Ruckhouse Athletics finishers holding their medals at the DEKA event banner in Rochester NY

Ruckhouse Community

DEKA Events at Ruckhouse

We do not just train DEKA. We host it, in our own lot, with real judges and real medals.

As a dedicated DEKA Affiliate, Ruckhouse hosts official DEKA events right at 1290 University Ave. Standardized zones, real judges, real medals, and a crowd that sounds a lot like your training partners, because it is. All fitness levels compete, from first-timers to Mark chasers.

September 12 is in the books

We turned the lot into a ten-zone course and ran heats from eight in the morning straight through the afternoon. Teams, adult ruck, and individuals. Teenagers and grandparents on rowers next to each other. One athlete finished and laid flat on the pavement, which is the highest compliment a course can get.

The photos below are all from that day. If you look at them and think “I could not do that,” look again at how many different kinds of people are in them.

How a Ruckhouse DEKA event runs

You pick your challenge: DEKA STRONG is the ten zones with no running. DEKA MILE is the same ten zones plus a mile of running broken up between them. Everybody gets the same standards and the same judging, so your score actually means something next to anybody else's.

Heats are grouped so you are not racing out of your depth. Here is how the last event was structured and priced, which is a good guide for the next one:

HeatTimeSTRONGMILE
2-Person Team8:00 - 10:00 AM$35/athlete$45/athlete
Adult Ruck10:00 - 11:00 AM$49$59
Individual11:00 AM - 1:00 PM$49$59

Get on the list for the next one

Dates for the next Ruckhouse DEKA event go up here and on the board at the front desk first. Tell us you want in and we will make sure you hear about it before it fills.

What it looks like

From the September 12 event on the Ruckhouse floor and lot.

Rowers, air bikes and sandbags set up in the Ruckhouse Athletics parking lot before the DEKA event in Rochester NY
Athletes checking in at the Ruckhouse Athletics banner before the DEKA event
A young competitor pressing the sandbag overhead while a judge counts reps at the Ruckhouse DEKA event
A competitor holding the sandbag at the chest between reps during a DEKA zone
Overhead sandbag press in front of the Ruckhouse Athletics storefront during the DEKA event
A competitor on the air bike with a judge tracking calories at the Ruckhouse DEKA event
A competitor rowing while a judge walks the lane at the Ruckhouse DEKA event in Rochester NY
An athlete pressing the sandbag overhead during her DEKA heat at Ruckhouse Athletics
An athlete catching his breath with the med ball after finishing a DEKA zone
Two Ruckhouse Athletics athletes with their finisher medals at the event banner
Ruckhouse Athletics finishers posing together with their DEKA medals
An athlete flat on the pavement after crossing the finish line at the Ruckhouse DEKA event

Train for it first

You do not need to be in DEKA shape to sign up, but it is a lot more fun when the zones are not a surprise. Our DEKA training sessions run the same movements and standards year round.