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8 min read<\/p>\n8 min read<\/p>\n
IRAN ALONG<\/strong> the west side of Manhattan, listening to a man I just met tell me about his supplement stack. I\u2019m certainly not a supplement person\u2014I\u2019m more likely to swap favorite routes on an outing like this\u2014but I nodded along because that\u2019s the polite thing to do when someone is potentially a romantic prospect. This wasn\u2019t a date, exactly. I was at a singles shakeout run that was part of Hyrox<\/a>\u2019s New York event, a two-weekend fitness extravaganza that doubled as an opportunity to find a special someone who also wants to spend their time running around a concrete course filled with workout gear.<\/p>\n At least that\u2019s how it was billed online. After run clubs were tabbed as the sweaty alternative to dating apps<\/a>, social media crowned a new place to find a (very fit) significant other<\/a>: Hyrox. Posts like \u201cPOV: You go to the Hyrox games to find a husband<\/a>\u201d and \u201cLooking for my Hyrox wife<\/a>\u201d are going viral, as they show montages of shirtless, sweaty men or women in matching workout sets in synchronized activity. Surf<\/a>, the brand\u2019s official dating app partner, launched a blind date program<\/a>, where athletes are paired for one of Hyrox\u2019s mixed gender divisions competitions and meet just 20 minutes before the start. Endearing clips<\/a> of these pairings have circulated online\u2014but in reality, few ever get this opportunity. Out of over 5,000 applicants for NYC, I\u2019m told, only 10 were selected.<\/p>\n Yet as alcohol consumption dropped<\/a>, dating app fatigue hit<\/a>, and people became increasingly wary<\/a> of hitting on strangers in public, social fitness has become one of the few paths to an organic meet-cute. Hyrox seems particularly well-suited for social connection; unlike road racing, teamwork is built into the event itself with its doubles divisions, and you won\u2019t get stuck in the back of the pack on runs that only go for one kilometer at a time.<\/p>\n I had an entry to the doubles division (unfortunately for this article\u2019s purpose, partnered with one of my best friends) and I was curious to see just how suited the event was for potential daters. While I wasn\u2019t necessarily trying to find my one and only, I did want to see how feasible it is for the average Hyroxer to meet someone out of the 41,000 participants (and even more spectators) that descended on New York\u2019s Pier 76 for the race. So over the two weeks, I went to public Hyrox social events, ran the women\u2019s doubles division, and went as a spectator to mingle with the crowd. Here\u2019s how it went:<\/p>\n The Shakeout Run<\/p>\n I RUSHED OUT<\/strong> the door that Saturday morning to make it to Surf\u2019s Hyrox singles shakeout run, grabbing a banana and a Bloom at the deli by the subway so I\u2019d have enough energy to socialize. When I arrived at the Hudson River Pickleball courts a block from the Hyrox venue, I saw maybe 20 people standing around, not exactly the packed dating scene I imagined after the event\u2019s Forte page<\/a> logged more than 100 RSVPs. I asked a girl nearby if I was in the right place, and she seemed hesitant to admit she was also there with a dating app.<\/p>\n A small group\u2014two guys and a girl\u2014opened up their circle. Hyrox gave everyone a reason to talk: What day are you racing? Doubles or solo? Pro division? No, okay, is this your first Hyrox? People swapped tips about the NYC course and bonded over which stations they were dreading. (For me, wall balls.)<\/p>\n Once the run leaders gave a quick talk about safety, we were off. I spent the first mile with supplement guy, a soccer ref from New Jersey who had recently gotten into running. I also learned which fitness tracker he planned to wear on race day, since most can’t record a Hyrox-specific workout yet, he told me. After about a mile, I pulled off to tie my shoe while the group continued around a pier.<\/p>\n The rest of the run\u2014and the coffee break afterward\u2014I spent chatting with women, which made up a majority of the group. Two had traveled from Montana, and had only downloaded the app that morning because it came with free coffee. There probably wouldn’t be anyone on the app in Montana yet anyway, they joked, though later, the CEO stressed to me you can filter matches by shared interests rather than location.<\/p>\n One New York-based runner told me she loves events like this and also goes to Lunge Run Club<\/a>, where singles are instructed to wear black to signal availability. Whether people were looking for a partner or not, everyone seemed more open to talking, she said. And she was right. People bounced between groups and I ended up talking with almost everyone there, with none of the obvious cliquiness I\u2019d encountered at some run clubs. I left without any romantic prospects but weirdly more convinced by the idea behind it: maybe the appeal of fitness dating isn\u2019t that everyone finds a match. It\u2019s that everyone already has a reason to talk.<\/p>\n The Hyrox Venue<\/p>\n MY RACE WAS <\/strong>scheduled for early on a Sunday morning. I showed up to the Javits Center at 6:30 AM with my doubles partner to pick up my wristband and ankle chip band. Our Women\u2019s Doubles race started at 8:20 AM, so the venue was nearly empty\u2014and unfortunately for potential hetero daters, nearly everyone who did show up was a woman.<\/p>\n Racing didn\u2019t leave much room for romance. I was focused on warming up, not scouting potential suitors. By the time we entered the starting corral, we were locked in on the competition, and while we moved through the stations, I barely noticed anyone in the crowds beyond my friends cheering me on. Unless you are actually competing with someone, there isn\u2019t much time to interact with other athletes. By the time we finished, the spectator area had filled out a bit, but I was a mix of exhausted and exhilarated, with all my attention dedicated to my partner after we were so in sync on the course. We were hungry anyway, so we left for a diner nearby.