What is a
fitness race?

A Deadly Dozen fitness race is 12 runs and 12 exercises. You run 400m around an athletics track, complete a functional exercise, and go again - twelve times. The exercises are the ones you already know from the gym: farmers carry, deadlift, lunge, snatch, burpee broad jump, goblet squat, front carry, push press, bear crawl, clean and press, overhead carry and devil press. In total that is 4.8km of running, 900m of carries and crawls, and 320 reps.

It is a hybrid fitness race in the truest sense: pure runners find the weights hard, pure lifters find the runs hard, and the best fitness racers are the ones who train for both. There is no time limit, no obstacles, no mud and no swimming - the only question is how fast you can do the work.

Who is a fitness race for?

Anyone aged 18 or over on race day who can run 400m and lift a kettlebell. Most people entering their first fitness competition come from a gym, a running club or a home-training habit and want a goal to train for. You can race solo, as a pair who share the exercises, or as a relay team of four who each take three rounds. Every finisher gets an official time and a place on the global leaderboard, so your second race has a target.

Where are the races?

Track races run on athletics tracks in 17 countries this season, from the UK to New Zealand, and every one runs the same standard, so a time set in Birmingham means the same as a time set in Auckland. Gym races bring the same idea indoors, most of them with row, ski or bike ergs in place of the runs, hosted by affiliated gyms. The World Championship in 2027 is at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, and any 2027 race is a way to qualify.

Fitness races near you

The dates below come straight from the race diary. Pick your country for every race there, or choose a date and enter through the official entry page. If you have raced HYROX or another hybrid event and want to know how this compares, read Deadly Dozen compared with HYROX.