HYROX has evolved into one of the world's largest fitness races, with more than 240,000 participants in 2024 events, a dramatic increase from the initial 600 participants when it launched in 2017. As the sport gains traction, race times are becoming progressively faster, reflecting the growing competitiveness and skill of the athletes.
To understand what it takes to secure a spot in the top 10 in a HYROX Men's Open race, we've analysed performance data over the last four years. We focused on six events held consistently from 2021 to 2024, providing a robust dataset for comparison. These events include three from the UK and Europe (London, Madrid, and Frankfurt) and three from the USA (Dallas, New York, and Los Angeles).
Our analysis covers the top 10 finishers in the men's open category for these races, offering insights into the average times required to rank among the best. This approach gives us a clear view of the pace needed to achieve top-tier status in future HYROX competitions.
Please note, our analysis is limited to these regions due to the relative newness of HYROX in other areas like Australia, Asia, and South America, where historical data is not yet available.
London - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
New York - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
Madrid - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
Dallas - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
Frankfurt - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
LA - Hyrox Men's Open - Top 10
As evidenced by the results from these six events, completion times have significantly improved over the last four years. Several factors contribute to these faster times:
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Increased Popularity: The surge in Hyrox's popularity has attracted a larger pool of elite athletes, intensifying competition and driving performance improvements.
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Specialised Training: There's been a notable shift towards Hyrox specific training. Athletes are now customising their weekly training schedules to optimise performance specifically for Hyrox events.
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Data-Driven Improvements: With more data available from previous competitions, athletes can pinpoint exact areas for improvement. This targeted approach allows for more effective training, directly impacting their performance times.
By looking at the average times of the top 10 finishers across these six races, we gain a broader, global insight into the performance benchmarks required to secure a top 10 position.
The average time for securing a top 10 position across these six events has significantly decreased from 69.03 to 61.17.
One of the standout changes is the marked improvement in run times, dropping from 36.13 to 31.18. This indicates the speed required to clinch a top 10 spot over an 8km distance.
To put this into perspective, a pace of 31.18 for 8km translates to approximately 3.54 minutes per km. Therefore, if you can't maintain this pace of 3.54 minutes per km over 8km, it will be challenging to keep up in a race, considering the additional efforts at the stations.
We have also looked at the average time across the 3 races across the UK / Europe - to get more of an understanding of where you need to be if you are racing in the UK / EU
UK / EU
We have also looked at the average time across the 3 races across the USA - to get more of an understanding of where you need to be if you are racing in the USA.
USA
In the Hyrox Open men's competition, the UK and EU races consistently demonstrate faster times than their US counterparts. To secure a top 10 spot, an athlete would need an average finish time of around 59.53 minutes in Europe, compared to approximately 63 minutes in the US. This data underscores the need for competitors to target times near the 60-minute mark to remain competitive at the highest levels, with running times averaging close to 30 minutes, reflecting the sport's significant running component.
The year-on-year improvements in Hyrox times highlight an evolving landscape of athletic performance, where speed, particularly in running, is key to success. As we look ahead, it will be intriguing to observe when these times begin to plateau, especially in the top echelons. While 2025 might see even faster times, predicting beyond this point becomes challenging. The coming years will undoubtedly shed light on the future trajectory of Hyrox competition speeds.
