Hyrox Race Day Guide

This guide is written to be read in order. Start at the top a week before your race and follow it through to the finish line.

The Week Before

Taper your training

Reduce training volume by 40–50% in the final week. The fitness you have is already locked in — more hard sessions won’t help, but fatigue will hurt you.

7 days out: Last hard session if you’re doing one
5 days out: Easy 20–30 min jog only
3 days out: Light gym session (half weight, half reps). Practice station movements at low intensity so your body remembers the patterns.
2 days out: Full rest or a 15-min easy walk
1 day out: Rest. Pack your bag. Sleep well.

Load carbohydrates

For 2–3 days before your race, increase carbohydrate intake. This fills your glycogen stores (muscle fuel) to the maximum.

Good carb sources: pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, bread, bananas. Keep fat and fibre moderate — you don’t want digestive issues on race day.

Hydrate early

Start hydrating properly 2 days before. Aim for 2–3 litres of water per day. Urine should be pale yellow. Don’t try to flood yourself the night before — your body can’t absorb it that fast.

The Night Before

Your race bag checklist

Pack everything the night before. Race day mornings are stressful enough.

Must-haves:

Race confirmation / QR code (screenshot it — venues have patchy WiFi)
Photo ID
Race shoes (the ones you’ve trained in — never new shoes)
Workout clothing
Water bottle
Timing chip (if sent in advance)

Strongly recommended:

Grip gloves (check if your venue allows chalk)
Knee sleeves (30–50 reps of lunges + wall balls)
Energy gels × 2
Pre-workout or caffeine tabs
Electrolyte tablets
Post-race snack (protein bar, banana)
Change of clothes and flip-flops

Dinner

High-carb, easy-to-digest meal. Pasta with a light sauce, chicken and rice, baked potato. Eat at a normal dinner time — don’t eat late. Avoid:

Alcohol
Fatty or fried food
Spicy food
Anything you haven’t eaten before

Sleep

Aim for 8 hours. Pre-race nerves are normal and can disrupt sleep — if you only get 6 hours, you’ll still race well. One night of poor sleep doesn’t significantly impact performance. Two nights does. So prioritise sleep two nights before your race as well.

Race Morning

2–3 hours before your wave start

Eat a proper breakfast — this is your last fuel before the race:

Oatmeal with banana and honey
Toast with peanut butter
Bagel with jam
Rice cakes

Aim for 60–80g of carbohydrates. A small amount of protein (eggs, yogurt) is fine but keep fat minimal for quick digestion.

Drink 400–600 ml of water with breakfast.

60 minutes before start

Take your creatine (3–5g) if you’re on it
Take an electrolyte tablet or drink 400ml electrolyte drink
Take your pre-workout or caffeine (200mg) — caffeine peaks in your system at 45–60 min, so time it to hit just as the race begins

If you’re not used to caffeine in training, skip it on race day. Never try a new supplement for the first time at a race.

30 minutes before start

Have one energy gel if you expect a short race (under 90 min) or if you didn’t eat much at breakfast. Otherwise save them for during the race.

Arriving at the Venue

Arrive 90 minutes before your wave

You need this time for:

Finding parking and getting to the venue
Check-in and collecting your bib
Bag drop
Warm-up
Getting to the start corral with 5–10 min to spare

Check-in

Show your confirmation and photo ID
Collect your bib number and timing chip
Pin your bib to the front of your shirt — 4 pins, one at each corner
Attach the timing chip to your shoe
Drop your bag

Venue walk-through

If time allows, do a quick walk through the course. Locate:

The treadmill area (your start)
Each station in order
Water stations
Toilets
The finish line

Knowing the layout removes mental load during the race.

Warm-Up (20 minutes before wave)

Don’t skip this. Cold muscles + heavy sleds = slow times and injury risk.

Minutes 20–15: Light jog 400m or skip rope. Get your heart rate to 120–130 bpm.

Minutes 15–10: Dynamic mobility

10 leg swings each side
10 arm circles forward and backward
10 hip circles
10 inchworms
10 world’s greatest stretch

Minutes 10–5: Activation

10 air squats
10 push-ups
10 forward lunges
If practice machines are available: 200m easy SkiErg, 200m easy row

Minutes 5–0: 2–3 practice burpee broad jumps. Mental prep — visualise your pacing plan for the first 2 stations.

