EIGHTEEN members of Body Fresh Fitness in Harlow travelled to Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Saturday 25 April to compete in the Deadly Dozen fitness race.

It was a hot day — temperatures climbed into the low twenties under blazing sunshine, making the twelve laps of the track and the exercise stations in between all the more gruelling. Every single one of them finished.

The Deadly Dozen is a hybrid fitness race involving twelve 400-metre runs around an athletics track, each followed by an exercise station — or “Labour” — using kettlebells, dumbbells, weight plates and bodyweight.

The twelve Labours range from farmers carries and deadlifts to goblet squats, devil presses and bear crawls, with prescribed weights for men and women.

Established in Macclesfield and now raced in over 30 countries, it was designed to be one of the hardest yet most accessible fitness races in the world. One race, one standard, one global leaderboard.

Three qualify for Birmingham

The headline results came from three Body Fresh athletes who have now qualified for the Deadly Dozen UK Championships at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham on 23 May, where the country’s fastest fitness racers compete for national titles and a share of £60,000 in prize money.

Sara Martin finished in 1:00:44 in the Solo Female 50–54 category, placing #33 nationally with a low threat level, meaning her spot is secure. Samantha Crawley completed the race in 1:48:47 in the 55–59 division, sitting at #38 in the UK rankings.

And then there is Coach Ellis Hester. Competing in the Solo Male 16–29 age group, Ellis delivered a superb 1:00:47 to claim #33 in his category with a “none” threat level to his qualification — meaning his place at the Championships is effectively locked in. In just his first Deadly Dozen season, Ellis has earned the right to line up against the best young fitness racers in the country at a stadium that hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games athletics programme. It is a remarkable achievement for a young athlete from Harlow.

Three athletes from a small community gym in Harlow, heading to the UK’s largest athletics stadium. That does not happen by accident.

For more information on Body Fresh Fitness, click below.

https://bodyfreshfitness.co.uk