Q&A with LRC's All-American Matthew (David) Sell

Q: When did you start running and what got you into it?

A: “I did a little bit of track when I was little…my parents would make me and my brothers run a 5K on Sunday mornings, because they'd do their long runs…I really didn't start running, running until after high school like I did one season of cross country, got injured after the first race, so then that was out. And then I ran the whole track season injury free. But yeah, I didn't really start running until the summer after high school.”

Q: What would you say is your "why" behind why you run? What keeps you going?

A: “I think it's good to kind of de-stress after the day or at the start of the day. I feel like I think the most when I go running…It's fun to jump in a race. But honestly, just the training and just working towards that goal is really, really worth it…I love the community aspect of it. I feel like the best conversations happen when you're running.”

Q: What does training look like for you right now vs during school?

A: “During the school year I pretty much just have my calendar based around either a marathon or an Ultra lately and then I just train for that and then I'll throw in some side races to keep me engaged or get at least some racing practice between those…I try to build up to 70-80 miles a week, try to maintain that for a bit…I try to throw in speed workouts, usually about once a week. And then just a lot of trail running…As far as summer training, I've been kind of screwed up with an injury…my joints are not back yet. I've been pretty much trying to keep it at 40 miles a week and then slowly building. So, my body's been feeling better, and we'll just see if it holds or not.”

Q: Could you tell me about the NIRCA Nationals ½ marathon?

A: “My fitness was high enough where I could just jump into a race and kind of just be able to perform well. Maybe I could perform better if I specialized or tapered down…That was kind of my mind going into the NIRCA half. I really didn't know what I could do…I was just hoping to break 120 honestly, 'cause that's been a goal of mine since the summer after high school…So, it's kind of a full circle moment then because I ended up breaking 120 for sure. Then during the race…I feel like a lot of people from NIRCA ran in high school and…got that high school pacing strategy. So, I was hoping that people would just die off, but that didn't really happen. I don't think I really changed places that much during the race…I was taking people off and then I was getting picked off. So yeah, but it was a really cool race and it was cool with it being an out-and-back then or part of it being out-and-back because then you could see where everybody was in comparison to you, which is just good for racing strategy.”

Q: Can you tell me about Promise Land? What made you want to do that? And then how did that go for you?

A: “I feel like it's probably one of…my favorite races of all time. I first ran it last year…and at the time I hadn't really trained for it…In the fall of this year, I took Dr. Horton's class, which lived up in every single way…And then this year I was hoping to place well in it and actually race it. I got the injury sort of two weeks out from the race…my expectations went from trying to go out to win it which I don't think that would have been possible, especially this year, but to just trying to survive. And for a second, before the race, I was like, should I just drop out…[but] I just kind of went with it…my theory was going into it either I'll be able to hold up the entire way…or my body's just going to fall apart at like mile 20. I'll be out in the woods by myself. So, I didn't really know what's going to happen going into it. But everything I could have hoped or dreamed for happened. I broke five hours, which was a huge goal…I had a couple friends from LRC…did it with minimal training, which maybe people aren't happy about that, but that was fun to see and…see all the community come together.”

Q: What races are you working towards in the future?

A: “I would love to jump into an ultra in Colorado this summer, but that's kind of we'll see what happens because don't got much time left in the summer as far as you know to up train for it. The fall, I’d love to run Mount Masochist 50k 50 Miler, Hellgate, if I can get into it, it's super cool…and then the Liberty trail series…and see if I can improve on those times. The Blue Trail [is] a race on the island I grew up on in Spain. You start at sea level or on the beach and then you climb to the highest point in Spain on top of a volcano and then you go all the way down to the beach on the other side of the island. So, me and some buddies are thinking other we can try to pull that one off in March 2026.”

Q: And why should others join LRC?

A: “The primary thing I love the most is just the community of the people there. It's really fun to be able to just go out running with other people. I think LRC is pretty much the first running group I really joined…Every week, being able to go run with people I think that's pretty sweet. And being able to meet up with people from LRC. It's just a good community to get into and push each other towards each other's goals.”