The Race

Pacing strategy: the most important thing you’ll read here

The biggest mistake in Hyrox is going out too fast. The SkiErg is the first station and everyone is fresh and pumped up. If you sprint it, you’ll blow up by station 3.

Think of the race in three phases:

Phase 1 — Stations 1–3 (SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull): Run at 70% effort. These stations should feel controlled. You should be able to hold a conversation on the runs. This is harder than it sounds when you’re surrounded by adrenaline.

Phase 2 — Stations 4–6 (Burpees, Rowing, Farmers Carry): Run at 80% effort. You’re in the grind. Maintain your rhythm, don’t panic if you slow down.

Phase 3 — Stations 7–8 (Sandbag Lunges, Wall Balls): Give everything you have. This is where the race is won or lost. You’re in pain regardless — commit.

Station-by-station tips

SkiErg: Use your hips, not just your arms. Pull down smoothly. Target: consistent split times rather than sprinting the first 500m.

Sled Push: Wide stance, low hips. Drive with your legs. Don’t bend your arms — push through the handles. If the sled stalls, pause and reset.

Sled Pull: Sit back into a wide squat. Pull with your back and legs, not just your biceps. Hand over hand — keep the rope moving.

Burpee Broad Jumps: Find a steady rhythm. Jump as far as you can with each rep — more distance per rep = fewer reps total. Land soft, drop, push up, explode forward.

Rowing: Drive with your legs, then lean back, then pull with your arms. Follow the sequence every stroke. Don’t rush the return.

Farmers Carry: Keep your core tight. Switch hands at the halfway mark (100m) if you need to. Walk fast — don’t jog, the bouncing makes grip harder.

Sandbag Lunges: Alternate shoulders every 25m. Keep a steady pace — don’t rush the first 50m then die. This is where most races fall apart.

Wall Balls: Break into sets from the start — don’t try to go unbroken for 100 reps. Sets of 20–25 with 5-second rests are faster than stopping mid-set. The finish line is 50m away.

Transitions

The time between finishing a run and starting a station adds up. Experienced racers treat transitions like part of the race:

Keep jogging through the transition zone — no walking
Know what station comes next before you finish the run
Set up instantly — strap into the rower immediately, grip the SkiErg handles before you reset
3-second rule: Once you arrive at a station, start within 3 seconds

Saving 20 seconds per transition = 160 seconds = nearly 3 minutes over the full race.

Fuelling during the race

Water stations: Sip at every one. 2–3 small sips. Don’t over-drink.
Gel between stations 4 and 5: This is approximately the midpoint in time. Take it during the run, not at a station. No-water gels (isotonic) are easiest to carry.
Second gel between stations 6 and 7: Only if you expect to be racing over 90 minutes. Skip if you’re fast.

Mental game

The race gets dark around stations 4–6. Your legs are heavy, your grip is compromised, and you have four stations left. This is normal. Everyone hurts at this point.

Strategies that work:

Shrink the race. Don’t think about what’s coming — only the station you’re at. “Just finish this row. Just finish these burpees.”
Count down, not up. “5 stations left. 4 stations left.” Not “I’ve done 3 stations.” The countdown feels faster.
Use the runs to reset. The 1km runs are your mental recovery. Zone out, find a rhythm, let the music carry you.
Remember why you’re here. You trained for this. You prepared for this. The discomfort is temporary — finishing is permanent.

Crossing the Finish Line

Keep moving for 10–15 minutes — don’t sit down immediately
Collect your finisher medal and any race items
Take your finish photo

Within 30 minutes — your recovery window:

30–40g protein (shake, bar, chocolate milk)
60–80g carbs (banana, recovery bar, rice cakes)
Large electrolyte drink — not plain water

This 30-minute window after intense exercise is when your muscles are most receptive to nutrition. Don’t skip it. See our supplement protocol for the full post-race guide.

Checking Your Results

Results appear in the Hyrox app and website within 1–2 hours. You’ll see:

Every 1km split time
Every station time
Your total time and ranking
Your age group position

This data is incredibly valuable. After your race, look at which stations were slowest relative to your level. Those are your training priorities for next time.

What’s Next?

The post-race high is real. Most athletes sign up for their next Hyrox within days.

Upcoming Competitions — find your next race
Training Programs — structured plans for every level
Time Calculator — set a target time for next race
Sample Workouts — ready-to-use training sessions