In 1904, the Olympic Marathon was a shambles. Running through lawless chaos, participants sweated towards an ever-receding finish line, desperately just putting one foot in front of the other, not knowing what lay on the horizon. 

In 2020, the Olympic Marathon never happened. But the rest was pretty much bang on. 

An unprecedented coming together of critically-acclaimed musical theatre companies and artists including SPITLIP, THE LETTER ROOM, SHEEP SOUP & BURNT LEMON THEATRE to create The Marathon Project. Inspired by the 1904 Marathon - an infamous, surreal race beset by challenges, chaotic leadership and utterly unfathomable obstacles - the project became an artistic life-line during lockdown and a collective response to 2020: the ‘marathon’ no-one chose to run.

A rallying cry during desperate times, The Marathon Project connected musicians, theatre makers, and artists across the UK, bringing much-needed hope and income during dark times by celebrating and creating ways to stick together, even as everything was falling apart.

Made over the span of 26 months (or should that be 26 miles?), The Marathon Project is culminated in the release of an album of 26 genre-spanning songs alongside 7 filmed live sessions - all inspired by the 1904 Olympic Marathon - plus a digital zine full of behind-the-scenes pics, homemade music videos and insightful interviews giving the full details of every step of this remarkable artistic adventure.