Fitness racing has developed a reputation for hard training, serious competition and athletes who know what they’re capable of on a start line. But new data from DEKA – the global fitness racing brand created by the team behind Spartan™ – suggests the picture is broader than that, particularly among women.

DEKA’s 2026 data from its arena events shows women account for 55% of athlete entries, while data from its affiliate-hosted events shows a similar picture at grassroots level: of 7,437 athlete entries recorded through affiliate events so far this year, 56% are female.

That reach is part of what sets DEKA apart. Alongside its larger arena events, DEKA works with gyms and fitness facilities that host two of its three core formats, bringing the same standardised competition into local training communities. Results from these affiliate-hosted events are included in the global DEKA leaderboard, connecting local gym competitions with the wider sport.

Of over 4,700 women registered to compete in the arena event data, over 80% are first-time competitors. That means the majority are coming to DEKA without having taken part before, while women who already compete at a high level are also taking on the sport’s elite categories.

Women also account for over 62% of team athlete entries, with more than half of female competitors registering only for team categories. For many, the starting point is therefore shared with friends or training partners rather than taking on the challenge alone.

And there’s no obvious age at which women are expected to stop challenging themselves. Half of the women registered to compete in the arena data in 2026 are aged 40 and over, with one in six aged 50 and over. The youngest female competitor so far this season is 10, while the oldest is 72-year-old Liz Paxton, who began training seriously in her mid-sixties.

For Liz, getting stronger has become part of that journey:

“Appearance has never been much of an issue for me, that’s not why I train, but I love the change of compliments from a generic ‘you look nice in that outfit’ to ‘boy, you have guns!’ I love it even more when the compliments come from other women and I try to encourage other women to develop their strength and fitness.

“When I hear the excuse ‘I am too old to start at my age’ I usually find that they are a decade or so younger than me and I make sure they know that I didn’t really start until my mid-sixties.”

What draws people to DEKA?

DEKA is built around the same ten functional fitness zones across its core formats, combining movements including rowing, SkiErg, weighted lunges, farmer’s carries, sled push and pull, dead-ball wall overs and burpees with different amounts of running. STRONG has no running, MILE adds one mile of running and FIT adds five kilometres; ULTRA takes the FIT format to an endurance level, while RUCK adds a weighted pack.

These formats can be delivered both at larger arena events and through DEKA’s affiliate network, where gyms and fitness facilities host DEKA competitions within their own communities. Athletes can therefore take on the same standardised test where they train, with their results contributing to the global DEKA leaderboard.

The result is a standardised test that can be trained for, completed, recorded and revisited. For an experienced competitor, that might mean chasing a personal best or podium finish. For someone entering their first event, it can simply mean finding out what they can do.

That range is reflected in the data. In the arena events, women make up the majority of entries in STRONG (59.3%), MILE (54.8%) and FIT (52.6%), while also accounting for 50% of RUCK entries. FIT has attracted the largest number of female entries, at 2,566.

With four in five female competitors new to DEKA, the data suggests people don’t need to see themselves as “fitness racers” before they start. And the affiliate model gives people another route: competition can start in the gym where they already train, rather than requiring a trip to a major event.

Women aren’t just taking part – they’re shaping the sport

The numbers tell one story. Look at who is involved around the competition and another emerges. Women aren’t only competing; they are also helping to shape the sport as athletes, leaders, race directors and creators.

At just 18, Libbie Joyce is already DEKA’s Youth Race Director as well as a DEKA athlete, giving her a role in both competing and creating opportunities for younger athletes.

“It’s incredibly important for young girls to see women not only competing in sport, but coaching, leading, and building full careers within it. Visibility shapes belief,” says Libbie.

That next generation is already being reflected in the wider DEKA team. Emily LeRoux, Vice President of DEKA International, is a senior leader, mother and DEKA athlete, bringing her experience in sport into both her professional role and family life.

“Sport gave me the blueprint for everything I’ve done but becoming a mum reshaped my understanding of what women are capable of. Sport continues to shape my personal and professional goals – it’s the lens through which I want my sons to see strength, and the reason I’m contributing to building a world where the next generation doesn’t have to fight to be noticed the way I did.”

For Eileen ‘Percy No Mercy’ Percival, being part of DEKA extends into the atmosphere around the competition. A U.S. Air Force Officer, mother and athlete, she also works through Pure Energy Music, creating expertly curated mixes that provide the soundtrack for DEKA athletes as they compete.

“Sport has completely changed the way I see what I’m capable of. Every time you do something you once thought was impossible, lift a heavier weight, finish a difficult workout, compete on a bigger stage, or simply keep going when your mind is telling you to stop, you build evidence that you are capable of more.

“For me, fitness has taught me that strength isn’t about never struggling. It’s about trusting yourself enough to keep showing up, taking risks, and being willing to find out just how much you can do.”

And for Bex Sharpe, a business owner, sales and marketing expert and DEKA racer, sport has played a more personal role in rebuilding her confidence.

“Sport became a huge part of that rebuilding process. It gave me confidence, resilience, purpose, goals and eventually a voice. The person I am now is genuinely the person I imagined becoming when I was younger: strong, confident, fast, happy and willing to take up space, unapologetically myself, someone who trusts her own ability and hopefully uses what she has learnt to help other people believe in themselves too.”

More than one way to take on the challenge

Perhaps the most revealing part of DEKA’s data is the variety within the female field: first-timers and repeat competitors, team entrants and individuals, teenagers and women in their seventies, recreational athletes and elite competitors.

There’s no single reason to take part, either. For one woman, it might be a first race with friends; for another, a personal-best attempt; for someone else, a way of proving that starting in her sixties is not too late.

The test itself is standardised, but what women take from it is personal. And the reach of that test extends beyond major arena events: with 7,437 athlete entries already recorded through affiliate-hosted events in 2026, 56% of them female, DEKA is also becoming part of the everyday training environment for thousands of athletes.

That combination – major events alongside gym-hosted competition, with results connected through the global leaderboard – means DEKA can operate at both ends of the fitness journey: from someone stepping into their local gym’s first DEKA event to an experienced competitor chasing their next benchmark.

The next opportunity to take on the test comes at the London West DEKA Trifecta Weekend on 28th–29th November, where STRONG, MILE and FIT will run alongside ULTRA and RUCK at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre.