Some people work full time as lawyers. Some are Olympic marathon contenders. Some are fluent in Norwegian as a second language.

Annie Bersagel, a 31-year-old American who will compete among the elite runners at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, happens to be all three, taking the weekend warrior culture of endurance sports up a notch.

“I don’t know if I would have predicted that I’d be doing what I’m doing,” Bersagel said in a phone interview from Oslo, where she trains and works full time as an adviser at KLP Asset Management. “I think it’s a bit of serendipity in your career path.”

Bersagel typically runs about an hour before and an hour after work each day, with long runs on the weekend. During much of the year, it is dark outside, and often freezing or worse.