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(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. (18-Dec) -- Ben Rosario, who only two weeks ago announced his departure from HOKA Northern Arizona Elite where he had served first as head coach and later as executive director, just announced his next act.  The 44 year-old retired marathoner is resurrecting The Marathon Project, a highly successful, elite-only road race held in the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic in December, 2020.  The new version of the race will debut as a multi-race festival on December 20 and 21, 2025, at the Wild Horse Pass Resort in Chandler, Ariz., on the exact same criterium-style course that the original Marathon Project was held.  This time both elite and citizen runners can take part. "We know we have proof-of-concept from 2020, but this version is going to be much bigger and better," Rosario said through a statement circulated to the media.  "We want to provide something for athletes looking to run as fast as possible that they have never experienced before." The 2020 version of the race saw 40 men and 33 women cross the finish line at a time when there were few competitive opportunities.  At the front Martin Hehir and Sara Hall got the victories in 2:08:59 and 2:20:32, respectively.  At the time, Hall's mark was the second-fastest ever by an American woman (now #5 all-time). "The roads are pristine, the course is lightning fast, and you can't beat Chandler in December," said Hall, 41, looking back on that day. "I'm so excited the race is back and more people will get a chance to chase a PR at this unique event." The depth of performances from that day were impressive.  A dozen women ran sub-2:30, and 19 of the top-20 women ran personal bests.  On the men's side 11 athletes broke 2:11:30 and 16 of the top-20 set personal bests.  Hehir, who has since gone on to become a medical doctor, still remembers the joy he felt that day.  The former Syracuse University athlete would never run faster in a standard marathon. "I'll never forget crossing that finish line and joining some of the fastest Americans in history," Hehir, an anesthesiologist, recalled. The 2025 Marathon Project will begin with a marathon for top recreational runners called the Gold Wave Marathon on Saturday open to "the top 500 and top 500 women who enter," the event website said.  All Gold Wave participants will be treated like pros with amenities that include pace groups, an indoor warmup area and bathrooms, bag drop-off at the start and two large fluid stations on each 4.26-mile loop. A 5-kilometer race, called the TMP 5K, will follow the Gold Wave Marathon on Saturday and be open to all runners of any age or ability.  A professional marathon will follow on Sunday, and Rosario's team hopes to have "the deepest, fastest marathon in the United States."  It will be open to 100 elite men and 100 elite women. Like any new event, some details have yet to be worked out and there will be significant challenges.  For instance, the prize money purse has yet to be announced (Rosario said those details will be disclosed by July 1, 2025), and The Marathon Project will have to compete with other well-capitalized, well-established, fall-season marathons, like Chicago and New York, to get the attention of top athletes.  Those races offer appearance fees and bonuses in addition to generous prize money. Although not yet determined by USA Track & Field (USATF), it is possible that the qualifying window for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon might be open by the time the gun goes off for the 2025 Marathon Project.  For the 2024 Trials, the window opened on January 1, 2022.  USATF might be willing to open that window 12 days earlier than in 2022, and that would surely drive dozens of athletes to The Marathon Project. PHOTO: Martin Hehir winning The Marathon Project in December, 2020 (photo courtesy of RabbitWolfCreative; used with permission)  

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Published with permission. NELSON, NEW ZEALAND (14-Dec) -- Neil Gourley's trip to New Zealand had an inauspicious start. When he arrived at the international airport in Auckland on Wednesday he realized too late that he had forgotten that he had a banana in his luggage.  New Zealand's notoriously strict bio-security laws dictate that travelers cannot bring any fresh fruits or vegetables into the country. "As soon as I saw the dog I knew what was happening," said Gourley referring to the specially trained beagles the New Zealand border authorities use detect fresh tofood. "The dog went straight for it." Gourley, 29, who was en route to the new elite road mile which took place here tonight, part of The Spectacle running festival, paid the mandatory NZD 400 fine (USD 230) after the offending fruit was disposed of and went on his way. "At first I thought they were kidding," he lamented. But the Scotsman's luck would soon change for the better.  In tonight's race --run on a certified, two-lap course in the Nelson city center--  Gourley timed his kick to perfection.  He not only covered an early kick by New Zealand's Sam Tanner, but also caught Australia's Georgia Griffith who, along with the other elite women, had been given a 32-second head start.  His winning time of 4:03.10 was the fastest ever recorded on New Zealand soil in a record-eligible road mile. "Sam made a huge move," Gourley told Race Results Weekly.  "His legs were turning over, and to be honest, I couldn't live with him.  I just had to stay patient and hope that my top-end speed was going to get me by him." It did, but only just. Tanner, who made his move coming out of the final turn of the 750-meter circuit, finished just 1/10th of a second behind in 4:03.20, and just 8/100ths of a second ahead of Griffith. "I knew that I'm short and Neil's tall, so the way to get a jump on him was to accelerate through the corner," Tanner explained.  "And, I just accelerated pretty hard through the corner and I think I got a gap on him.  But I showed my lack of training in the last 50, I guess." As the overall winner, Gourley pocketed NZD 10,000 (USD 5762) in prize money, more than enough to cover the fine he paid at the airport.  Tanner collected NZD 6000, and Griffiths came away with NZD 7000. "I was just going as fast as I could, hoping that the downhill on the front, finish line straight would help a little bit," said Griffiths, who ran 4:35.97.  "I could hear the crowd getting pretty loud, and knew the guys were coming up on me.  I saw the finish line and I was getting close.  I was hoping I'd be able to hold them off, but they just got me on the line." Brian Fay of Ireland was the third male finisher (4:04.31), and Sarah Billings of Australia (4:39.60) and Sophie O'Sullivan of Ireland (4:42.73) finished second and third, respectively, in the women's division. Tonight's race capped over 24 hours of racing here which included trail races up to 100 miles, a 5-K, and a series of relays for both children and adults.  The Spectacle was the brainchild of New Zealand 1500m Olympian Julian Matthews who grew up here.  Looking equal parts exhausted and elated after the race, he could hardly believe that he and his partner, Annika Pfitzinger, had pulled the event off. "I'm lost for words," Matthews told Race Results Weekly, shaking his head.  "I'm in a bit of a dream state at the moment." PHOTO: Neil Gourley wins the first edition of the road mile at The Spectacle running event in Nelson, New Zealand in 4:03.10 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

(c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, Published with permission. NELSON, NEW ZEALAND (13-Dec) -- A new multi-race running event debuts here this weekend.  Dubbed The Spectacle, it combines both trail and road running with distances from just one mile all the way up to 100 miles.  It even features the launch of a new book, "Running Throughout Time" by veteran author Roger Robinson. "This is the first time Nelson has hosted an event like this," race director Julian Matthews said through a press release.  Matthews, who competed for New Zealand in the 1500m in the 2016 Olympics, continued: "We've brought together an incredible lineup of athletes, and the city's central streets will provide the perfect stage for them to deliver something truly special." The events begin on Friday with the start of a grueling 100-mile trail race.  "This is 160 km of single track and forestry roads, hundreds of metres of vert, sweat, dirt, dust and probably some tears, and will be an adventure like no other," reads the event website.  The race features about 7000 meters of total ascent and descent with a maximum elevation of 1135.  It finishes on Trafalgar Square West in front of the towering Christ Church Cathedral. There are also shorter distances on the trails --100 km, 50 km, 21 km, and 10 km-- with different starting times on Saturday. Later on Saturday the competition moves to the streets of Nelson.  Citizen runners can try distances of one mile, 5 km (which includes a walk), and four-person relays of 4 x 750m for adults and 4 x 375m for children. The festival comes to a crescendo on Saturday night with an elite, two-lap road mile which features five Olympians, all of whom got their own banner hoisted to the ceiling of the local airport to greet them (see photo).  Like the Kalakaua Merrie Mile in Honolulu last Saturday, the elite mile uses a chase format where the women get about a 30-second head start. The elite women are led by Australia's Georgia Griffith, a two-time Olympian with a 3:58.40 1500m personal best (4:27.81 PB for the mile).  She'll be running against compatriot Sarah Billings (3:59.59/4:32.30), and Irish Olympian Sophie O'Sullivan (4:00.23/4:33.30).  Katherine Camp of New Zealand (4:15.09/4:44.24) and Brigid Dennehy of Ireland (4:14.03/4:47.16).  Dennehy lives in New Zealand and runs for North Harbour Bays Athletics. Two-time New Zealand Olympian Sam Tanner leads the men's field.  The 24 year-old former NCAA star for the University of Washington has run 3:31.24 for 1500m and 3:49.51 for the mile.  He'll be challenged by Scotsman Neil Gourley, a British Olympian who has run 3:30.60/3:47.74.  Two-time Olympian Stewart McSweyn (3:29.51/3:48.37) will carry Australia's hopes into the race, and American Vince Ciattei (3:31.78/3:50.56) and Ireland's Brian Fay (3:36.52/3:52.03) round out the field. Unlike last Saturday's Kalakaua Merrie Mile where prize money is paid only on the overall order of finish of men and women combined based on the handicap format, athletes here will run for both separate prize money in the men's and women's division plus an additional schedule of awards for the overall, mixed-sex order of finish.  The male/female prize money is NZD 6000 (=USD 3458), 4000, 2000, 1000, and 500.  The separate battle of the sexes prize money is NZD 4000 (=USD 2306), 2000, 1000.  So, the overall winner will earn NZD 10,000 (=USD 5763). Race director Matthews, who is organizing the event with his partner Annika Pfitzinger, is from Nelson and "knows everyone in town," he said on Wednesday night while picking up guests at the local airport with a white, 15-passenger van.  He's clearly jazzed to have the attention of the running world focused on Nelson, population 55,600, for a few days. "It's a race designed to be both thrilling to watch and unforgettable to run," he said. PHOTO: Banners honoring the file Olympians running The Spectacle --Georgia Griffith and Stewart McSweyn of Australia, Sam Tanner of New Zealand, Neil Gourley of Great Britain, and Sophia O'Sullivan of Ireland-- hung from the rafters of the Nelson Airport (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)