<\/p>\n I came back the next week to watch friends compete. It was midday, and the venue was packed. Surf had a booth where singles could pick up a pink wristband signaling they were open to meeting people, though I didn\u2019t notice anyone actually wearing one.<\/p>\n Because of the format of the race, I spent most of my time moving between stations\u2014sled pull to burpees\u2014timing everything so I wouldn\u2019t miss my friends. At the farmer\u2019s carry, I had a rare moment to stand still long enough to see them run past. A cute guy in another group of spectators gave me a compliment as he walked by, but didn\u2019t stop to actually say hello. I saw him at the sandbag lunge station where he passed me again\u2014and this time said he was in love with me. I laughed, but barely had time to process it before my friend came lunging down the lane. I pulled out my camera to film as I cheered her on. I needed to be there for my friend, not to chase down a guy. Maybe in a different setting, I would\u2019ve made the effort to keep the conversation going.<\/p>\n The Afterparty<\/p>\n THE FINAL WEEKEND<\/strong> of Hyrox, Surf hosted an afterparty at The Standard Biergarten, a big outdoor bar near the race site. My friend owed me for bailing on the shakeout run the week before, so I convinced her and another girlfriend to come. We arrived about an hour late; the section reserved for the party was already packed with people wearing pink wristbands. I got the signature cocktail and scanned the room.<\/p>\n I shot off a quick text to my editor: \u201cNot gonna meet the love of my life here,\u201d with a blurry image of a sea of men in polos who looked, at most, 25 years old. This was not the army of brolic, mid-30s hybrid athletes<\/a> I had seen on Instagram. My friend leaned in and said, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m at a Florida State frat party.\u201d<\/p>\n People were slow to socialize at first until the drinks kicked in and the Knicks game picked up energy in the room. After the official afterparty ended, people stuck around, but largely stayed in the groups they came with.<\/p>\n I spotted the supplement guy I ran with at the shakeout run to exchange a polite hello, then excused myself quickly when the conversation stalled. I started mingling mostly with other women, using Hyrox as a conversation launch point yet again. I talked to three who had participated in Surf\u2019s blind date program, and they had all shown up with their racing partners together. One of the couples had not gone well\u2014the woman had been uninterested and standoffish the entire race, and they didn\u2019t make it to this afterparty. Still, three out of five is a decent success rate.<\/p>\n But in the rest of the room, the men weren\u2019t taking the initiative to strike up conversations with me\u2014or most of the other unpaired women, either. I needed to be the one to break the ice. I asked a group of guys what they thought about Hyrox. \u201cIt was amazing. I fucked up\u2014I almost cramped, but I did really well,\u201d said one bro who was wearing a Miami Heat jersey (and, for no obvious reason, a paper Krispy Kreme chef hat). \u201cAnd,\u201d he smirked, \u201cI\u2019m a little tipsy.\u201d<\/p>\n Another guy overheard us and shoved his friend forward. \u201cHe qualified for Worlds,\u201d he said. The world\u2019s qualifier had a scruffy beard, a glass of wine in hand, an accent. \u201cI love Hyrox, but one thing I love more is the women who do Hyrox,\u201d he said. \u201cSixty-two VO2 max. I don\u2019t just do that for myself. Somebody else has to enjoy it too.\u201d<\/p>\n After a few minutes, the guys were clearly more comfortable. Within this fitness-focused space, they felt fully comfortable peacocking their vitality\u2014although it didn\u2019t seem to be directly aimed at any of the romantic prospects in the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Knicks win, I\u2019m going to take my shirt off,\u201d VO2max guy yelled. \u201cShow off these Hyrox gains. Sub-60 pro!\u201d<\/p>\n The Knicks won. Miami guy climbed onto a table, and VO2max guy screamed, \u201cLet\u2019s goooo,\u201d and pulled his shirt over his head to reveal a six-pack. I didn\u2019t stick around to see if they wound up working out with any of the women at the bar.<\/p>\n Is Hyrox the New Dating App?<\/p>\n AFTER TWO WEEKENDS <\/strong>of Hyrox, I was disappointed that I didn\u2019t see more IRL connections forming like social media promised. Unless you\u2019re going to show up to the race with a sign saying you\u2019re single, Hyrox felt like more of an opportunity to watch eye-candy work out than to meet other athletes. Everybody is too busy chasing a goal time or trying to keep it together during burpee broad jumps.<\/p>\n But what might make Hyrox appealing as a dating ecosystem is not necessarily the race itself. My guess is that more meet-cutes will happen at the Hyrox gyms and events during training than on the course itself. That\u2019s where you\u2019ll see the people who have equal dedication to their health and fitness as you do, and have opportunities to actually develop a relationship\u2014not unlike how putting hours in at the gym will help you master those brutal wall balls.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t leave Hyrox with a date, but then again, I\u2019m not looking for someone who casually drops their VO2max in conversation. But I do now understand why Hyrox has become such a social phenomenon: At a time when social anxiety is spiking among young adults<\/a> and people are tired of swiping on dating apps, suffering through the same workout is a natural icebreaker.<\/p>\n Hannah Singleton is a freelance journalist who writes about fitness, health, wellness, travel, and the environment. Her\u00a0work has been in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, GQ, Vox, Wired, National Geographic, Forbes, and Fast Company. You can follow her\u00a0@hannahsingleton.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d08cb0ea-d0e8-4294-92bc-bfcead4491b6_1734640182.file.png\" "\\"Headshot")
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