Meet the 2024 SWM Athletes: Ben Nagel (Pacer)

Ben Nagel (Pacer) | Men’s Elite Mile

Social Media: Instagram / Strava / LinkedIn

Club: Team SOVA
College: Indianapolis / Virginia Tech
Mile PR: 3:58.26

I played basketball in high school and took that more seriously than running for a while.
I have done a lot of fun “challenges” with running, including Everesting, which involved running up a hill to achieve the elevation gain of Mt. Everest, taking 21 hours and 100 miles.
Between my freshman and junior year of college, I dropped my 800m time from 1:59 to 1:49 to become a DII All-American.
I am a two-time NCAA DII Elite 90 winner, which goes to the athlete at the championship with the highest GPA.
I have a degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Indianapolis, a master’s in Data Analysis and Applied Statistics from Virginia Tech, and currently work as an actuary for a specialty insurance company.

What is your go-to training shoe? Nike Pegasus
What’s your favorite cross training activity? Cycling – I love going fast and covering a lot of miles!
What’s a show, movie, or podcast that everyone should check out? Moneyball – combines my passions for sports and statistics
If I weren’t a runner, I’d mostly likely be… Working as an actuary full-time
Do you have any connections to Raleigh and/or North Carolina? I became All-ACC and ran my first 1:47 in the 800m last year in Raleigh!