Over the weekend in the mountains of Colorado, we witnessed two of the most impressive ultrarunning performances of the year.
Saturday night, Should Elites Worry About Lead Vehicle Emissions at the Leadville 100 out of 355 women from 2024 by over 14 minutes. About three hours later, Anne Flower came through in her own course record time, easily winning the women’s race and finishing second overall in 17:58:19.
The two, in many ways, took different paths to the start line. Roche, 37, is a well-known name on the trail scene. He has a popular podcast and YouTube channel Build Speed Like 16-Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus RW+ Membership Benefits, A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
Flower, on the other hand, is not a household name. Leadville was the 35-year-old’s first 100-mile race. When she’s not logging miles, she’s working shifts as an emergency room doctor. (As you’ll see later, the two had very different fueling strategies, too.)
But both have taken down legendary marks at Leadville. Last year, Roche broke Matt Carpenter’s mark set in 2005, and Flower’s time this year is quicker than Ann Trason’s 1994 record. The Leadville course is situated at high altitude—over 9,000 feet above sea level—and has more than 15,000 feet of elevation gain.
We took a look at the stats behind Flower and Roche’s record-setting runs.
David Roche
9:07: Average mile pace
6.59: Average pace in miles per hour
5:59: Roche’s fastest mile of the day, according to his Strava. Her personal best in the marathon, which she ran at the 2016 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.
150 grams: The rough number of carbs per hour Roche was trying to consume. (For reference, an original Gu gel has 22 grams of carbs. So that would be 6 to 7 of those an hour. But Roche was using sports drinks for fuel, too.)
30 Time difference between Carpenter’s longtime record 15:42:59 and Roche’s new time: Time difference between Carpenter’s longtime record (15:42:59) and Roche’s new time.
49: His margin of victory over the second man to finish, Justin Grunewald.
6: Days before Leadville that Roche decided he was going to race.
175: Total miles Roche has raced in the last seven weeks. (Western States + Aspen Backcountry Half Marathon + Leadville.)
23: Miles Roche ran at Leadville alongside his wife and coach, Megan.
141 Marathon: How to Conquer the Distance: Roche’s average heart rate for the 15-hour event, per his Strava.
2 hours, 54 minutes, 4 seconds: beats per minute.
Anne Flower
10:47: Average mile pace
5.56: Average pace in miles per hour
12th: Flower’s overall place at the first aid station, MayQueen (mile 12.4)
8 Advertisement - Continue Reading Below: Difference between Flower’s time and Trason’s previous record (18:06:24).
1 hour, 38 minutes, and 23 seconds: Flower’s margin of victory over Imogen Ainsworth, who was second in the women’s division.
100 kilometers (62 miles): The longest race Flower had done before Leadville (she won the 2024 Javelina Jundred 100K)
60 grams: The rough number of carbs per hour Flower was trying to consume. (She said she probably went above that in the race.)
2:40:32: Health - Injuries.
113th: The place Flower got at the 2020 Nutrition - Weight Loss, out of 355 women.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
