What decides HYROX results? What the research shows

In an analysis of 39,696 PRO and ELITE HYROX results across seven seasons, running accounted for about half of total race time. Over the same period, total race time among the top 100 results per season improved by about 19% in men and 21% in women.

What do 39,696 HYROX results show?

HYROX pairs 8 km of running with 8 standardised workout stations. Rappelt et al., Frontiers in Physiology 2026 analysed PRO and ELITE results from the 2018/19 to 2024/25 seasons (27,854 men and 11,842 women). Running made up about 50% of race time in both sexes.

The authors also measured “rank reshuffling”: how far an athlete’s rank in one discipline differed from their overall rank, as a percentage of the field. Running had the lowest values (up to 20.0% in men and 16.1% in women), while the stations showed higher values, most clearly the sled push, sled pull and wall balls. Running rank tracked final rank more closely than station ranks did.

Between the first and seventh seasons, total race time in the top 100 results fell by about 13 minutes in men and 17 minutes in women. Those gains were largely associated with faster running (about 8 and 10 minutes). This is a descriptive analysis of results, so it cannot say why times improved. About 6% of male and 7.5% of female results were also excluded because of missing split times, time bonuses or penalties.

What separated faster finishers in a physiology study?

Brandt et al., Frontiers in Physiology 2025 studied 11 recreational HYROX athletes (median age 33) in a simulated race, recording heart rate and blood lactate, after a pre-test of VO2 max, the body’s peak oxygen uptake.

Faster finishing was associated with higher VO2 max (Spearman rho of -0.71, p = 0.01, negative because a higher value went with a shorter time), more endurance training volume (rho -0.68, p = 0.04) and lower body fat (rho 0.67, p = 0.03).

With 11 people, these correlations are imprecise. All but one participant had very good to excellent cardiorespiratory fitness, each person raced alone, the runs were not on a track, and the sled differed from official equipment.

The bottom line

• In 39,696 PRO and ELITE results, running was about half of race time and had the lowest rank reshuffling of any discipline.
• Top-100 race times improved about 19% (men) and 21% (women) between the first and seventh seasons.
• In 11 recreational athletes, faster times were associated with higher VO2 max, more endurance training and lower body fat, in a sample too small to show cause.