BY JENNY KINCAID BOONE National Class David Angell is characterized as "that one in 10,000," who reaches his running peak in his 40s. And who has the national championships to prove it. DAVID ANGELL DIDN'T PLAN to become a runner. A friend talked him into joining the track team as a freshman at Franklin County High School. Angell remembers his first day of track practice. He ran three miles with the team. "The most I'd run before that was one mile," he says. "The next day, I was so sore." But year by year, he got faster. By his senior year, Angell held the school's records in cross country 30 Fall 2018 \\ LifeOutside Magazine (16 minutes 9 seconds) and in the mile (4 minutes 25 seconds). His records still stand today. Fast forward about 28 years. Now, at 42 years old, Angell is even faster than he was in high school, an unlikely feat for runners as they age. The Blue Ridge resident and software engineer is not only beating his past times. He is one of the top masters long distance runners in the country.