Joel Reichow crosses the finish line as the first American finisher at the TCS New York City Marathon in November 2025. Photo: Katrina Gaisford
Resilience and passion underscore Joel Reichow’s successful running career.
To win Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth against more than 7,500 runners is an impressive feat. To finish as the top American at the TCS New York City Marathon—and place sixth overall out of over 59,000 finishers—in the same year is, for most, unfathomable.
That was Joel Reichow’s 2025.
For the 32-year-old White Bear Lake native, it’s a career highlight years in the making. Reichow joined the Sunrise Park Middle School cross-country team after his physical education teacher noticed his knack for running. Like many kids, he stuck with his sport because he quickly found a passion for it. His natural talent didn’t hurt, either.
Dan Kovacich, Reichow’s coach at White Bear Lake Area High School, noticed Reichow’s talent from the beginning. Despite Reichow’s minimal training in middle school, Kovacich remembers Reichow winning his first high school race by a large margin. “He just had what we call an engine,” Kovacich says. “He was gifted, and he is so smart running. He’s just one of those athletes you don’t get all the time.”
Kovacich calls Reichow a “once in a quarter-century” athlete and “easily” one of the best runners he coached in his two-plus decades. Kovacich attributes much of that to Reichow’s resilience and coachability.
Reichow credits all of his coaches and teammates for the success he’s found in the sport. After a solid freshman year performance at South Dakota State University, Reichow was admittedly in a rut for the next two years. Then, he suffered an injury the summer before his senior year, and an altered approach to training made him stronger in new ways. “That was kind of when things took off for me,” Reichow says. “I think part of it was we had to focus a little more on some strength stuff, and then we shifted towards doing a lot of my mileage on single runs. That started to work. By the end of the season, things were clicking.”
For Reichow, running is a practice in presence. “When you’re out there, it’s easy to just kind of let the rest of the world go and just enjoy the moment,” he says.
These days, a payout for what most consider a pastime is a bonus. Reichow’s been able to earn prize money from races and, more recently, signed a sponsorship contract with PUMA. Since 2018, he’s been a member of Minnesota Distance Elite, a nonprofit elite development group for post-collegiate runners pursuing professional running careers.
This summer, Reichow will return for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth. But don’t expect the shorter distance to slow him down. He’s got his eye on other big races, and it’s not something he’s going to stop anytime soon. “It’s something I’m passionate about,” Reichow says. “It’s an opportunity not many people get.”
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