By Chris Chavez
December 18, 2024
The Marathon Project, a then-professional-only race held during the pandemic in 2020, will return in 2025 as an annual event open to both amateurs and professionals. The race will take place at Wild Horse Pass Resort in Chandler, Arizona, on December 20-21, 2025.
Why It Started And How It Went
– Amid the pandemic, with major marathons canceled and athletes missing opportunities to race, the Marathon Project emerged as a creative solution to 2020 constraints. Organized by Ben Rosario (former NAZ Elite coach) and agent Josh Cox, the professional-only event provided a critical forum for elite athletes to chase personal bests and sponsor bonuses.
– This is Rosario's newest venture after announcing that he was moving on from his executive director role with NAZ Elite on Dec. 4th.
– Sara Hall won the 2020 edition in 2:20:32, which was the second-fastest marathon in U.S. women’s history at the time, finishing just outside Deena Kastor’s then-American record of 2:19:36. She led a deep field of 12 women under 2:30. Building on a breakthrough during the pandemic, Keira D’Amato ran 2:22:56 to slash nearly 12 minutes off her personal best and moved to seventh on the all-time U.S. women’s list. She would go on to break Kastor’s American record in January 2022 with a 2:19:12 run in Houston. The record was lowered to 2:18:29 by Emily Sisson at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, which still stands. Hall is currently No. 5 on the U.S. all-time list.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
– On the men’s side, Marty Hehir won in 2:08:59, which then put him at No. 7 on the U.S. all-time men’s marathon list (on record-eligible courses). Behind Hehir, it was one of the deepest men’s marathons at the time as seven American men broke 2:10. Hehir has since been bumped down to No. 13 on the all-time list after a successful string of runs by fellow American marathoners. Biya Simbassa (2:06:53 at the 2024 Valencia Marathon, U.S. No. 4 all-time), Conner Mantz (2:07:47 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, tied for U.S. No. 5 all-time), Clayton Young (2:08:00 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, U.S. No. 8 all-time), CJ Albertson (2:08:17 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, U.S. No. 10 all-time), and Sam Chelanga (2:08:50 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, U.S. No. 11 all-time) have run faster since 2020.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
– Looking back at the Marathon Project’s 2020 results: Of the top 15 finishers on the men’s side, only Scott Fauble (2:08:52 at the 2022 Boston Marathon), Ben Preisner (2:08:58 at the 2024 Beppu-Ōita Marathon), Nathan Martin (2:10:45 at the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon), CJ Albertson (2:08:17 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon), Emmanuel Roudolff (2:07:52 at the 2024 Valencia Marathon), and Cam Levins (2:05:36 at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon) have gone on to improve upon their personal bests or performance in Chandler. Of the top 15 on the women’s side, D’Amato, Emma Bates (2:22:10 at the 2023 Boston Marathon), Natasha Wodak (2:23:12 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon), Sarah Inglis (2:29:37 at the 2022 Chicago Marathon), and Dakotah Popehn (née Lindwurm, 2:24:40 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon) have gone on to run faster post-pandemic.
Kevin Morris / @KevMoFoto
Gold Wave Marathon (Dec. 20), introduced in 2025
– The 2025 edition of the Marathon Project will introduce a Gold Wave Marathon, which is open to a limited number of sub-elite participants and is targeting a field size of 1,000 entrants.
– Participants will receive pro-level amenities, including pacers, indoor warmup areas, and frequent fluid stations on the flat, looped 4.26-mile course.
– Pace groups will begin at 2:20 and follow at 10-minute increments.
– Per the Marathon Project website: “All entrants who have run under 2:45:00 (men) or under 3:10:00 (women or non-binary) for the marathon or under 1:17:30 (men) or under 1:30:00 (women or non-binary) in the half marathon since January 1, 2021 will receive automatic entry and will be charged the race entry fee ($500) as soon as entry times have been verified by race organizers.”
– There are no age-group awards. Awards will be given out to the top 25 men, top 25 women, and top 5 non-binary finishers overall.
– Registration will be open through March 30, 2025.
– An all-comers 5km, open to all ages and abilities, is scheduled to take place immediately before the Gold Wave Marathon.
Professional Race (Dec. 21 at 7:30 a.m.)
– A select field of 100 men and 100 women will aim to produce the deepest and fastest marathon in United States history.
– Elite pace groups will target 2:06:00 to 2:35:00. While qualifying standards have not been released for the 2028 Olympics or 2027 World Championships, the automatic qualifying marks for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo (which take place prior to the 2025 Marathon Project) are 2:06:30 for men and 2:23:30 for women.
– Athletes who have run under 2:20:00 (men) or 2:40:00 (women) are encouraged to apply. Registration is now open on The Marathon Project’s website. Athletes are encouraged to apply before March 30. An initial list of accepted entries will be published on April 1. If spots open up, a second wave of registration will be open from April 2 to August 30. A final accepted entry list will be announced on September 1. Athletes who applied but were not accepted may be offered a spot in the Gold Wave.
– The prize purse for the race is expected to be announced at a later date.
What They’re Saying
Ben Rosario (co-founder): “We know we have proof-of-concept from 2020, but this version will be much bigger and better.”
Sara Hall: "The roads are pristine, the course is lightning fast, and you can’t beat Chandler in December. I’m so excited the race is back for more runners to chase PRs."
Marty Hehir: “The Marathon Project provided all the support of a major marathon. I’ll never forget joining some of the fastest Americans in history.”
What Other Marathons Are Happening December 2025?
December tends to be a popular month for end-of-year opportunities to chase fast times with runners of all levels flocking to the Valencia Marathon in Spain or the California International Marathon in Sacramento. CIM is a point-to-point downhill marathon, which is eligible for both Boston Marathon qualifying and Olympic Trials qualifying purposes but does not allow athletes to officially break national records or automatically qualify for global championships. In 2025, both races will be held on Dec. 7th.
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
