Here are the 13 Canadians racing at The Marathon Project

This Sunday, in a suburb of Phoenix, 13 Canadian distance runners will toe the start line at the revival of The Marathon Project. Designed to give sub‑elite marathoners the chance to run fast times on a flat course, the race will award US$10,000 to the top male and female finishers. Among the 13 are Olympians, national champions and former national record holders—all vying for a shiny new personal best.

What is The Marathon Project?

Ben Rosario, a U.S.-based marathon coach, initially launched The Marathon Project in Chandler, Ariz., in 2020, to help marathoners hit Olympic qualifying times during the pandemic. However, as in-person races returned, this event went on the back burner. Fast forward to last year: Rosario quit his coaching job to revive the race and give sub-elites another shot at glory.

The race will be held at Wild Horse Pass Resort in Chandler, Ariz., on the same 6.75-km loop criterium-style course used in 2020. The 2020 event saw Canada’s Natasha Wodak run an Olympic standard time of 2:26:17, which earned her a spot on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic team.

Rosario said his motivation to bring it back was to provide ordinary runners with “a greater chance to run PRs in beautiful weather on the flattest, fastest course you could imagine.”

Canadians in the field

Men

Andrew Alexander (2:12:55)

The 26-year-old from Toronto will race his third marathon of the year, aiming for a sub-2:12 performance. Alexander ran his personal best of 2:12:55 nearly a year ago in Houston. 

Thomas Toth (2:15:09)

Toth has run personal bests in two of his last three marathons. The Boston-based Canadian distance runner first cracked 2:16 in 2023 at the McKirdy Mirco Marathon in Valley Cottage, N.Y., where he placed 10th.

Thomas Broatch (2:10:35)

The 2023 Canadian marathon champion ran to back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2024 and 2025, climbing into the top 10 on the Canadian all-time list. At 27 years old, he’s one of the prime candidates for the Canadian Olympic marathon team for LA 2028, looking for that breakthrough performance.

Thomas Nobbs (2:15:22)

The Vancouver native was the fifth Canadian across the finish line when he ran his personal best of 2:15:22 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2024. The Marathon Project will be his first 42.2km race on a flat and fast course. He also won the half-marathon at this year’s Toronto race, in 63:28. 

Calum Neff (2:19:19)

Neff previously held the Canadian 50K record and has served as a pacer for many top American marathoners, including Keira D’Amato.

Thomas Fafard (debut)

The 2024 Canadian Olympian over 5,000m is making his debut at the distance. Fafard has said he’s had this particular event at the back of his mind since the middle of the summer. He has had a successful career on the roads so far, running 62:17 for the half-marathon, which ties him for seventh on the Canadian all-time list.

Chris Taylor (debut)

Also from Vancouver, Taylor trains alongside Broatch with the Vancouver Thunderbirds Track Club. He finished second at the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in mid-October in 66:08.

How much would you pay for a marathon PB?

Women

Rachel Hannah (2:32:09)

Just two months ago, Hannah won her first Canadian marathon championship at the 2025 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon with one of her fastest marathon times in eight years. Training out of Port Elgin, Ont., Hannah is a six-time Canadian champion across various distances and won a bronze medal for Canada at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto.

Lanni Marchant (2:28:00)

The Marathon Project will be Marchant’s first marathon of the 2025 season. The 2016 Canadian Olympian placed one spot off the podium at the Canadian Half-Marathon Championships in Edmonton in August, running 1:13:15—her fastest half-marathon in nine years.

Erin Mawhinney (2:36:14)

After making her marathon debut in Toronto last year, the Hamilton-based distance runner returns to the distance, looking to improve on her time of 2:36:14. Mawhinney trains under the guidance of two-time Canadian Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet. 

Liza Howard (2:35:29)

The 37-year-old marathoner from Toronto heads to Arizona with the hopes of smashing the 2:35 marathon mark. Howard has come close in her last two attempts at the distance. Could The Marathon Project be it?

Emily Andrews (2:39:40)

The Vancouver distance runner finished just outside the top 10 at the 2025 Toronto Waterfront Marathon two months ago. She will be looking to improve on her personal best of 2:39:40 from the 2024 California International Marathon.

Leanne Klassen (2:40:56)

Klassen is having a career year, running personal bests at the 10K and marathon. The Calgary-based run coach will look to go under the 2:40 mark for the first time. 

How to follow?

To stay up to date with Canadian results, live tracking and leaderboards will be available on The Marathon Project app. For more information, check it out here.