Hosts John Lofranco and Michael Doyle unpack who came and won big at The Marathon Project, one of the most intriguing elite marathons, well, maybe ever. And of course, they each also select three big losers on the day — those who had something at stake and failed in some capacity.

They discuss, sponsored athletes vs. working-class stiffs, (future) Olympians, Hoka (yes, the shoe company), and Cam Levins.

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Last weekend, six Canadians travelled to Chandler, AZ to race in The Marathon Project, each with the goal of running fast enough to eventually be named to the 2021 Olympic team. As the qualification deadline of May 31 approaches, and as an increasing number of spring races get cancelled, Sunday's race was seen as an indispensable opportunity to run faster than the Olympic standards of 2:11:30 and 2:29:30.

No Canadian took better advantage of it than Ben Preisner and Natasha Wodak, our two guests on this episode.

Wodak raced to fifth place and a personal best time of 2:26:19. It's the second fastest time in Canadian history and, for now, it's probably enough to secure the Team Canada's third roster spot (for a full breakdown of how a runner can qualify for Canada's Olympic marathon team, follow this link.) In the first segment of this podcast, Wodak - the Canadian 10,000m record holder who had not raced a marathon since 2013 - talks to Michael Doyle about the overcoming the fear and uncertainty of that last 10K in a marathon, and holding it together to do something extraordinary.

Afterwards, Alex Cyr talks with Ben Preisner, the 24-year-old first-time marathoner who shocked nearly everyone by posting an eighth place finish and the fourth-fastest marathon ever run by a Canadian. His time of 2:10:17 also makes him the second fastest Canadian runner this Olympic period behind only Trevor Hofbauer. Barely 24 hours after his feat, Preisner reflects on what went through his mind when he pulled away from other Canadians, how he remained calm while running faster splits than ever before, when exactly he knew that he was on route for a career-changing PB.

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The Marathon Project delivered on its promise — it was a wild, consequential and highly entertaining way to cap off 2020.

The XC's Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle pivot from watching the race to provide their immediate reaction to what just went down in the Arizona desert: Sara Hall's stunning performance, Martin Hehir's all-time risky (and brilliant) second half, and the significant Olympic marathon implications for Team Canada. Plus, we go deep on what happened to Cam Levins, and what it means for his near future.

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The Marathon Project, featuring many of the best marathon runners in North America, takes place this Sunday. There's a lot at stake on the 4.26-mile loop in the Arizona desert: Olympic dreams, big breakthroughs and maybe even an American marathon record?

Hosts Alex Cyr and Michael Doyle have been heavily covering every aspect of the race all week long in what we've dubbed "Marathon Project Week." In this pod, they break down all the key storylines, big numbers to watch out for, what the weird course is like, what went into putting on this Pandemic-era race, how to watch and who we think will win.

Be sure to follow us live on race day, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. We'll be doing a live video podcast on YouTube, Facebook and our Twitter feed, covering the event through the whole race.

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Over the course of the summer, as team sports figured out a way to safely get back playing games, NAZ Elite coach Ben Rosario realized that the distance running community needed to become proactive. With mass participation races being cancelled across the world, Rosario's athletes needed a goal, particularly runners like Scott Fauble and Kellyn Taylor, who missed qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team, but wanted another shot at a marathon before the end of 2020. Another one of Rosario's athletes, Canadian Rory Linkletter, was also in an interesting situation — he needed an opportunity to run a high-quality, sanctioned marathon in the hope that he would qualify for his national Olympic team next summer.

Rosario saw an opportunity to set up a special, elite-only race. It would give his athletes and others something to strive for at the end of one very bad year, and perhaps provide an opportunity for a few international elites to qualify for the Olympics. In a text to friend and agent Josh Cox, The Marathon Project concept was born.

The XC's Michael Doyle talks with Rosario about how the race came together, how big a deal the event has become to both North American elite distance runners and the community as a whole, the importance of making a marathon entertaining, and why he thinks something special is going to happen on Sunday.

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And be sure to check out our live video pod on race day, Sunday, Dec. 20. We'll start streaming on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Our guest today is Kinsey Middleton, the 2018 Canadian marathon champion who trains out of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. This weekend, she hopes to better her PB of 2:32:09 and earn a spot on Team Canada at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

The team will be hard to crack for the 28-year-old, as four Canadian women already have Olympic standard. But Middleton is a proven performer. Just two years ago, she surprised everyone — and maybe even herself — by winning her first-ever Canadian marathon title. Since then, however, there have been ups and downs: she PB'd in the half-marathon earlier this year, but then she got shoulder surgery and had to spend most of the summer in recovery mode.

Despite that, Middleton now appears to be in the best shape of her life, and has flirted with 2:26 marathon pace in recent workouts. Here, she talks about recovering from surgery, rushing through a marathon build, and why she thinks Canadian women are running faster than ever.

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Vancouver track runner Justin Kent is one of those relentlessly positive people who found a way to see the Pandemic as an opportunity to reinvent himself. He decided to try a half-marathon, and ran so fast that he qualified for the Canadian national team for the World Athletics Half-Marathon Championships. And when Canada pulled its team on the eve of the race due to concerns over health safety, Kent hit Vancouver's iconic Seawall and ran 62 minutes for 21.1K. That's when he and his coach started thinking about the marathon — and about the 2021 Olympics.

Kent chats with host Michael Doyle about what he anticipates from his first-ever marathon, which will be one of the strangest debut experiences a runner could ever have. Kent will be running the elite-only Marathon Project race in Arizona, and will be trying to dip under 2:11:30.

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Contributor Justin Horneker discusses his reporting on the racism and sexism with the organization that owns the New York City Marathon. Horneker spoke with the anonymous group behind the Instagram account #RebuildNYRR. Ultimately, NYRR's CEO, Michael Capiraso, was forced to resign earlier this month.

Read Horneker's feature story, "Inside the New York Road Runners's Broken Culture" on our site:

https://thexc.org/michael-capiraso-resignation-new-york-road-runners-nyc-marathon/

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This week, we interview runners who are gearing up for The Marathon Project, a race in Chandler, Arizona that doubles as an qualifier for the 2021 Olympic Games. It's probably going to be the fastest North American marathon of 2020, and it happens on Sunday, Dec. 20.

Our guest today is Ben Preisner, a recent NCAA alumnus turned elite half-marathoner. The 24-year-old started hitting his stride right around the time that the world shut down. A 63:08 half-marathon in the fall of 2019 got him a spot at the 2020 London Marathon, but when the race was postponed, he decided to test his fitness the old fashion way - with a time trial. His solo 2:15:24 marathon debut turned many heads, and this weekend, he finally gets to test his fitness in an official setting. But Preisner said he wouldn't be happy with another 2:15 - he is aiming to dip under the Olympic standard of 2:11:30. Here we talk about how the young Canadian has been preparing for the race of his life.

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Our coverage of Sunday's Marathon Project in Arizona continues with... the man, the myth, the Canadian marathon running legend: Cameron Levins.

Levins says he will be racing for the win on Sunday, but also plans on breaking his own Canadian national marathon record of 2:09:25 in the process. Oh, and that will no doubt confirm his return to the Olympics after a nine year absence.

In this podcast, host Michael Doyle speaks with Levins, who is already in Arizona waiting for race day. They discuss his surreal and tough experience running the London Marathon in October, his quest to be a world-beating marathoner, and the jaw-dropping workouts he's done in prep for The Marathon Project.

It's Marathon Project week at The XC, where we are going deep on the event, including daily podcasts and a live pod on race day, Dec. 20, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. on our YouTube channel, Facebook page and on Twitter.

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