For most people, spending a Saturday or Sunday running, rowing, sled-pushing, and lunging their way through a fitness competition\u00a0seems\u00a0daunting. Yet for a growing number of South Africans,\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0has become the ultimate challenge,\u00a0drawing everyone from seasoned athletes to first-timers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some are chasing personal bests; others are celebrating weight-loss journeys or milestones in recovery. At the same time, many simply want to prove to themselves that they are capable of more than they ever imagined. What unites them is a willingness to embrace discomfort in pursuit of a goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hyrox\u00a0follows a fixed format: eight\u00a01km\u00a0runs, each separated by a functional workout station, including the ski erg\u00a0machine, rowing machine, sled push, sled pull, burpee, broad jumps, farmer\u2019s carry, wall balls,\u00a0and sandbag lunges.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who train for a\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0event gain\u00a0\u2018hybrid fitness\u2019,\u00a0which combines cardiovascular endurance with functional muscular strength. Unlike traditional weightlifting,\u00a0which builds muscle mass,\u00a0or long-distance running,\u00a0which focuses purely on aerobic stamina, Hyrox\u00a0teaches the body to produce force under severe cardiovascular fatigue repeatedly,\u201d says\u00a0Ilisa Waksman,\u00a0a\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0competitor and trainer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After foot operations, she thought she\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0be\u00a0able to run again. She\u00a0decided to try a\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0class at\u00a0Urbanlight\u00a0Gym\u00a0and found she could manage\u00a0a\u00a0two-minute treadmill run.\u00a0She then\u00a0tried\u00a0the Deadly Dozen race, which is 12 x 400m runs instead of the 8 x 1km,\u00a0at\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0in May last year.\u00a0Two\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0races followed, with Waksman and her\u00a0partner missing\u00a0second place by four seconds, coming third in the 40-49 age group\u00a0in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHyrox\u00a0was the ultimate challenge for me to try. I have done\u00a0two\u00a0so far, in November 2025 and May 2026. I compete in doubles with my bestie Meagan Dos Santos, who is 10 years younger than me. The beauty of\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0is that people can do it at any age, with any partner, male or female, individually or as a relay race. It has gained popularity among couples, who compete in the mixed event,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Samantha Fanaroff and Andy Sostak decided to compete in the\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0competition on 31 May after meeting on a tour to Poland in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething shifted there. Standing in places where so much life had been taken, Andy and I discussed that the greatest tribute we can pay to those who no longer have a voice is to live loudly and fully on their behalf, to spread light where there was darkness, and to say yes to life. Somewhere along the way,\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0became another opportunity to do just that,\u201d says\u00a0Fanaroff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sostak, who is wheelchair-bound, took this on as an\u00a0additional\u00a0challenge after completing the New York Marathon in November 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0the athlete competing. I was one small part of the team lucky enough to be alongside her. We got to\u00a0witness\u00a0the discipline, determination,\u00a0and sheer stubbornness it took to prepare for something so far outside\u00a0our\u00a0comfort zone. We also got to\u00a0witness\u00a0a lot of laughter,\u201d says\u00a0Fanaroff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The duo\u00a0spent\u00a0only four months training and finished the adaptive\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0in just under 59 minutes, coming in first place for the\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0adaptive women\u2019s group. They found a training home at\u00a0Urbanlight, where\u00a0Waksman\u00a0and Jordan Naidu welcomed them with open arms. \u201cThey understood that this\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0simply about preparing for a race. It was about possibility,\u201d says\u00a0Fanaroff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe finish line was extraordinary, but it was never really the point,\u201d says\u00a0Sostak. \u201cThe real victory was discovering that it\u2019s never too late to surprise yourself, that reinvention doesn\u2019t come with an expiry date, and that impossible things become a little more possible when people believe in you and stand beside you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fanaroff says,\u00a0\u201cThere were afternoons when\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0arrive tired, distracted by life, only to remember that Andy had already fitted in a session before work and was back for more. Faced with challenges that would give most people a perfectly acceptable excuse to opt out, she kept choosing to lean in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shona\u00a0Kuming,\u00a0Sostak\u2019s\u00a0lifelong friend, was there through it all. Every session. Every setback. Every small victory. \u201cHer loyalty and love became part of the foundation that held this whole experience together,\u201d says\u00a0Sostak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once a week, Gila Ash, the duo\u2019s\u00a0rebbetzin, trained with Sostak too. \u201cThere was something beautiful about that partnership, tending not only to physical strength, but to spiritual strength as well,\u201d says\u00a0Fanaroff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance Kier, who has been doing CrossFit for about 13 years, explained that when Hyrox came onto the fitness scene about two years ago, he was\u00a0immediately\u00a0interested.\u00a0He has since competed in five\u00a0events,\u00a0coming third in the 40-44 age group for doubles pro men at the most recent competition in Johannesburg on 30 and 31 May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile training varies depending on an athlete\u2019s goals, the race itself is always the same. That consistency sets it apart from CrossFit, where workouts constantly change and often involve more technical, skill-based movements such as gymnastics, alongside rowing, swimming, and cycling,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cWhile anyone can take part in CrossFit, its complexity can be intimidating for newcomers.\u00a0Hyrox, by contrast, was designed to be accessible and inclusive. Its straightforward format allows people of all fitness levels to\u00a0participate, which is a major reason for its rapid growth in recent years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Waksman\u00a0says\u00a0Hyrox\u00a0training\u00a0often begins\u00a0as one or two training\u00a0sessions, but\u00a0quickly turns into a goal to compete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe actual competition is tough, but it is manageable with some training. It has no strict cutoff time, making it accessible to all fitness levels. While top athletes are driven by time, so many competitors race at a more comfortable pace, happy to be able to compete and just be a part of the wonderful experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For most people, spending a Saturday or Sunday running, rowing, sled-pushing, and lunging their way through a fitness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1021082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4322],"tags":[75530,1154,1630,105,13319,16,15],"class_list":["post-1021081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-crossfit","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-hyrox","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116734997708176316","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1021082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}