This is how I shaved 13 minutes off my Hyrox time in just six months

A signpost tells me it’s time to do 100 wall balls, and I immediately break into a gigawatt grin. I realise this isn’t a natural reaction to a 100-rep prescription of any exercise, but they mark the final segment of my second Hyrox race, and I’m on track to hit my target time in London.

You only have to flash back six months to find a very different version of me on functional fitness’s most talked-about stage.

At the Manchester event last year I was running on empty by the time I’d reached the sixth of eight stations in the race – the farmer’s carry. I had also notched up a time penalty or two for bungling my lap counts. Sweat poured from my brow, my throat was dry and my nipples had been rubbed red raw against my sodden t-shirt.

So what changed? Well, after leaving Manchester disappointed with my time, I resolved to return to Hyrox a few months down the line as a fitter, faster and more prepared competitor.

When Myprotein invited me to compete in the May event at London Olympia, these are the five changes I made to cut more than 13 minutes off my time.

A Hyrox race is no walk in the park, nor is it a short endeavour. When I spoke previously to Elite 15 athlete Jake Dearden, he compared the effort and time commitments to those of a half marathon.

Only a muppet would try to tackle a half marathon on a measly Tupperware of overnight oats, yet that’s exactly what I did for my first race. I jumped on an early train from Bristol ahead of my 11.30am heat in Manchester, snuffled away a thimble of overnight oats in transit, then walked from the station to the arena and was racing within minutes.

At the burpee broad jumps, I began to run out of steam; by the back end of the race I was a dead man walking. I had dramatically underestimated the event, and I was very publicly hung out to dry for doing so.

For my second race, I made no such errors. I woke up at a reasonable hour, immediately hit a carb-heavy meal – leaving a few hours to digest before the event – then packed a stash of train snacks and set out for the capital.

I also tried some full Hyrox simulations ahead of the race weekend, and found I tended to flag at a couple of points during the race; after the burpees and before the lunges. Slurping a tube of Hyrox energy gel on each occasion helped enormously, thanks to its combination of carbs and electrolytes.

I also made sure to nab a water or electrolytes mixture from the chirpy RoxZone volunteers after every round to prevent the dry mouth that plagued me six months prior.

Make sure you are sufficiently fuelled before the race, then experiment with intra-race fuelling to find what works for you.

Read more: Hyrox world champion Meg Jacoby reveals her intense training regime, and the secret to getting a better Hyrox time

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I was hit with five minutes of penalties in Manchester for getting the lap counts wrong – I did one too few early on, came in too early and went back out during the mid-section of the race, then added a lap for my own peace of mind in the closing portion.

Foolishly, I approached the event like the CrossFit competitions I had done previously, and for that reason I thought there might be a pre-race briefing.

I later found out the course details are emailed to you beforehand and I had missed them. So, when I was unleashed, clueless, into a whirlpool of topless runners at the start of my race, I was a tad discombobulated.

In my defence, the lap systems can often be a bit confusing – in Manchester, it was 2.3 laps for the first round then 2.8 laps for the remaining seven.

For the London Olympia race, I studied the course forensically ahead of time, allowing me to tackle it without error.

Study the course map and details beforehand to avoid any confusion or penalties.

Read more: Three unexpected exercises you need to add into your Hyrox preparations, according to an expert trainer

A lot of men tackle Hyrox topless. At the end of the Manchester race, with my chest sensitive after rubbing against a heavy sweat-soaked t-shirt for 90-minutes, I understood why. I contemplated following suit for the London event, but it didn’t really feel like my style.

Fortunately, this time around I was armed in a lightweight grey tee that didn’t chafe. I can’t say it stayed grey throughout, but it did eliminate the nipple issue, making for a far more enjoyable race.

Leaving variables like your outfit untested could have an impact on your comfort, enjoyment and overall finish time so think about what you prefer to train in and what kind of kit is likely to see you through the big day without a hitch.

Train in your race day outfit ahead of the event to ensure you can complete the competition in comfort.

Read more: Hyrox champion Alexander Roncevic reveals his race-winning secret ahead of 2025 Hyrox World Championships

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My final time in Manchester was 1hr 28min 46sec. My final time in London was 1hr 15min 24sec.

But my first run, SkiErg, sled push and sled pull were all slower in London. Why? Because I let the buzzing arena and televised pre-race hype montage get to me in Manchester.

In my first Hyrox race, I set off like I had been shot out of a cannon and soon fizzled out. Before my second attempt, I practised each station in isolation then combined them with other race elements to see the impact they had on my heart, lungs and body. From this, I found the fastest paces I could stick to without exhausting myself on each one.

My first SkiErg felt lacklustre as a result, and I was tempted to try to match the furious pulls of those around me. But come the end of the race, I was grateful for my earlier reticence as it allowed me to maintain my running pace.

Practise pacing strategies during Hyrox simulations or partial simulations ahead of the event to identify a fast but sustainable pace you can maintain. Stick to your plan on race day and try not to get swept up in the atmosphere, to the point you abandon your preparations.

Read more: If you want a better Hyrox time, an expert says you should do these five things on race day

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My biggest mistake coming into my first Hyrox race was thinking a decent general baseline of fitness would prepare me adequately. I soon learned that Hyrox is an endurance event, lasting upwards of an hour for all but the elite of the sport. More specifically, it is a running event, with running making up the vast majority of the race.

In other words: if you want to improve your time, you need to prioritise improving your running.

In my first race, thanks to my CrossFit background, I thrived in the sled push, farmer’s carry, sandbag lunge and wall ball portions of the race. But everything in between felt like a slog.

In the months leading up to my London race, I added one Hyrox-specific workout and three running workouts (a longer run, a tempo session and an interval session) into my weekly training plans, and the pay-off was immense.

Compared to other elements of fitness like strength, running ability can be raised relatively quickly by focussing on elements such as technique, pacing and cardiorespiratory fitness. I found this to be the case, with my total running time falling from 51min to less than 40min between my two Hyrox races. Better yet, I felt amazing while holding roughly 4min 30sec kilometres, enabling me to hit each workout station feeling fairly fresh rather than floundering.

This is the thing that made the biggest difference, not only to my overall performance but also to my enjoyment of the race.

Introduce at least two dedicated weekly running sessions into your training plan in the months leading up to the event.

Read more: I tried training with one of the fittest women in the world – it was like racing the Terminator