

Kindness Powers Performance

Kindness, acceptance, and inclusion are now core principles shaping trail running culture.
This positive environment provides David Roche with strength beyond physical grit in races.

INSIGHT

Ultras Run Like Extended 50-Milers

Running a 100-mile race is more about mentally accepting the discomfort than fighting specific pain.
Roche treats ultras as a soul journey and runs them as extended 50-milers conserving effort and hydrating well.

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This interview is part of Freetrail's coverage of the 2025 Western States 100, the most important trail running event in North America. Our shows and athlete interviews are hosted each day by Dylan Bowman who sits down to talk with some of the favorites who are racing this year.

In this interview, Dylan talks to professional runner, coach, podcast host, and beloved character in our sport, David Roche. David Roche is a deeply respected personality in running who first grew to fame as a coach, and cemented his status as one of the best athletes in our sport when he won and broke the 19 year record at Leadville last August. As someone who gives back to this sport as much as anyone, we wish him the best of luck at this Western States debut.

Make sure to tune into our final live pre-race show leading into the 2025 Western States. We’ll be live at 3:30pm tonight both on YouTube and broadcast on the Coffeebar patio. Tonight’s show will conclude our pre-race show coverage, before we set our sites on the official broadcast where Dylan will be commentating, and we’ll be providing photo and video coverage of the race for the Freetrail social channels. Make sure to follow along here and @runfreetrail on Instagram.

Make sure to play Freetrail's own fantasy trail running at https://fantasy.freetrail.com/events and pick 10-deep for Western States. Fantasy winners this week will receive a head to toe trail kit from HOKA as well as other sweet prizes from Freetrail and brand partners like Ketone IQ and Neversecond.

Our Western States coverage is brought to you by our good friends at HOKA. We're grateful for their generous support and belief in Freetrail.

Make sure to check out the latest and greatest from HOKA, the Mafate X. The Mafate X is all about innovation and pushing past limits. HOKA evolved their max-cushion trail experience to provide the confidence, control, and adaptability ultra runners require for their biggest trail efforts. Embracing the paradox of max cushion and stability on trail to develop a new experience for the longest adventures.

You can learn more and shop here: https://www.hoka.com/en/us/mafate/

Freetrail Links:

Website | https://freetrail.com/

Freetrail Pro | https://freetrail.com/pro/

Patreon | / dylanbowman

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/runfreetrai...

YouTube | / @freetrail

Freetrail Experts | https://freetrail.com/experts/

Dylan Links:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dylanbo/?hl=en

Twitter | https://twitter.com/dylanbo?lang=en

LinkedIn | / dylan-bowman-06174380