Life Outside Fall 2018 - 32

Even so, what is Angell's secret to
getting faster? Perhaps it is that he
never stopped running.

GETTING STARTED
David Angell was a champion
runner at both Franklin
County High (left), where he
still holds the mile and 5K
records, and at
Roanoke College.

County. He also married his college sweetheart, Ali
Dlugos, who played soccer for the Maroons.
In his post-college years, Angell continued running, entering local road races and completing a few
marathons. But his body did not handle marathons
well, and he was injured for a year after running the
Boston Marathon.
When he finally got back to running in 2008, Angell
made two promises to himself.
He wasn't running many more marathons.
And he needed to get more serious about his goals.
"If I'm doing all of this, I've got to be doing it for
something," he says.
That's when Angell's training kicked into overdrive.
He set his sights on lowering his time in the 5K
(3.1 miles) on the track. He decided he wanted to run
faster than 15 minutes and 26 seconds, his fastest 5K
time in college.
He began running more miles and adding different
workouts to his routine. He also traveled to track
meets at large universities to compete.
Finally, in 2010, he ran a 15:21.8 in a 5K track race
at Duke University. From there, his 5K times and his
times for other racing distances kept coming down.
Angell was beating his college times-consistently.
As he neared 40 years old, he had high hopes for
his racing performance.
"I thought it was going to be fun, but I don't
think I was quite ready for how it was going to
go," Angell says.

Fall 2018 \\ LifeOutside Magazine

He got involved in the USATF masters long distance
circuit, entering a variety of races around the country,
and soon, he was finishing at the the top or near the
top of the competition.
Though he has a quiet, unassuming demeanor,
Angell is a fierce competitor, according to Carlin.
"He is persistent and does not get discouraged,"
Carlin says. "He is a very consistent performer."
Take one of Angell's most notable masters races-
winning the 10K masters championship in April 2017
in Massachusetts.
"One of the top runners came with his mind set on
winning the race or die trying so that runner stuck
right with David and then threw in surge after surge,"
Carlin says. "Even when David fell behind a little, he
did not give up. Eventually, he unleashed a surge of
his own that his opponent could not match."
Angell's age and his running performance are an
anomaly. Most runners run their fastest races and
peak much younger, often between the ages of 28
and 32, Pincus says.
Angell's dedication and his durability likely are
driving his ability to outperform his younger self,
said Pincus, calling Angell's talent "incredibly extraordinary."
"The kinds of workouts that he's doing, the intensity, the quantity, most people would break down
and get injured," Pincus said. "His intensity and his
determination, that is one in 10,000."
Angell, who squeezes in his weekday runs before
or after work, rarely takes a day off from training. He
logs about 70 miles a week, with certain days reserved
for speed workouts and others for long distance runs.
In the past, he has joined Roanoke College's track
and cross country teams for speed workouts.
Also, he sticks to a healthy diet, eliminating fast
food and cutting back on sugary foods.
Even so, what is Angell's secret to getting faster?
Perhaps it is that he never stopped running.
"It's harder to get it back once you stop," he says,
referring to runners who take off for a time and then
return to racing.
"He knows what works for his body, so he follows
that plan," says Andrew Parkins, a Salem distance
runner and a friend of Angell's who competes in
local races.
For now, Angell plans to continue racing in the
USATF masters circuit, and he is aiming for another
Grand Prix win this year.
Angell also helps to operate a local running club-
Roanoke Valley Elite-a USATF-sponsored group of
high-level middle and long distance runners. Its members live in the Roanoke region and in other states.
At this point in his life, running is Angell's outlet,
and it gives him a reason to set goals and push himself.
"It's kind of expected of me now," he says. "It's
what I do."

Life Outside Fall 2018

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