Jake Dearden Wants to Run a Marathon in Space

We spoke to HYROX Elite 15 athlete Jake Dearden at 247 Mission: Rivington 2026. He talked to us about his dream race, how he’d build the perfect HYROX athlete and more.

*This was an audio interview which has been lightly edited for readability

Is there a place where you’ve run and you thought, this place is amazing? 

The Mojave desert between LA and Las Vegas on the speed project. It’s where Death Valley is. We’ll just say Death Valley. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?

Do you generally manage to enjoy the places where you compete?

Yeah, there are some places where you see nothing of a city or nothing of a place because you just fly in, you compete, and then you move on. 

But I think it’s important to actually embrace the place that you compete in, to spend time in the place and enjoy it because  competing is one thing, but we’re so lucky to be able to travel, so you might as well make the most of it. 

You have an unlimited budget, no calendar clashes and no pressure to choose something sensible: where is your dream start line, and what event are you doing?

Oh, interesting. I’ve done it before, but my favorite ever HYROX was New York City, on the pier, and that was pretty sick. That would be one that already exists in the HYROX space.

Oh, you know what? This is a bit rogue, but I’d love to do a marathon in space. I’d fucking love to do a marathon in space! Imagine. I don’t know how it would work, but I’d love to do a marathon in space.

On this planet… There’s a beautiful ultramarathon, a UTMB race down in New Zealand, and it looks stunning. Or the world’s hardest half marathon in Tasmania. That looks cool as well.

Is there a guest on your podcast who has made you reconsider any beliefs you had about fitness?

I think an interesting podcast guest I had on was Tom Evans, the Ultra marathoner, he just won UTMB last year. The level of detail he goes to with all of his training, he’s always thinking outside of the box. And he’s made me try and think outside the box when it comes to my sport.

For example, he does downhill mountain biking to get him confident running downhill, because it’s faster. He also tests out the lights that he’s going to be running in at night. He knows that at the start of the night he needs a dim light and then he needs a more powerful light at the end of the night to wake himself up more.

He’s a proper nerd, but very interesting and prepared. And that’s the thing, you can prepare more than you ever thought you could.

Who’s your dream guest and why?

Elon Musk. I think I’d love to just ask him questions about  what he actually gets up to in his everyday life. You know, being the richest guy on the planet, what do you actually do day to day?

And I’d love to get on Kristian Blummenfelt. I think he is genuinely the fittest person in the world. And I think he’s always pushing the limits within fitness and endurance. I don’t think it’s actually that far of a reach to get him on, but yeah, the stuff that he’s trying and the things that he’s doing, I think he is at the top of the sport when it comes to endurance and thinking of the latest ways that you can get better.

Do you think it’s still possible to be truly elite in HYROX without specialising in it?

I just did a podcast with Saskia Millard and she’s done 4 HYROX races ever. She’s got a Pro time inside 57 minutes. She still works a full-time junior doctor role and she trains seven hours a week. And she’s still never done any practice on the Ski or Row! 

Luke Greer, this time last year wasn’t even in the elite 15. So there are some freaks out there, but generally the standard is getting better and better and to compete you have to specialise.

How do you plan your year knowing that going after one thing might limit your potential in another?

Preparation is never going to be perfect for any of them. You ask any athlete in the world, and they won’t have perfect preparation for any event.

Yes, to get the best results, you’ve just got to dedicate yourself to one thing. But sometimes you’ve got to see the bigger picture, and you’ve got to see the reason why you’re doing things. 

A clear example at the moment is Alex Yee, where he’s pursuing running, but it’s aligning with his triathlon and he’s actually inspiring more people by jumping into Diamond Leagues, by running the London Marathon.

He’s been the best in the world and there’s more things that he wants to achieve within the sport. Him doing the London Marathon and getting that incredible time has raised his profile and made him known to more people.

There is a trade off. But I think sometimes you’ve got to be willing to take it. 

Build your perfect HYROX athlete. Pick one male and one female for each station and the running, and tell us why.

SkiErg, would we get a professional for the SkiErg? James Hall, he can rip it.

Female, I don’t know. In HYROX, I’d have to go with Joanna. She’s pretty good.

Sled Push, someone who’s just a beast… Thor. And then I think female, you go someone like Laura Horvath for the Push.

Sled Pull, someone with good technique, probably Hunter McIntyre. Hunter on his A-game is a beast. Then Meg Jacoby for the women.

Burpees… James Kelly is pretty fast at burpees. He’s a bit of a dog with them. Fast. And Lauren Weeks.

On the Row, we just need professional rowers, no one’s going to have anything on them.

Editor’s note – we selected Andrea Panizza and Ella Cossill on Jake’s behalf. Andrea has a 1k RowErg PB of 2:38 and Ella’s is 3:05.

Farmer’s Carry, Sinead Bent and Sean Noble, but I think head to head I would be close to Sean on the Farmer’s. I’m going to back myself, so Jake Dearden on the Farmer’s.

Lunges, Charlie Botterill and Charlie Searle.

Wall Balls, on the men’s side, Alex always goes unbroken. On the women’s side, Meg Jacoby again. She has the fastest cadence up and down.

Then Alfie Manthorpe to run for the men. For the women I’d go with Saskia Millard

That means the dream HYROX athlete looks like this: