Almgren ran 1:01:57 for his second half in New York
The splits from the Swede's debut win are in, and the back half is the number people cannot get over.
The numbers behind Andreas Almgren's 2:06:01 win in New York are out, and the second half is the story. David Monti says Almgren covered the back half of the course in 1:01:57, a half marathon split that would be a good standalone race for most pros, run on tired legs over the New York hills.
That was his marathon debut. CITIUS MAG reports he ran the final 1.2 miles in 5:21 and opened a 13-second gap on runner-up Yeman Crippa. In the post-race press conference he said he fancied his chances but sat and waited.
The range is the thing
Rod Murrow called it "absolutely insane range," pointing out that Almgren ran 1:45 for 800m as a U20 and that the 2:06 came unrabbitted, meaning no pacemakers, on a course nobody calls fast. That is the gap people are reacting to. Half-milers do not usually turn into Marathon Major winners, and the ones who do rarely do it first time out.
LetsRun framed the win in a different way. Heading into New York, African-born men had won 111 of the last 113 World Marathon Majors, which is 98.2 percent. Almgren is the exception, and LetsRun called the run historic in its week-in-review.
On the fueling talk
Brady Holmer poked at the discourse by reposting what he described as a pro-high-carb Tim Noakes post, with a tongue-out emoji. Worth being clear about what is actually known here. No verified fueling numbers have been published for Almgren's race. If you see a specific carbs-per-hour figure attached to this run going around, nobody has sourced it.
What the splits do tell you is how the race was run. Almgren did not force anything early, let the move come late, and still had a 5:21 closing 1.2 miles in him. A negative second half at 1:01:57 on that course is a controlled debut, not a blow-up-and-hang-on debut. For a man whose track pedigree starts at 800m, the question for 2027 is no longer whether he can go the distance.
Absolutely insane range. He ran the 1:45 as a U20, and the 2:06 was unrabbitted and on the NYC course, not known to be blazing fast.
I thought I had a shot of winning this, but I didn’t want to make any moves myself.
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