Here is something that rarely happens in Indian running: a major global brand builds a programme specifically for the runners who are fast but not famous. Not the elites who already have sponsors. Not the beginners who just want to finish. The 3:15 to 4:00 crowd — people who train seriously, race hard and then go home and figure everything else out on their own.
PUMA just changed that. Project3 has arrived in India, and it is the most structured support programme for ambitious amateur marathoners this country has seen.
PUMA Project3 India — At a Glance
- Programme length: 12 weeks
- Target race: Tata Mumbai Marathon, January 2027
- Top prize: 5 runners earn a slot at London Marathon, April 2027
- Spots available: 50 runners nationally
- Cities: Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru
- Male PB requirement: 3:15 to 3:45
- Female PB requirement: 3:30 to 4:00
- Prerequisite: Valid 2027 Tata Mumbai Marathon race bib
- Head Coach: Deepak Raj, Founder and CEO of YOSKA
- Wearables Partner: Ultrahuman
- Shoes provided: Deviate NITRO Elite 4 and Fast-R NITRO Elite 3
- Applications open: September 24 to October 25, 2026
What Is PUMA Project3 and Why Should Indian Runners Care
Project3 launched globally in 2025. The concept is simple and overdue: take the kind of support structure that elite athletes take for granted — coaching, performance gear, nutrition guidance, sports psychology, recovery monitoring — and make it available to sub-elite runners who are genuinely chasing times but have none of that infrastructure behind them.
The programme is not a marketing gimmick. At this year’s London Marathon, 176 Project3 athletes ran. 84 set personal bests. PUMA paid out $171,000 in prize money. The fastest male finished in 2:13:33. The fastest female ran 2:28:12. Globally, close to 1,000 runners have come through the programme since it launched.
Those are not vanity numbers. That is a programme producing results.
What Indian Runners Actually Get From the Programme
Running in PUMA’s race stack? We reviewed the PUMA Deviate NITRO — here is what we made of it on Indian roads before you commit to race day in it.
Selected runners will receive PUMA’s current flagship race shoes — the Deviate NITRO Elite 4 and the Fast-R NITRO Elite 3 — along with structured training guidance, nutrition support and recovery coaching across the 12-week block. Ultrahuman is the wearables partner, so biometric monitoring is part of the package too.
Coaching is handled by YOSKA, one of the most credible running platforms operating in India right now. Deepak Raj, YOSKA’s founder and a distance runner himself, will serve as head coach. If you have spent any time in the Indian running scene, YOSKA is not an unfamiliar name. This is not a random partnership made for press releases.
The London opportunity: The top five performers from the India cohort at the Tata Mumbai Marathon in January 2027 will earn a place at the London Marathon in April 2027 — one of the six World Marathon Majors. For most Indian runners that ballot alone takes years. Project3 skips it entirely for the five who perform best.
Who the Programme Is Actually Built For
The eligibility bracket tells you exactly who PUMA is targeting. Men with a marathon PB between 3:15 and 3:45. Women between 3:30 and 4:00. You also need a valid race bib for the 2027 Tata Mumbai Marathon before you can apply.
That bracket is deliberate. It is the performance zone where runners are genuinely working toward faster times but are doing it largely alone — self-coached or lightly coached, self-funded, figuring out race nutrition by trial and error. These are the people Project3 was designed around. The programme does not exist to get beginners across a finish line. It exists to push competitive amateurs toward times they might not reach without proper support.
Why This Moment in Indian Running Makes Project3 Relevant
The growth numbers are striking. According to Geeks On Feet, Indian runners at the six World Marathon Majors went from 459 in 2014 to 1,673 in 2025. More than 500 Indian runners broke three hours in a marathon last year. The ambition is real and it is accelerating.
What has lagged behind is infrastructure. Most of those runners get there through sheer determination, not because anyone built a system around them. Project3 is the first serious attempt by a major brand to fill that gap at scale in India.
Running the Tata Mumbai Marathon in January? Our complete Tata Mumbai Marathon race guide covers the course, logistics, weather, training tips and everything else you need to get to that start line ready.
Application deadline: October 25, 2026. You need a 2027 Tata Mumbai Marathon race bib to be eligible. Applications are live at puma-project3.com. If you are sitting in that PB bracket and already have your bib, there is no reason not to apply.
FM Take
The gap between serious amateur and properly supported runner has always been wide in India. Project3 narrows it in a way no Indian brand or race organiser has managed yet. The YOSKA partnership gives it coaching credibility. The London slots give it genuine stakes. The one thing to watch is whether Ultrahuman’s data actually feeds into training decisions or just sits on a dashboard looking impressive. We will be following the cohort through the 12 weeks. If the global numbers hold, at least a few of these 50 runners will come out the other side with times that surprise them.