One of the reasons I love HYROX is that the sport never stands still.
Every week there are new races, new podcasts, new ideas and new athletes pushing the sport forward. Like many of you, I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts, such as The Rox Lyfe Podcast by Greg Williams. I follow the Elite 15 and try to apply some of their lessons to my own training where appropriate.
Rather than simply summarising everything I've consumed, I want to share the three ideas that genuinely changed the way I'm thinking about HYROX this week.
Hopefully they may help you too.
1. HYROX Is All About The Engine.
For years the conversation around HYROX has been simple:
"Improve your running."
"Practise the stations."
"Do your Zone 2."
All of that is still true.
But after watching the World Championships, I think the conversation has evolved.
The athletes dominating HYROX today haven't simply become stronger.
They've spent years building an incredible aerobic engine.
Alyssa McElheny is the perfect example.
To many people it looks like she arrived in HYROX and immediately became World Champion.
The reality is very different.
She brought years of Olympic-level marathon training with her.
As Dylan Scott discussed on the Rox Lyfe Podcast with Greg Williams, Alyssa wasn't suddenly created by HYROX. She had already spent years building the engine that now allows her to express her fitness on race day.
That completely changed my perspective.
Instead of asking myself,
"How do I get fitter over the next eight weeks for my next race?"
I'm now asking,
"How good can my aerobic base become over the next five to ten years?"
Personally, that's become my biggest focus.
2. Why I Think the Days of Going Out Too Hard to Win HYROX Races Are Over.
The second lesson came from watching both the men's and women's 2026 Hyrox World Championship races in Stockholm, Sweden.
Lauren Weeks.
Joanna Wietrzyk.
Hunter McIntyre.
Tim Wenisch.
Alexander Roncevic.
All phenomenal athletes.
All capable of setting incredibly aggressive early paces.
Yet the athletes who impressed me most weren't necessarily those leading early.
They were the athletes who trusted their own race.
Alyssa McElheny never looked rushed.
Dylan Scott found himself over a minute behind after the sleds but never appeared to panic. Instead, he simply kept executing his own plan and gradually worked his way through the field.
Listening to Aaron Woodman explain pacing on the HYROX Coaching Podcast made those performances make even more sense.
One analogy he uses has really stayed with me.
Imagine your race has two energy systems. Your aerobic engine (think running) and your anaerobic engine (think heavy stations like the sled push).
Now imagine your anaerobic energy (strength stations) is like a small battery—perhaps only 10% of your total race capacity.
Every heavy station drains a little of that battery.
Empty it trying to dominate the sled push, and you'll have less available for lunges, wall balls and the later stages of the race.
The key is learning when to dip into that battery and when to recover, allowing your aerobic engine to keep doing the work.
That's what the best athletes do so well.
Watching the World Championships, Dylan Scott managed that battery brilliantly. Hunter McIntyre appeared to spend much more of his early in the race, especially on the sleds. Lauren Weeks went out very hard. Alyssa McElheny held back.
It's a simple idea, but I think it's becoming one of the biggest differentiators in modern HYROX.
3. The Biggest Battle Isn't Against Other Athletes
It's Against Yourself.
One story from Dylan Scott has stayed with me all week.
Talking about racing, he joked that to his three-year-old son, Dylan's HYROX World Championship was about as important to the child as the rock he picked up lying on the side of the road.
It made me laugh.
But it also made me stop and think.
Most of the pressure we feel doesn't come from anyone else.
It comes from ourselves.
I can relate to that.
After some early success in HYROX I found myself measuring every race against podiums and expectations.
Somewhere along the way I realised I was enjoying the process less.
So I'm changing my own approach.
I'm 44 in a few months.
I've got Hyrox Mumbai coming up in September 2026.
Of course I'd love a great race.
But my happiness won't depend on the result.
The goal now is much bigger than one race.
Build the aerobic engine.
Train consistently.
Stay patient.
See where five to ten years of intelligent training can take me.
Ironically, I think that's probably the mindset most likely to produce better performances anyway.
Behind The Rox Guys
One thing I've realised this week is that building products isn't very different from building fitness.
Neither can be rushed.
We're currently restocking our Half Finger Gloves for HYROX, while continuing development of our next-generation Full Finger Gloves for HYROX and our upcoming Compression and Performance Socks for HYROX.
Every sample teaches us something.
Every revision improves the final product.
It's slower than I'd like sometimes, but I'd much rather release products that genuinely help athletes than rush something to market.
We can't wait to share the new colourways with you over the coming months.
Continue Your HYROX Journey
If you're preparing for your next race, you might find these useful.
🧤 Gloves for HYROX
→ Link: https://www.theroxguys.com
📏 Find Your Perfect Glove Size
→ theroxguys.com/pages/glvz-size-guide
📷 Follow The Rox Guys on Instagram
→ https://www.instagram.com/theroxguys
🎥 Watch our YouTube Channel
→ https://www.youtube.com/@TheRoxGuys
Thanks for reading.
Every week I'll share the biggest ideas, lessons and conversations shaping my thinking around HYROX—so hopefully you can spend less time trying to consume everything yourself and more time training.
If you enjoyed this week's journal, I'd really appreciate it if you shared it with a training partner or someone preparing for their next HYROX race.
See you next week.
- Ruairi
Featured Athletes
Kellie-Lei Lowry (@kellyleiiii97) – Wall Ball
Mal Sawm (@malssawm) – Sled Pull
Photography: Chris Kamau (@chris_k_wanjau)