How do you train for your first Hyrox?

Practice the strength stations specifically — especially wall balls and sled work. Train compromised running (running on fatigued legs). Respect pacing on race day, mind your transitions, and lean on the community for support.

What is a good Hyrox time for a first-timer?

For a first-time Hyrox racer with a running background, finishing under 1:30 is a strong result. With focused training on the strength stations and compromised running, sub 1:20 is achievable — Olivia finished in 1:19:03 in her first solo race.

What My First Solo Hyrox Taught Me About Training

Q: Is Hyrox hard for runners?

Running fitness helps, but Hyrox is much harder than most runners expect. The challenge is compromised running — running on legs already wrecked by each strength station. Marathon fitness gives you a base, but far from a free pass.

Q: How long is a Hyrox race?

A Hyrox race covers 5.8 miles of total running — eight 1K runs, each alternating with a strength station: ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, row, farmers carry, sandbag lunges, and 100 wall balls to finish.

I've run six marathons. And I genuinely questioned whether my second-ever Hyrox workout was worse than all of them.

It was my second class at The Fort in Midtown Manhattan. After nearly an hour of sled pushes and wall balls, I proceeded to lay on the ground for ten minutes, absolutely wiped.

I really didn't expect this to be so hard. I'm a longtime runner, and I think of myself as a pretty strong endurance athlete. But man, this workout was truly a killer.

I'd signed up for Hyrox thinking, "I'm generally athletic and run a decent amount... I'll be fine." But that day, I was not fine. At that moment, it felt like finishing a full race would be nothing short of a miracle.

But after two months of training, I was able to successfully pull off my first solo Hyrox race.

It started with a nudge and some overconfidence

My friend Natalie nudged me to sign up for Hyrox after she completed her second solo race.

If you haven't heard of Hyrox, it's eight 1K runs, each alternating with a strength station: ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, row, farmers carry, sandbag lunges, and 100 wall balls to finish. Run, work, run, work, eight times through.

My first reaction was interest. Strong interest. I'm always down for a new challenge, and this one involved a lot of running, so surely it wouldn't be that hard. I signed up figuring my recent running training and once-a-week strength sessions would carry me most of the way.

I think my boyfriend sensed my overconfidence and gifted me some Hyrox training classes for my birthday (thank goodness).

Turns out running was the easy part

Running eight 1Ks was manageable, but it was everything in between that humbled me. The sled pull fired up muscles I didn't know I had. The wall balls were different entirely: I could barely hit the target consistently in practice, and how was I possibly going to do a hundred of them at the end of the race?

Here's what I learned the hard way: Hyrox isn't just running, or just lifting, or even the combination of the two. It's compromised running. Running on legs already wrecked by the station before — effort management matters more than pace. I could hold marathon pace on fresh legs, but running a kilometer after pushing a heavy sled was a different skill entirely. My marathon fitness gave me a base, but far from a free pass.

Athlete doing burpee broad jumps at a HYROX race — The burpee broad jump station — somewhere around rep 40, wondering why I signed up for this.

From coach to clueless beginner

I started attending hybrid athlete training classes one to two times per week at The Fort. Every session, I'd ask the coaches what felt like a hundred questions.

I usually find myself in the coach role, offering answers and constructing the plan. But for these few weeks, I was the beginner again. Fumbling through movements, asking for help, trying to figure things out for the first time (I still have a long way to go on the ski erg and sled pull).

I really enjoyed learning something from zero and feeling like I was constantly improving. Every workout felt a tad easier, and I could see my strength improving. There's a real joy in being allowed to be bad at something while you're in it. It really does feel like the only direction is up.

I ended up training for about two months, roughly ten focused sessions, squeezed around a marathon and a half marathon. It felt like I was always tapering for another race when I needed to be ramping up for Hyrox: not exactly the best sequencing of events! But I tried to be focused, be intentional with my workouts, and slowly learn all the Hyrox movements.

Olivia Papa before the HYROX New York solo race — Before the gun went off at HYROX New York — June 3rd.

5.8 miles, 8 stations, one electric arena

I raced Open Women's Solo in New York on June 3rd. Race day was so energizing! Music was blasting, spectators were cheering, and athletes were constantly giving each other high-fives. People forget this is an endurance race first: 5.8 miles of running all told, all up.

The adrenaline got me early; I went out too fast (... always) and spent the middle section questioning whether I'd make it to the end. But I stayed steady, kept pushing, and by the end I felt strong.

What carried me most was seeing people of every age and fitness level grinding through the same stations together. It was fun to be part of the wave of runners on each of the 1K runs and surrounded by women testing their strength on each of the exercises.

My personal highlight, strangely, was the finish: the wall balls I had dreaded for two months became manageable. I broke them into sets, bracing for the worst, but somehow they felt easier than they ever had in practice. I even knocked out more in a row than any single workout at the gym. That's the funny thing about the work you put in. You can't always see it until the moment you need it.

I finished in 1:19:03, which was 3rd in my age group for the day. I was proud of the result, but immediately started thinking through what I could improve!

Athletes doing wall balls at a HYROX event — Wall balls — the station I dreaded most, and ended up loving by race day.

What I'd tell you before your first Hyrox

Don't underestimate the strength stations. No amount of running prepares you for 100 wall balls or a heavy sled. Train them specifically.
Practice compromised running. Running on fatigued legs is its own skill. Build it on purpose.
Respect the pacing. The opening adrenaline will trick you into going out too hot. Hold back early so you have something left.
Mind the transitions. This is an endurance event, not a circuit. Efficient transitions add up over eight stations.
Lean on the community. Ask questions, take a class, let the energy carry you. It works.

Considering Hyrox?

Get on my list and I'll send training tips, race prep advice, and the occasional honest race recap.

My final thoughts

Hyrox gave me more than a finish time. It made me a more empathetic coach and showed me I could push my limits. It gave me a new appreciation for how much improvement can come from pushing just a little harder each and every day. And I really never thought I'd say this: strength training can be fun.

Considering Hyrox? Let me know and we can chat tips and training.

What my first solo Hyrox taught me about training