Ben Rosario has done a bit of everything in running, often with an entrepreneurial spirit. As a professional runner for a decade leading up to 2010, Rosario achieved a marathon PR of 2:18:55. For several years, he trained with the highly respected Hansons Brooks team in Detroit. 

After that, he opened a retail running store in St. Louis, where he had grown up, and then jumped into his biggest project to date. In 2012 his wife and 1-year-old daughter moved to Flagstaff, AZ, to begin the Northern Arizona Elite training group. 

The team was soon sponsored by Hoka, and has played a significant role in USA distance running ever since. Runners from NAZ Elite have scored ten top 10 finishes in World Marathon Majors. Biggest victory? In 2020 Aliphine Tuliamuk won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

Rosario left his leadership role at NAZ Elite a year ago. In this podcast, we learned that he and family have recently moved to Phoenix, where he has taken a job as a private school teacher of sixth- and seventh-graders.

He and several business partners have formed a team to organized a unique new approach to marathon running. It's called The Marathon Project, and will be held for the first time in mid-December in Chandler, AZ, just outside Phoenix.

The Marathon Project is actually two marathons on two days. The first, on a Saturday, aims to present a concierge-like, high-service event to all entrants. They will be treated like elite athletes with pacers, special water bottle placements, and easy start-line access. All this on a super flat/fast 4-lap course in conditions likely to be cool and low-humidity.

The next day these Saturday finishers will be able to watch a professional marathon, with $40,000 in cash prizes, on the same loop course. 

For more from Ben Rosario, you'll find him here on X. 

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