The Marathon Project Gives Elite Athletes A Lifeline During The Pandemic Dec 17, 2020 David Monti (c) 2020 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved (16-Dec) -- Against the backdrop of a global pandemic which is generating over 200,000 new COVID-19 cases every day in the United States alone, 54 men and 44 women will mask-up and travel carefully to Chandler, Ariz., to compete this Sunday at The Marathon Project, a one-off elite-only marathon which will be held on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Run on a flat, 6.86-kilometer course, the race offers a lifeline to North America's elite marathoners who have seen nearly every important marathon in the world this year shut down after mid-March.