Marathon Project Explained

The Marathon Project was an elite-only marathon held on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, Arizona.^[1] December 2020. It was created by Northern Arizona Elite coach Ben Rosario together with Josh Cox and Matt Helbig to provide a race after many of the World Marathon Majors were cancelled due to COVID-19.^[2]

Medical student Martin Hehir finished first in a time of 2:08:59 and Sara Hall won the women's race and became the second fastest American marathoner in a race paced by Calum Neff.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Among the records set at the race, Nathan Martin became the fastest American born African-American marathoner when he finished in 2:11:05 to beat Herm Atkins' 2:11:32.^{[6] [7]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gearheart . Sarah . The Marathon Project . 2022-02-21 . Tracksmith . en-US.
2. News: Metcalfe . Jeff . 2020-12-19 . Elite marathoners come to Chandler for The Marathon Project to fill COVID-created void . en-US . The Arizona Republic . 2022-02-21.
3. News: Garcia . Julie . 2021-01-04 . Chevron Houston Marathon to kick off — virtually — this week . en-US . The Houston Chronicle . 2022-02-21.
4. News: Fritz Huber . Martin . 2020-12-21 . The Marathon Project Was a Predictable Thrill . en-US . 2022-02-21.
5. News: 2020-12-20 . Sara Hall runs second-fastest marathon ever by American woman . en-US . 2022-02-21.
6. News: Dutch . Taylor . 2022-01-26 . Nathan Martin - Elite Runner, High-School XC Coach, Substitute Teacher . Runners World . 2022-02-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220203020642/https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a38897293/nathan-martin/ . 2022-02-03.
7. News: Hamilton . Michelle . 2020-12-21 . Runners’ Races Were Canceled. Their Coaches Filled the Void. . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-02-21 . 0362-4331.