#40 David Roche - The Rules of High Carb Training, How to Train the Gut, Fatigue Resistance

David Roche -- ultra marathoner, elite running coach, and what Rory's calling the godfather of the high carb revolution -- joins the Out and Back for episode 40. He started as a running back at Columbia, spent years coaching before ever being competitive himself, and broke the Leadville 100 course record in 2024 (and again in 2025!) largely by stress-testing the same principles he'd been building with his athletes. The conversation covers a lot of ground: how he thinks about carb intake across different race distances, why he separates hydration from fueling, the case for uphill treadmill threshold work, what unites his coaching across trail, road, and ultra, and why he keeps looking to cycling for answers the running world is slow to ask. Newsletter: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA... YouTube: @jacobthomson4360 @LinkletterRory Strava: Our Club:   / strava   Rory:   / strava   Jacob:   / strava   Instagram:   / jtcougars8     / rory_linkletter   Coaching: https://www.thomsontraining.run/ https://www.letstango.run/ Production: https://sandyboyproductions.com/ Chapters: 0:00 -- Intro 1:00 -- What David tells people he does for a living 2:00 -- Football at Columbia, becoming a runner 5:30 -- When he got competitive on the ultra scene 7:50 -- The Leadville breakthrough and high carb as proof of concept 10:15 -- How to raise your carb ceiling, and where 150g/hr fits 13:00 -- GI training: bloat tolerance vs. gut transporter adaptation 14:00 -- Rory's end-of-race GI question and the slurp method 16:30 -- Why he leans toward gels over drink mix 18:30 -- Decoupling hydration and fuel 22:00 -- Staying strapped: gel carrying strategy at the pro level 23:00 -- Fueling frequency: every 20 minutes vs. every 5K 24:00 -- Fueling on non-long-run workout days 27:30 -- Carbs in the half marathon: why it matters even there 29:00 -- Brain signaling, blood glucose, and fatigue resistance 31:50 -- Racing intensity and GI rejection 34:00 -- Lessons from cycling that road running ignores 35:30 -- Double threshold and treadmill training 38:00 -- Uphill treadmill: grade, duration, and structure 41:50 -- Session frequency across different athlete types 43:30 -- Coaching across trail, road, ultra, and cycling 45:30 -- Downhill running and eccentric contractions 49:00 -- Volume: what the Giro data actually shows 51:00 -- Talent vs. training signal in ultra running 53:00 -- Training theory in the high carb era 57:00 -- Being skeptical of extreme volume claims 1:01:15 -- Rory's Broken Arrow vertical race 1:03:00 -- Can elite marathoners win in trail? 1:07:15 -- Boulder vs. Flagstaff 1:11:30 -- David's long-term vision for a Boulder group 1:12:00 -- Some Work All Play podcast