Andreas Almgren had never raced a marathon. On Sunday, Nov. 1, he lined up in New York for his first one. At mile 21 he was still in a pack of 15 men. In the final mile he was alone. He won.
The 31-year-old Swede finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 1 second. That beat Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa by 13 seconds. It was the third-fastest time in the race's 50-year history, on a course of long bridge climbs and tight corners. No one from Sweden had ever won New York. He told the Journal's Rachel Bachman it was better than anything he could have imagined. Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women's race for the second time.
The overnight win took years
Here's the part we like. The win had a long runway. In September he won the world half-marathon title in 58:06, one of the 10 fastest times ever run. In August he took gold in the 10,000 meters at the European Championships. The old record dated to 1978. He also won bronze in the 10,000 at the 2025 world championships. The marathon was new. The engine wasn't.
He also picked his race with care. Chicago and Valencia are flatter and faster. He chose New York because he wanted to race people, not the clock. He said he had no idea what time to target. So he'd follow the front pack and try to be strong at the end. That's exactly what happened. Nike (NKE), his sponsor, got a win too. Nike started the carbon-plate super shoe era a decade ago and had fallen behind Adidas. Almgren wore Nike's new Apex model. Nike is held at weight in 1 book; nothing added.
Our read
This is a Behavioral story, and a Time Value of Money one (M3). Nobody wins a marathon on race day. Almgren won it over years of 10,000-meter races and half marathons that most people never saw. The debut only looked sudden. Money works the same way. The retirement account that looks like a windfall at 60 was built by a payroll deduction nobody noticed at 30. And he chose the course that fit his strengths over the one with the fastest clock. A plan that fits you beats the one with the prettiest chart.
Here's your check this week. Open your 401(k) app and find your contribution rate, the percentage that comes out of every paycheck. That number is your base training. If it hasn't moved in a few years, ask whether it can go up by one point. And if your plan feels copied from someone else's, say so at your next review. Nobody picks a race on the morning of the start. The plan gets set long before the gun.