DEKA FIT Northeast occurred on August 26, 2023, just outside of Philadelphia, in Oaks, PA. Coming into the weekend many billed this as the most stacked DEKA FIT field in history and it certainly lived up to that with multiple world records and numerous World Champs qualifiers. Here is how it all went down:
DEKA FIT Elite Men
The defending DEKA FIT World Champ, Rich Ryan, made a statement early in the race taking the lead coming out of the Reverse Lunge Steps. Ryan and Dylan Scott would run nearly side by side until a strong effort on the Ski allowed Scott to find a gap. From there Scott stayed strong on all his runs and stations eventually taking the victory at 29:55. This makes him the fifth man in DEKA FIT history to break the 30-minute barrier.
Nick Ryker came into this race with the fastest time of the season and multiple podiums already this season. That experience showed as he ran a measured effort until the Assault Bike. A 57-second effort there put him back on the run in second where he remained until the finish.
The battle for third was back and forth all day. But, after running most of the day in 5th-7th place David Magida made a big move on the Sled Push/Pull. A strong 2:16 effort there put him out of the station in third a spot that he would maintain through the final run and 20 RAM Burpees.
In total this race produced five new qualifiers for the 20 World Championships Spots as well as seeing three men who were already in a qualifying position improve on their times.
Men’s Elite Top 10
- Dylan Scott – 29:55
- Nick Ryker – 30:29
- David Magida – 30:51
- Isaac Sanderson – 31:06
- Rich Ryan – 31:13
- Joseph Cotto – 31:17
- Jarret Newby – 31:20
- Mark Polzin – 31:39
- Matthew Carroll – 32:42
- Thomas Ciccarelli – 33:35
DEKA FIT Elite Women
Many were tuning into DEKA FIT Northeast wondering how Meg Jacpby would do in her FIT debut. With both a HYROX and DEKA MILE World Record, she certainly had the pedigree for a great time. Meg came out of the lunges in first place and it quickly became a race against the clock as she separated from the field. She showed no weaknesses as she finished with the fastest 5k split of the day (19:38) and was never outside the top 6 in any station. With a blistering 58-second RAM Burpee finish she was able to take 17 seconds off of the old record held by Terra Jackson.
Vivian Tafuto impressed with her 4th place showing at HYROX World Championships and many were excited to see her back in a DEKA FIT for the first time this season. She continued to show improvement by knocking 35 seconds off of her PR and running the second-fastest 5k split on the day. This was good enough for Silver and also gave her the second-fastest time of the season.
The battle for third place was tight throughout the day between Kris Rugloski and Alandra Greenlee. Rugloski would gain a slight edge on the runs while Greenlee would reel her in on the stations. Ultimately, the running of Rugloski would prevail and give her the final spot on the podium.
Not only was the top-level talent at this event, but it was also the deepest event of the season by far. 5 of the Top 10 Fastest times of the season came out of this race. Every lady who finished within the top 9 ended up with a time that is currently in a qualifying position for the World Championships.
Women’s Elite Top 10
- Meg Jacoby – 32:37 (WR)
- Vivian Tafuto – 33:20
- Kris Rugloski – 34:08
- Alandra Greenlee – 34:29
- Stephanie Hillman – 35:13
- Annie Schiller – 35:20
- Carly Wopat – 35:41
- Laurie Winkelman – 35:59
- Julia Ashley – 36:10
- Bethany McChesney – 36:26
DEKA FIT Co-Ed Teams
Rich Ryan and Bridget Brown previously held the record for Co-Ed teams at 26:42. After setting the DEKA FIT Women’s World Record earlier in the day Meg Jacoby added to her records as she and Rich Ryan teamed up to drop 46 seconds off the previous record.
- Meg Jacoby | Rich Ryan – 25:56 (WR)
- Laura Cummings | Kevin Gregory – 27:38
- Julie Best | Isaac Sanderson – 28:01
DEKA FIT Male Teams
The top three men from the Elite Race earlier in the day all found a partner for the team race. The podium would be flipped with David Magida and Eric Williams taking the victory. Their time of 25:31 is the 2nd fastest of all time. Second only to a team that also featured Magida with his partner Mark Gaudet.
- David Magida | Eric Williams – 25:31
- Alex Golik | Nick Ryker – 26:07
- Dylan Scott | Matt Stankiewitch – 26:49
DEKA FIT Female Teams
Bethany McChesney and Heather White clocked the third-fastest time of the season on their way to victory.
- Bethany McChesney | Heather White – 30:54
- Imogen Cross | Nicole Fisher – 31:22
- Kait Magida | Alex Shabo – 31:39
The complete list of results for all categories for the 2023 DEKA FIT Northeast event can be found here.
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