Puma Launches Project3, Turning Amateurs Into Elites

Elite Level

In a first of its kind project, Puma has announced the launch of “Project3,” a program that will give select participants of the 2025 Boston and London Marathons the chance to experience a race weekend in the life of an elite athlete. The chosen athletes will get the perks of an elite, including the chance to test out new products. They’ll also be able to cash in on a sweet performance bonus: any runner who shaves off 3 minutes from their personal best will receive a $3,000 bonus.

This isn’t the first time a brand has focused on the amateur athlete. Tracksmith’s Amateur Program has been around for awhile and Bandit’s Unsponsored Project kitted out unsponsored Olympic athletes. Both were shrewd marketing moves, so it’s no surprise that a larger brand picked up where they left off and upped the ante even higher.

The program is open to athletes who already have a bib to this year’s Boston Marathon or London Marathon and who have a previous marathon PB of under 3 hours and 10 minutes. After the application period closes, Puma will select 100 runners who “will receive unprecedented access to Puma Elite Running Team coaches, elite athletes, and Puma innovation experts to provide guidance on various aspects of [the] training cycle.”

The goal, of course, is to break records, personal or otherwise. Putting the cash where their carbon is, Puma is also offering the $3,000 purse to the fastest Project3 male and female finishers of each race, in addition to male and female runners who break their marathon PB by the biggest margin out of all Project3 runners. Potentially, a single individual could secure all three prizes and earn a substantial payout of $9,000.

On top of that, PUMA will also reward the six top athletes an all-expenses paid trip to a Puma sponsored race in 2025, and kit them out for one year with PUMA Running product valued at up to $5,000.

Puma marathoners have been absolutely crushing it, with Dakotah Lindwurm finishing 12th at the Paris Olympics and Sara Vaughn finishing 6th overall (top American) at the 2024 New York City Marathon. Puma has been super intentional about building their roster, adding ex-Adidas runner Charlotte Purdue just this past week.

We love that they’re going all-in on marathon running, and seeing them take a huge swing on amateurs is refreshing and– honestly– just fun. It’s also just great marketing– the front packs at London and Boston will be filled with Puma kits and shoes, resulting in literal head-to-toe coverage throughout the race. 

Also, it’s just fun and exciting and something fresh in the world of running. We can’t wait to see which records will fall, and by how much.

If you’re interested in applying for the Puma Project3 program, you can apply here. Applications will close at 3 pm (CET) on January 27, 2025.