The Marathon Project

What The Marathon Project is

The Marathon Project began in December 2020 as an elite-only marathon on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, created to give professionals a race after many of the World Marathon Majors were canceled because of COVID-19.¹¹ That race produced what was then the second-fastest American women's marathon, 2:20:32.⁹

It returned in 2025 as an annual event for both amateurs and professionals, on the same criterium-style course.⁹ The organizers describe it as a flat, fast, multi-loop course designed specifically for breaking records and achieving personal bests.¹

The course records are 2:08:59 for men and 2:20:32 for women.¹ The race's history page says the 2025 Gold Wave saw unprecedented amateur performances.⁵

Who can enter

The Gold Wave is the amateur race. It is limited to 400 participants, and anyone who has run under 3:30:00 for the marathon, 1:42:00 for the half marathon, 46:00 for 10K or 22:00 for 5K may register and will be accepted.⁶

The Professional Field is selected by the organizers and consists of 100 men and 100 women.⁶ The two official pages give slightly different standards: under 2:19:44 for men and 2:42:43 for women on the race site, and under 2:20:00 and 2:42:00 on the registration page.²⁶ Shorter-distance marks are also considered.²

Athletes who have run slower than the professional standards are pointed to the Gold Wave.⁶ Registration for 2026 closes on November 30.⁶

The course

The race is run on the grounds of the Wild Horse Pass Resort in Chandler.⁴ The organizers describe the course as notoriously flat and fast, with six loops, designed for personal records.³

The criterium-style layout means spectators can see the athletes 12 times from a single vantage point.³ When the race returned in 2025, the loop was reported as 4.26 miles, run six times, with two large fluid stations on each loop.¹²⁹

What Gold Wave runners get

The race markets the Gold Wave as a professional-style experience: personal bottles on the course, an indoor warmup area, a bag drop at the start, professional pace groups from 2:20:00 to 3:30:00, and a swag bag.²

The results suggest the format works for qualifying times. According to the race's press release, 81% of Gold Wave finishers in 2025 ran a Boston Marathon qualifier.⁴

For 2026, the professional race and the Gold Wave are being run together, which the organizers say is meant to maximize the energy on the course.⁴

Race weekend

The 2026 race is on Saturday, December 12.⁴ The marathon, for both the Gold Wave and the Professional Field, starts at 7:00 a.m., and the Cowboy Christmas 5K starts at 7:15 a.m., followed by awards and a post-race pool party.³ The registration listing shows a window of 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for the Gold Wave and 7:00 to 10:30 a.m. for the professional race.⁷

The TMP Expo is on Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and covers packet pickup, the press conference, the technical meeting and bottle drop-off.³ All participants must attend the expo to collect their race bibs.³

The 5K is open to all ages and abilities and benefits the #LovePup Foundation.¹

Where to stay

The Sheraton Grand Resort at Wild Horse Pass is the official race hotel and hosts the 2026 expo.³ It is four minutes from the start and finish lines and runs complimentary race-day shuttles to and from the start.³

Prize money

The 2026 professional prize purse is equal for men and women: $12,500 for first, $5,000 for second, $2,500 for third, $1,500 for fourth and $1,000 for fifth.²

The 2025 race carried a $40,000 total purse, with $10,000 to each winner.¹⁰ Professionals who have run under 2:12:00 or 2:30:00 may be eligible for a comped entry or help with travel and lodging.²

Refunds and deferrals

• The Marathon Project does not grant refunds. It offers a graduated deferral policy instead.⁸
• For the Gold Wave, deferring between April 1 and June 30, 2026 required an additional $200 in 2027, and deferring between July 1 and September 30 an additional $300.⁸
• The 5K has a no-refund, no-deferral policy.⁸