In the period between September, 2009 and September, 2010, I believe that 34-year-old Alaskan ultrarunner Geoff Roes had the single greatest year of any male athlete ever in trail ultrarunning.
After back-to-back wins and course records at the Wasatch Front 100 Mile and the Bear 100 Mile in September that year, Roes scorched the course record at the Mountain Masochist 50 Mile in a mind-blowing time of 6:27. A month later he finished second at the highly competitive The North Face 50 Mile Championships in San Francisco, California, before running off a streak of consecutive wins and course records at the American River 50 Mile, Western States 100, and Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile. To the surprise of no one, he was named the 2010 North American “Ultrarunning Magazine” Ultrarunner of the Year.
Geoff Roes running at the 2010 The North Face 50 Mile Championships where he took second behind Miguel Heras. Photo: Krissy Moehl
Times have certainly changed in the sport since Geoff’s incredible streak almost 15 years ago, as runners these days tend to race less frequently, and the competitive end of the sport is spread across events around the world. That said, however, until recently, we have not seen a stretch of ultrarunning from a man like the one Geoff pulled off in 2009 to 2010. With David Roche’s recent win at Javelina 100 Mile in October on the heels of his course record win at the Leadville 100 Mile in August, I can’t help but wonder, is David Roche on his way to having his Geoff Roes moment?
It should be noted that while Geoff burst onto the scene in 2008, and quickly ascended to the top of the sport, David has been at it for a long time. However, until recently, his focus has been on shorter-distance races where he has performed quite well. I got a first-hand view of David’s fitness back in March at the Crown King Scramble 50k, here in Arizona. While he didn’t win, David ran stride-for-stride with Flagstaff speedster Ryan Raff before finishing second in 3:44 to Raff’s 3:41. Both of those times were under the previous course record at what is one of the oldest races on the Arizona trail running circuit.
David Roche winning the 2024 Leadville 100 Mile and setting a new course record. Photo: Life Time
In August, David jumped into the first 100 miler of his career at the Leadville 100 Mile and proceeded to put on a masterclass in pacing and fueling on the way to beating Matt Carpenter’s 19-year-old course record at that iconic race. David was quite open in saying that it was his goal to go after Carpenter’s legendary record and he executed his plan perfectly. Then, just last month, David returned to Arizona, this time to the Javelina 100 Mile. On a historically hot day, he won the race in 12:45, just two minutes off the course record, and in doing so punched himself a Golden Ticket to the Western States 100 in June, 2025.
At the risk of getting too far ahead of myself, I think if David pulls off the win at the Western States 100 in a sub-14-hour time, which he has told me is his goal, I would say that it is certainly Geoff Roes-ish. Furthermore, assuming David jumps into one or two tune-up races between now and then, we could see a year even better than Geoff’s 15 years ago. What a great time to be an ultrarunning fan.
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s beer of the week comes from David Roche’s hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Saison, from Sanitas Brewing Company is a classic Belgian style beer that is slightly fruity with a touch of spice. Weighing in at 5.9% ABV, it is wonderfully drinkable and a perfect accompaniment to a nice autumn day in the Rockies.
Call for Comments
What other season or year from a particular athlete, past or present, stands out to you?
