Gabby DeAngelis grew up in Bedford and lives in Concord, but she feels most at home when hiking in the White Mountains.
A former soccer player and track runner, DeAngelis has recently taken on the mountain-based sport of skyrunning.
Skyrunning is Alpine running that focuses on altitude and technicality. Skyrunning races are held on mountains with an altitude above 2,000 meters (a little over 6,500 feet), a climbing difficulty grade of I or II and with an incline over 30%.
“I wanted to spend more time in the mountains,” DeAngelis said. “This is a great way to do that.”
When she competes in her second skyrunning event, DeAngelis has the chance to become a world champion. The 24-year-old will represent Team USA at the Skyrunning World Championships, which will be held Sept. 18-20 on the volcanic island of La Gomera in Spain’s Canary Islands.
DeAngelis played soccer at Bedford High School and Siena University and ran one graduate student season of cross-country and track and field at the University of New Hampshire.
She competed in her first skyrunning-like race last summer, the Sunapee Scramble on Mount Sunapee.
“The descent was so muddy and steep and fast that I was just laughing at myself the whole time because I thought it was ridiculous, but it was super fun,” DeAngelis said. “I left thinking if every section of that race was like the downhill, that would be so awesome.”
DeAngelis has quickly gained both experience and respect.
Last August, DeAngelis ran in the World Mountain Running Association World Cup final in Slovenia as a member of renowned Team USA trail runner Andy Wacker’s team. Her first official skyrunning event was on July 4: the Whiteface Skyrace in the Adirondacks in Wilmington, New York. It was a grade-I climbing event with a 2,400-plus-meter (about 7,800 feet) vertical climb and 21-kilometer (about 13 miles) distance.
DeAngelis, who enjoys the challenge of her new sport, has also run on Mount Adams in the White Mountains and Loon Mountain in Lincoln.
“Every time you race, you get to learn a little bit more about yourself,” DeAngelis said. “Each course is so different and you kind of find out how long you can hold your redline (running at 90-100% of your maximum heart rate), and if you get a little more confidence in racing you can extend that redline even further ...
“It’s super difficult to do. You can’t do it every race, but that’s something that I’m chasing — pushing myself as much as I can and see how far I can go.
“I don’t know my ceiling yet and I think that’s an exciting thought.”
DeAngelis’s journey to joining the U.S. Skyrunning team started when she saw a social media post explaining that the team was looking for runners for the world championships. DeAngelis applied. The worst thing that could happen was that the team would tell her no, she thought.
Instead, the best thing happened. The team was impressed by some of her results and said yes.
DeAngelis will compete alongside two other U.S. women in both the vertical and sky race disciplines at the world championships. The vertical race will be 4.9 kilometers (about three miles) long with a vertical climb of 950 meters (about 3,116 feet). The sky race will be 29 kilometers (about 18 miles) long with a vertical climb of 1,900 meters (about 6,230 feet).
Teams will also compete in the SkyUltra discipline race, which is 63 kilometers (about 33 miles) long with a 4,100-meter (about 13,450 feet) vertical climb.
World team and individual titles will be awarded at the event.
To prepare for her trip to La Gomera, DeAngelis runs on an incline treadmill, lifts and spends weekends training in the White Mountains.
DeAngelis plans to continue competing in skyrunning and trail running for as long as her body will allow her.
The world championships will be the first time she’s met her U.S. teammates in person. They have communicated through email and social media.
“I think just getting more experience with international racing will be a great opportunity,” DeAngelis said, “and also meeting the rest of the team and building camaraderie with them, I’m really looking forward to that.”