HYROX Training Series | Week 1: Running

We all know HYROX is a running race. But how much running should you actually be doing, and what kind?

The short answer: most people training for HYROX need three runs a week, with roughly 70-80% of that time at an easy pace. The long answer depends on your experience, your goal time and how the runs fit around your strength work. That's what this guide covers.

As a HYROX training gym in Glasgow city centre, our coaches prepare athletes for this race every week, from first-timers in the Open division to podium finishers. Here's how we approach the running side.

What does HYROX actually demand?

HYROX is 8 × 1km runs, each followed by a functional workout station. That's 8km of running with a SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, row, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls in between.

Most athletes finish in around 90 minutes, and almost all of it in zone 4 or higher. Running typically makes up around half of your total race time, which is why it's the single biggest lever on your result.

Two energy systems do the work:

• Your aerobic engine carries you through the eight runs and helps you recover between stations.
• Your anaerobic system gets you through the sleds, lunges and wall balls.

You need both, and you need to train both on purpose. The catch is that your runs aren't fresh. Every kilometre after the first is run on legs that have just pushed a sled or done 100m of lunges. We cover that below under compromised running.

So how much should you run for HYROX?

For most people, 20-40km a week across three runs is enough to race HYROX well, provided you're also doing two or three strength and conditioning sessions. More running helps only if you can recover from it alongside everything else.

Use this as a starting point, then adjust to how your body responds:

Two rules sit above any number in that table:

• Build gradually. Increase weekly volume by no more than around 10% at a time, and hold or drop back every third or fourth week.
• Count minutes, not just kilometres. A 60-minute easy run is a 60-minute easy run, whether you cover 9km or 12km. Training by time keeps the effort honest across different fitness levels.

Note: these ranges are our coaches' working guidance, not official HYROX figures. Treat them as a starting point, not a prescription.

The six types of run, and what each one does

Most people training for HYROX just go out and run, usually at the same moderately hard pace every time. That pace is too hard to build your base and too easy to raise your ceiling. Each of these six runs does a different job.

Why the easy runs matter most. Easy running grows more mitochondria and capillaries in your muscles, so you produce energy aerobically for longer. In a 60-90 minute race, that's what lets you recover in the Roxzone and run your eighth kilometre close to your first.

Why the hard runs still earn their place. Threshold work pushes back the point where you start to tie up. VO2 work lifts the top end, so the same race pace costs a smaller share of your maximum.

If you train with a heart-rate monitor, easy running sits roughly in zone 2 and threshold near the top of zone 4. Effort and breathing are more reliable guides on hot days, after poor sleep or on Glasgow's hills.

If we only had three runs a week

One long easy run to build the engine, one threshold session to hold pace for longer, and one VO2 session to raise the ceiling.

Two hard runs sounds like a lot. But measure it in minutes rather than sessions, and most of your running is still easy, because every hard session is wrapped in a warm-up, easy recoveries and a cool-down.

The trap is the grey zone in between. If your easy runs creep up to "comfortably hard", you get tired without getting much fitter, and you arrive at your threshold and VO2 sessions too fatigued to hit them properly.

Steal our training week

Here's how those three runs look in practice. Spread them so the two hard sessions are at least 48 hours apart, and slot your strength or HYROX classes around them.

How to progress it over a 6-8 week block:

• VO2: start at 4 × 1km, add a rep every fortnight up to 6. Keep the pace the same; it's the volume that progresses.
• Threshold: move from 5 × 6 min to 4 × 8 min, then 3 × 10 min, keeping the short recoveries.
• Long run: add 5-10 minutes a week, then drop back every third or fourth week.

New to structured running? Swap the VO2 session for a tempo run of 20 minutes until you've built a few weeks of consistency.

Compromised running: the part pure runners miss

In HYROX, you never run on fresh legs after the first kilometre. Compromised running is the skill of holding pace straight off a station, when your quads are full from lunges or your grip is gone from the farmers carry.

It's trainable, and it's where hybrid athletes gain the most time on pure runners. Once a week, usually in a HYROX class, pair a station with a run:

• Sled push into 1km run: teaches you to find your stride when your legs feel heavy.
• Sandbag lunges into 1km run: the hardest transition in the race; practise it before race day.
• Wall balls into 400m run: builds the habit of running straight to the finish when everything is shouting stop.

The goal for the first 200m off each station is control, not speed. Settle your breathing, shorten your stride, then build back to race pace. This is the kind of session our Hyrox classes are designed to optimise.

HYROX running FAQs

Can I train for HYROX with running alone?

No. Running is roughly half the race, but the other half is the stations, and holding pace once your legs are already tired. You need both running and functional strength.

Should I train on a treadmill or outdoors?

Both. Outdoor running builds durability; a treadmill lets you control pace exactly and practise running straight off a station, as you will indoors on race day.

How long before a HYROX race should I start training?

Twelve to sixteen weeks gives most people time to build a base and add specific work. If you're already running regularly, eight weeks of focused preparation can be enough.

Where can I train for HYROX in Glasgow?

CaveFit is a HYROX training gym in Glasgow city centre, with coached HYROX classes that combine running and functional strength, plus the stations and equipment you'll meet on race day.

Running alone won't get you there

HYROX is a running race, but you can't train for it with running alone. The runs are only half the race. The other half is holding your pace through the stations when your legs are already cooked.

That's what our HYROX classes are built for: running and functional strength trained together, coached by people who know this race inside out.

Try it for yourself with a 7-day CaveFit pass. Book through the CaveFit app.

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Next week in the HYROX Training Series: Your race can’t be won on the ski, but it can be lost there. Sign up to our emails so you don't miss it.

Written by Laura Anderson, Head of Training. 

UK Athletics Run Coach, 5 x Hyrox Finisher, 4 x Marathoner.