Previous Training History Matters

When reading this article, you need to take into consideration your personal training history. When I work with a client, the first thing I do is discuss their previous training and sporting history, and it is a crucial factor for the starting point of your training going forward. If you have never run over 10km in a week, starting a training plan at 50km a week is a recipe for disaster. This is why, when reading an article like this, you need to take your previous training history into account.

Why Running is Important for Hyrox

Running makes up slightly more than 50% of the Hyrox event. So although all the stations are important parts of the race, if you're not running well, you are not going to achieve your goals in the Hyrox event. A weakness on a single station will cost you a few minutes; a weakness in running will mean inevitable poor performance.

How Is Hyrox Running Different from Traditional Running

The key difference between Hyrox and traditional running is that Hyrox athletes need to be able to run under fatigue and need to be stronger to produce enough force to perform well on all the stations. This, however, does not change the training that is performed in order to improve running — the only caveat being compromised running, which would never be performed by someone running traditional races rather than hybrid races.

Compromised Running

Compromised running is what makes up more of the popular Hyrox training sessions that involve running. Compromised running is another way of saying running under fatigue. This will mean performing running alongside other Hyrox-specific exercises like wall balls, sled pulls, etc. It is very important for people to be able to run under fatigue if they are going to be successful in Hyrox events, so this should be done at least once per week in your Hyrox training programme.

The Importance of Tempo / VO2 Max Runs

Tempo running and VO2 max running are absolutely crucial for Hyrox performance. These will be the most aggressive runs you perform in your weekly workouts and will be the ones that create a great deal of adaptation.

Tempo running involves running for sustained outputs at challenging paces. There is a great deal of debate about which pace this should be and what it is called. Currently, it is called the lactate threshold, even though our understanding of lactate and how it relates to fatigue has changed since this pace was given this name. Lactate threshold involves running at a pace that could be sustained for an hour in a max test. It is an uncomfortable pace but can be performed for sustainable periods.

Tempo runs can also be based upon specific race paces. The body can get very efficient at:

Sample Session:

2km Warm Up @ conversational pace

2 x 16 minutes @ lactate threshold

1km Cool Down

VO2 max running involves performing interval training sessions at very high intensities. This is a very effective way to improve your VO2 max, which is the maximal amount of oxygen you can use in a minute and will be a crucial factor in your cardiovascular fitness. Interval training will increase the heart rate to very high levels and therefore strengthen the heart muscle, meaning an increased stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped in one beat). The more blood, the more oxygen, the more energy produced.

Sample Session:

5 x 1200m @ 3–5k pace

Long Runs for Hyrox

Long runs for Hyrox follow very similar principles as long runs for specific running distances in the sense that the distance should be close to the race distance or slightly over if the individual is able to tolerate the weekly volume and individual session volume.

This means that a typical Hyrox long run would be between 8–18km depending on the individual performing the run. There is a huge difference between these two distances — this is because some athletes will be coming from a non-running background while others will be coming from a running background. Someone who has very little running experience will find 8km a long distance that could take around an hour.

For an experienced marathon runner, 18km will seem like a long run but will not be by any means aggressive in terms of volume. Personally, I don’t think the long run needs to exceed 90 minutes unless the individual simply enjoys doing longer distances. However, for the extra benefit of pushing the volume over 18km, I don’t think it makes the fatigue accumulated worthwhile.

Mixed-modal endurance outings can also be an excellent idea. This means that you might perform an endurance outing of 90 minutes split between running, rowing, biking, ski erging, etc. Changing the organisation of this outing can be an excellent way to bring novelty into your training, if that is something you prefer and helps you stay motivated. These styles of sessions are also a great way to fit more work into the week without risking performing too much running volume.

Low Intensity / General Aerobic Runs

These styles of runs involve running at what would be considered an “easy” pace. They still raise the heart rate between 65–75% of its max and should not be considered recovery runs. That being said, compared to the other training sessions discussed above, they will be very easy in comparison. These styles of runs are excellent at increasing mitochondrial density, capillary density, and improving running economy. These should be seen as building a base of aerobic capacity, which eventually will help you build the top of your pyramid.

The Importance of Running Economy / Efficiency

Running efficiency, also known as running economy, is related to the runner's technique. Running economy is crucial to success in both running events and Hyrox events. Running economy is the amount of oxygen required to run at a specific pace. If we take two runners with identical VO2 maxes but one with better running economy, the runner with a better running economy will win. This is because they require less oxygen to run at a desired pace because they are more efficient. This efficiency is built over years of running volume and becoming a “natural” runner through thousands of kilometres of training.

Although this is less important for Hyrox than it is for pure running events, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is very important for Hyrox athletes as well. Training running economy is all about performing a well-designed running programme for an extended period of time.

Conclusion

Based on the points above, a Hyrox training programme will involve performing all of these different styles of running sessions. The amount of weekly sessions and weekly volume will depend on your training history, your training economy, and your goals. Please do not drastically increase your training volume — it needs to be built up slowly and surely over time.

Types of Running Sessions