Lucy Jones, who competed in just her second ever race over 26.2 miles, starred at this year's TCS London Marathon

Fresh off the back of the success at the Boston Marathon, PUMA’s Project3 participants made waves as they shaved a combined two hours, 51 minutes and 19 seconds off their collective personal best times at the 2025 TCS London Marathon.

Ninety runners from nine countries raced across the capital wearing the newly launched Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3 shoes, producing staggering results in the process.

An impressive 39 runners set a new personal best, with 23 of them besting their PB by over three minutes, making them eligible for a $3000 cash prize from Puma. In total, PUMA will pay out $78,000 to Project3 runners.

It was a day to remember for Lucy Jones, who finished first in the mass participation field, recording a time of 2:30:23, whilst knocking a mind-blowing 22 minutes and 31 seconds off her previous best in the marathon. This result means she will take home a total prize of $9000 as the fastest Project3 female, breaking her previous record by more than three minutes and being the Project3 runner with the biggest time improvement.

The fastest male runner, Kevin Salvano, completed the course in 2:13:03, finishing 18th overall.

Jones said: "I went off at 2:33 pace, found a nice rhythm and got to the halfway point feeling alright; then when I got to 20 miles feeling good, so I said, right, let’s close it. I’m so happy with the new PB. I wasn’t running competitively last year, was a bit naive and went out too hard, which wasn’t as fun. I knew if I ran smarter, I could take some time off my PB, but I really didn’t expect that at all. The Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3 were unbelievably quick, they suit me really well."

Another athlete who secured a personal best in the new Fast-R shoes was the Isle of Man's Christa Cain. With a 2:37:25, she also recorded a new female Isle of Man record.

The shoes have recently been the subject of a study, where results indicated they could be up to 3.15% more efficient than competitor supershoes.

In January, PUMA launched Project3, a first-of-its-kind global running program that offered participants of the 2025 Boston and London Marathons the opportunity to experience life as a professional athlete and trial the Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3, with the chance to bank huge performance-based cash prizes.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by AW (@athletics.weekly)

Early this week, Puma Project3 runners achieved more personal bests at the Boston Marathon.

Project3 participants shaved a total of one hour, 51 minutes and 46 seconds off their fastest marks at the Boston race and took home a combined $54,000 in prize money as part of the brand’s trailblazing project.

Debuting the Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3, a total of 90 runners from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, UK, Ireland, Sweden, China and Indonesia, toed the line at the world’s most prestigious running race, and were rewarded with a sensational number of new PBs.

Of the 90 runners competing, 30 beat their previous records, with 15 smashing their bests by over three minutes, making them eligible for the mouthwatering $3000 cash prize.

The fastest male, Joseph Whalen (2:12:16), finished in 20th place overall and knocked one minute 23 seconds off his PB, whilst Kylee Raftis (2:34:41) finished as the fastest female and took an incredible four minutes and four seconds off her previous best. Maybe most impressively, Manuel Diaz Callejero (2:33:35) smashed his previous record by a mind-blowing 11 minutes and 41 seconds.

Other notable wins came in the men’s open division, where PUMA Project3 runners placed first and second, as well as topping the podium in the men’s masters division. In total, three Project3 participants finished in the men’s top 25.

There were also record highs for PUMA’s elite runners, with Annie Frisbie (2:23:21) obliterating her previous PB by two minutes and 57 seconds, with Rory Linkletter (2:07:02), who finished sixth overall, shaving 59 seconds off his quickest mark.