It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for hybrid sports.
The HYROX season kicked off in North America in Washington, D.C.; Beijing happened; and more recently, many participants in Beijing were refunded fully for their tickets.
Deadly Dozen, another hybrid competition with 12 events and 400m runs, also recently hosted its World Championships, where hefty prize money was doled out to the winners.
There’s real growth in the arena of competitive, structured lifting and running. And it’s STILL not too late to join the party.
People are now looking to sports like Hyrox to reinvigorate their inner athlete, change their lifestyles, build healthier habits, and add some spice to their training routine.
But what usually gets thrown to the top of the news feed are the professionals finishing the Hyrox races in ridiculous times, with incredible physiques, and looking like they can still run a full marathon afterwards.
While Hyrox and hybrid sports aim to be more welcoming environments, they can still be intimidating.
So today, I wanted to share my conversation with my good friends Tiffany and Silvia, who ran Hyrox NYC as Doubles partners in May this past year.
Some highlights from our conversation:
What it felt like to prepare for their first race as fitness-oriented first-timers
What it felt like after finishing
What Hyrox is doing well as a brand to draw more racers
Why you shouldn’t go into the race expecting to crush it on your first attempt
How Type-A people can both help the sport and be humbled by it
Who Hyrox is for and why someone should do one
To me, it’s no mystery that people who run are drawn to the sport.
But that doesn’t mean it’s exclusively for runners, either. If you have a “foot in the door in fitness,” as Silvia, a group fitness instructor herself, says, then you can try it.
Full disclosure: Tiffany and Silvia are constant challenge-seekers. They look for things like hybrid racing to help them learn more about themselves.
I hope you listen to our conversation to get some perspective about what racing for the first time can be like!
