DEKA STRONG is the 10 DEKA zones raced back to back with no running at all. DEKA MILE is the same 10 zones with a 160m run before each one, 1.6km in total. DEKA FIT, the arena format, puts a 500m run before every zone instead, so 5km of running.
Most people pick between them on the running alone, and that is the wrong axis. Take the running out and STRONG becomes a 20 minute grip and heart rate problem with nowhere to recover. Add 160m and MILE becomes something else again: too short to recover on and too long to ignore. This page covers how each format actually races, how to work out your own target time, how to train for each, and how to find an event in the UK. For the zones in their DEKA FIT form, the judging standards and the penalties, our DEKA FIT guide has the full detail.
Key Takeaways
- DEKA STRONG is the 10 DEKA zones with no running, timed from the start of zone 1 to the end of zone 10.
- DEKA MILE adds a 160m run or walk before each zone, 1,600m in total.
- STRONG and MILE use the same loads as DEKA FIT, but three zones change: the med ball sit-up has no target, the farmers carry is a 10m shuttle, and the dead ball goes over the shoulder.
- STRONG and MILE are hosted by affiliate gyms; FIT runs at Spartan DEKA venues.
- Three of the 10 zones are machines with fixed work (500m row, 500m SkiErg, 25 calories on the air bike), so your erg numbers predict a large part of your time.
- In STRONG, zones 6, 8 and 9 all load your grip within a few minutes of each other, and that is where most of the race is decided.
The Three DEKA Races in One Table
The three DEKA formats share the same 10 zones in the same order and differ in how much running sits between them. That one difference changes where they are held, how they are timed and who each one suits.
The table sets the three side by side, using the format descriptions in the official DEKA Rules of Competition (version 1 May 2026).
| Format | Running | Run before each zone | Where it is held | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEKA STRONG | None | None | Affiliate gyms | Hand-timed |
| DEKA MILE | 1.6km | 160m | Affiliate gyms | Hand-timed |
| DEKA FIT | 5km | 500m | Spartan DEKA venues | Chip-timed |
The practical split: STRONG and MILE are the formats you can race at a gym near you, while FIT is an event you travel to. All three produce a DEKA Mark, the official finish time on the global leaderboard.
What DEKA STRONG Is
DEKA STRONG is the purest form of DEKA: 10 standardised zones, done in order, with no running between them. The clock starts when you begin zone 1 and stops when zone 10 is finished, so transitions count and there is no run to hide a slow one in.
STRONG works as a fitness test as much as a race. With nothing between the zones, your time is a straight read of your strength endurance and your machine work, which makes it a useful benchmark to repeat every few months.
The 10 Zones in a STRONG and a MILE
The zones below are the STRONG and MILE versions. The loads are the same as DEKA FIT; the zones that change are marked.
| Zone | Work | Men | Women (and men 65+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 alternating reverse lunges with the RAM | 25kg | 15kg |
| 2 | 500m row | ||
| 3 | 20 box jump or step-overs, 60cm box | ||
| 4 | 25 med ball sit-ups, ball tapped between the feet (changed) | 9kg | 6kg |
| 5 | 500m SkiErg | ||
| 6 | 100m farmers carry as a 10m shuttle (changed) | 27.5kg per hand | 17.5kg per hand |
| 7 | 25 calories on the air bike | ||
| 8 | 20 dead ball over the shoulder (changed) | 27.5kg | 17.5kg |
| 9 | 100m sled, 50m push and 50m pull | ||
| 10 | 20 RAM burpees | 20kg | 10kg |
The three changes all make the zones easier to set up in a gym. The med ball needs no target, the carry fits in a 10m lane with a 180 degree turn every 10m, and the dead ball needs no frame. Youth categories row and ski 250m and ride 12 calories.
What Makes STRONG Hard
STRONG is hard because nothing in it is easy. In DEKA FIT, a 500m run is slow enough to bring your heart rate down a little and let your forearms recover. In STRONG, you step off the SkiErg and pick up two dumbbells.
The real trap is the back half. Zone 6 (the carry), zone 8 (the dead ball) and zone 9 (the sled) all load your grip, and in STRONG they arrive within a few minutes of each other with only the air bike in between. Go out hard on the row and the SkiErg and you arrive at the carry with a heart rate that makes every turn slower. Pacing STRONG means holding back on the machines you are best at.
What DEKA MILE Is
DEKA MILE is DEKA STRONG with a 160m run or walk before every zone, 1,600m in total. In a gym, that 160m is usually a marked loop or an out-and-back with turns, measured with a rolling wheel rather than on a track.
What the 160m Runs Change
A 160m run takes most people 40 to 60 seconds. That is too short to settle into a rhythm or let your heart rate fall, and too long to treat as a rest. Every one of them is a small surge on tired legs, run 10 times.
Two things follow. First, MILE rewards people who can run fast for short bursts after strength work, which is a different quality from the steady 500m running of FIT. Second, the turns matter: on a short gym loop you may turn four or more times per run, and an athlete who runs every turn tight gains seconds that a faster but clumsier runner gives away.
How Long DEKA STRONG and DEKA MILE Take: Build Your Own Target
How long a DEKA STRONG takes is the sum of your 10 zones and nine transitions, and a DEKA MILE adds 10 short runs on top. We have no published median for either format the way there is for DEKA FIT, so the useful answer comes from adding up your own zones, because three of them are machines with a fixed amount of work.
