PROJECT3 closed out the 2026 season in style at the Chicago Marathon and the numbers are wild.
71 PROJECT3 runners finished the race. 26 of them set brand-new personal bests in PUMA’s Sunny Lime kits, powered by the Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3 or Deviate NITRO™ Elite 4. Fifteen of those athletes improved by more than three minutes and will each walk away with a $3,000 performance bonus. Collectively, the group took a staggering 1 hour 32 minutes and 53 seconds off their previous marathon bests.
Top of the leaderboard
- Fastest man: Alejandro Martinez Ambrosio (USA) – 2:17:32 (new PB)
- Fastest woman: Amanda Mosborg (USA) – 2:29:30 (new PB, 2:27 faster)
Both take home $3,000 as PROJECT3’s first-place finishers.
The biggest jump of the day belonged to Hannah Bashan (USA). She dropped an insane 11 minutes and 53 seconds to finish in 2:51:51, earning her $6,000 total ($3,000 for the 3+ minute improvement + $3,000 for the largest overall time drop).
Lucas Maher, Lead Marketing of Running Athletes at PUMA, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of every athlete who stepped up to race today. This cohort has delivered through every high and low all season, truly embodying what PROJECT3 stands for. We’re thrilled to recognise their relentless dedication and hard work today, and we’ll continue to help sub-elite runners chase their dreams. We can’t wait to kick off next season and reach even greater heights together.”
The bigger picture
PROJECT3’s second year wraps with $405,000 in prize money distributed in 2026 (on top of $160,000 in its debut year). Next stop: Mumbai 2027, where 100 athletes will line up ready to chase the next set of PBs.
The Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3 and Deviate NITRO™ Elite 4 are available now at PUMA.com, PUMA stores, Totalsports and Sportsmans Warehouse.
Follow @pumarunning for the latest.
Media contacts
Brett Bellinger, Marketing Director – [email protected]
Lungile Gunundu, Splash PR – [email protected]
About PUMA
PUMA is one of the world’s leading sports brands, designing, developing and selling footwear, apparel and accessories. Founded in 1948, PUMA helps the world’s best athletes and teams perform at their best with its innovative products. The company distributes its products in over 120 countries, employs more than 20,000 people and is headquartered in