DEKA FIT times: records, elite splits and how to judge your own
The DEKA FIT record is 28:28 for men, and the fastest women run about 31 to 32 minutes. Spartan publishes no average time, so an age-group result is best judged against your own age group on the official leaderboard.
DEKA FIT is ten functional zones with a 500m run before each, so a finish time is part running and part zone work. Below are the records for all three DEKA formats, elite zone targets, and the penalties that get added to a chip time.
What are the DEKA world records?
Spartan does not publish an all-time record list. The figures below come from the leaderboard compiled by The Fitness Experiment, last updated in September 2025.
| Format | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| DEKA FIT (5,000m running) | 28:28, Rylan Schadegg, 2022 | 31:51, Lauren Weeks, 2024 (31:27 listed for 2025) |
| DEKA MILE (1,600m running) | 16:04, Greyson Kilgore, 2024 | 18:43, Nadya Fedorova, 2025 |
| DEKA STRONG (no running) | 10:33, Rylan Schadegg, 2023 | 11:55, Carly Wopat, 2023 |
The women's FIT entry is inconsistent in the source: it names 31:51 as the record but also lists Weeks at 31:27 in the 2025 qualifying season. The fastest 2025-season men's time on the same list is 29:28 (Tom Rodgers).
Where does the time go in a DEKA FIT race?
The ergs and the sled take the most time. Dave Warfel's published targets for elite men at The Fitness Experiment, excluding transitions, look like this:
| Zone | Elite men target |
|---|---|
| 1. Reverse lunges (30) | 0:30 to 0:35 |
| 2. Row (500m) | 1:38 to 1:43 |
| 3. Box overs (20) | 0:30 to 0:35 |
| 4. Med ball sit-up throws (25) | 0:40 to 0:49 |
| 5. Ski (500m) | 1:41 to 1:49 |
| 6. Farmer's carry (100m) | 0:45 to 0:50 |
| 7. Air bike (25 cal) | 0:55 to 1:00 |
| 8. Dead ball overs (20) | 0:55 to 1:00 |
| 9. Sled push and pull (100m) | 2:00 to 2:15 |
| 10. Weighted burpees (20) | 1:00 to 1:15 |
Added up, those targets come to about 10:34 to 11:51 of zone work (our sum, not a figure from the source). Set against the 28:28 record, that leaves roughly 16.5 to 18 minutes for the ten 500m runs and every transition. For elite men, then, running and moving between zones is well over half the race.
How much do penalties add to a DEKA time?
Penalties go straight onto your chip time, and they are large next to elite zone splits. From the DEKA Rules of Competition:
- 10 seconds per missed rep in Zones 1, 3 and 4 (lunges, box overs, sit-up throws).
- 20 seconds per missed rep in Zones 8 and 10 (dead ball, burpees).
- 1 minute 30 seconds per missed sled down-and-back in Zone 9.
- 2 minutes for leaving the rower or ski with more than 5m to go, or the bike with more than 1 calorie.
- 1 minute for each zone done out of order.
Three missed burpees cost a full minute, about what an elite athlete spends on the whole burpee zone. Below 80% of a zone's work, the result is an unofficial finish that never reaches the leaderboard. DEKA zones explained lists the standard each rep is judged against.
How do you benchmark an age-group DEKA FIT time?
Use the official DEKA leaderboards, which rank sanctioned results by season with age-group rankings. DEKA age groups run in five-year bands from 18 to 24 up to 65 to 69, then 70+, and your age is fixed as of 30 September of the season. Two practical ways to use it:
- Before your first FIT: race DEKA STRONG at an affiliate gym. It is the same ten zones with no running (with simpler versions of Zones 4, 6 and 8), so your STRONG time is a rough proxy for your FIT zone work, and the rest of a FIT time is your 5K pace plus transitions.
- After a race: compare your zone splits, which the DEKA leaderboards report zone by zone, with the elite targets above. The zones where your split is furthest from the target are where training time pays back most.
How do DEKA FIT times compare with HYROX?
They are not comparable minute for minute. DEKA FIT has 5km of running and ten zones, while HYROX has 8km of running and eight stations, so HYROX races take far longer. DEKA vs HYROX covers the structural differences and what each rewards. To predict a HYROX finish from your current fitness, hybridtraining.guide has a HYROX finish-time predictor.
FAQ
- What is a good DEKA FIT time?
- Spartan publishes no average, so "good" has to be measured against your age group on the official DEKA leaderboard. For scale, the men's record is 28:28 and the fastest women run about 31 to 32 minutes, and the zones alone take elite men roughly 10.5 to 12 minutes before any running.
- What is the DEKA FIT world record?
- The men's record is 28:28, set by Rylan Schadegg at DEKA FIT West Palm Beach on 3 September 2022. The women's record is listed as 31:51 by Lauren Weeks at the 2024 DEKA World Championships, although the same compilation also lists a 31:27 by Weeks in the 2025 season.
- How long does DEKA MILE take compared with DEKA FIT?
- Roughly half as long at the top end. The DEKA MILE records are 16:04 for men and 18:43 for women, against 28:28 and about 31 to 32 minutes for DEKA FIT, because MILE cuts the running from 5,000m to 1,600m while keeping the same ten zones.
- Do penalties count toward your DEKA time?
- Yes. Time penalties are added to your chip time, from 10 seconds for a missed lunge rep to 1 minute 30 seconds for a missed sled down-and-back. Finishing less than 80% of any zone makes you an unofficial finisher whose time never reaches the leaderboard.