Take Ana, who trains for HYROX and has never raced DEKA. She rows 500m in 2:00 and skis 500m in 2:10 when fresh. Her estimate for a STRONG, zone by zone, looks like this:
| Zone | Her estimate |
|---|---|
| 1 Lunges | 2:00 |
| 2 Row | 2:00 |
| 3 Box step-overs | 1:30 |
| 4 Med ball sit-ups | 1:15 |
| 5 SkiErg | 2:10 |
| 6 Farmers carry | 1:15 |
| 7 Air bike | 1:45 |
| 8 Dead ball | 1:45 |
| 9 Sled | 2:30 |
| 10 RAM burpees | 2:00 |
| Nine transitions at 20 seconds | 3:00 |
| Total | 21:10 |
What to notice: the transitions add more time than any single zone. That is the hidden cost of STRONG, and it is the cheapest thing to train.
For MILE, Ana adds 10 runs of 160m. At a 4:45 per km pace on tired legs, each one takes about 46 seconds, so 7:40 in total, which puts her MILE near 28:50. These are an example athlete’s numbers, not results data: replace each line with your own and the total becomes a real target. The race pace conversion chart turns a pace per km into the time for any short distance.
DEKA STRONG or DEKA MILE: Which to Enter
Enter DEKA STRONG if you want a clean measure of your strength and machine fitness, or if running is the thing holding you back. Enter DEKA MILE if you already run and want a race closer to what HYROX and DEKA FIT ask of you, in under an hour at a local gym.
- Your first DEKA, and running is a weakness: STRONG. You learn the zones and the standards without the running hiding where your time goes.
- You race HYROX: MILE. The short runs between stations are closer to the feeling of a HYROX Roxzone and run than STRONG is.
- You want a benchmark to repeat: STRONG. With no running and no course variation, a STRONG time is the most comparable number DEKA gives you.
- You are building towards DEKA FIT: MILE first, then FIT. MILE teaches you to run between zones at about a third of the distance.
- You cannot choose: check whether your event runs both. Some weekends list STRONG and MILE side by side, and each race gives its own DEKA Mark.
How to Train for DEKA STRONG
Train for DEKA STRONG as continuous strength endurance: long sets of loaded work joined together with short, deliberate transitions. Three sessions a week of focused work will move your time more than general gym training.
- Link the zones in blocks: Once a week, do zones 6 to 10 back to back at race load, with the transitions timed. This is where STRONG is decided, and you only learn your grip limit by meeting it.
- Set exact numbers for the machines: Know your 500m row, your 500m SkiErg and your 25 calorie air bike time at a pace you could hold and still carry afterwards. Our guides to the SkiErg and rowing cover the technique that saves the most energy.
- Practise the 10m shuttle: The STRONG carry has nine turns. Practise them at race weight; farmers carry training builds the grip and posture that the turns test.
- Rehearse transitions: Set the zones up close together and practise moving from one to the next in under 20 seconds, with your breathing under control by the time you start.
How to Train for DEKA MILE
Train for DEKA MILE as everything above plus short, fast running on tired legs. The running is only 1.6km, but it comes in 10 pieces, each one straight after loaded work.
- Run short repeats off strength work: Pair a set of lunges, burpees or carries with a 160m to 200m run, and repeat it eight to 10 times. Run each one at a pace you could hold for a hard 5K, not a sprint.
- Practise the turns: Mark out a 40m out-and-back and run it with tight turns. On a gym course, the turn is where the time goes.
- Keep one steady run a week: A MILE is short, but recovering between zones is an aerobic skill. One easy run a week in heart rate Zone 2 keeps that base; the training zone calculator sets the heart rate range.
- Race a full simulation once: Two to three weeks out, do all 10 zones with the runs at race load and time it. It is the only way to check your estimate before race day.
If you already train for HYROX, the sled push guide and a HYROX simulation cover much of the same ground, since sleds, the rower and the SkiErg appear in both sports.
Finding and Entering a DEKA STRONG or MILE in the UK
DEKA STRONG and DEKA MILE are run by affiliate gyms, so the place to start is Spartan’s DEKA gym locator , then the event page of the gym you choose. Entry prices are set per event and shown on that page.
Some UK weekends run all three formats in one place. The 2026 London West DEKA Trifecta Weekend in Farnborough, Hampshire, on 28 to 29 November 2026 lists DEKA MILE, DEKA STRONG and DEKA FIT on Spartan’s event calendar; the venue and dates are on our London West DEKA page . Every DEKA event we track, with its venue and dates, is on our DEKA race hub .
When you enter, check three things on the event page: the category you are entering (Age Group, Teams or Ruck), the start time of your heat, and whether the event uses the RAM and sled models you have trained on.
FAQ
DEKA STRONG is hard for everyone, because there is no running to recover on, but it is beginner friendly in the way that matters: there is no entry standard, and every zone has a published load you can practise at home or in your gym. Pace the machines gently and save your grip for zones 6 to 9.
The DEKA MILE is 1,600m of running, 10 runs of 160m, which is a few metres short of a true mile (1,609m). The 160m is measured with a rolling wheel on the gym's own course.
Yes, where an event runs both. Trifecta weekends that offer STRONG, MILE and FIT exist in the UK, and each race produces its own DEKA Mark.
DEKA uses 10 zones with fixed loads and three formats with different amounts of running; HYROX uses 8 stations, each after a 1km run, 8km of running in every race. If you are weighing the two, our guide to what HYROX is covers the format.
Yes. The loads are identical across all three formats. Only zones 4, 6 and 8 change their movement in STRONG and MILE. ---
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