HYROX Miami Race Report

First HYROX race completed!

I had a wonderful time at my first HYROX at Miami Beach, completing the Women’s Doubles with my sister (her second one), plus a bonus Miami Beach vacation.  We always do race-cation right!

Our race was at 4 PM on Friday, April 3rd.  I wasn’t quite sure how to fuel, so I treated it like any evening race – I ate normally.  I didn’t know what to expect and was definitely nervous before the race and at the start.

We wore matching Tres Piñas singlets and 5” running shorts tights.  I also wore knee compression because squats and lunges can make my knees ache (years of running will do that).  I brought my Naked Innovation running vest with Tailwind in my hydration pack.  My sister didn’t want me to wear it at first because it would ruin our style, or she thinks I’d remove it and get us disqualified – but I still wore it; I need Tailwind for activities like this.  We each also carried two gels.

We had breakfast at the hotel that morning, and I ate lunch around noon (udon soup with tempura shrimp) while my sister skipped it.  After lunch, we walked to the convention center and stayed there until race time.  Of course, we shopped a bit at the Hyrox store, had snacks around 2:30 PM, and watched other competitors while my sister explained what was happening and walked me through our strategy and techniques for each station.  There were several bathroom breaks along the way.

Eventually, it was time to check-in our bags and head into the athlete warm-up area.  We warmed up and practiced each station, quickly noticing that the sled pull and wall balls would likely be our biggest challenges.  We did feel confident about transferring the sandbag during lunges, and she could jog or fast-walk the farmer’s carry.  She also showed me the strategy for the row and ski erg – set the damper to #4 and keep moving until we hit 990 meters.  Then save our energy and rest as it will continue to move to get to 1000 meters (the finish goal).

Then we practiced wall balls.  She couldn’t get a rep.  I thought to myself, we might be in trouble.  That station isn’t my strongest either, and it comes last when you’re already exhausted.  Surprisingly, during practice I was hitting 10 straight reps, even though at the gym I usually only get 3-4 before dropping the ball.

As we got closer to our 4 PM start time, we stopped practicing and focused on stretching.  It is what it is.  I felt nervous as we entered the staging tent.

Run 1 felt longer than expected, but once we got going, we were having fun, in a suffering kind of way.  I helped my sister keep a slow, steady pace during the runs, and she made sure we went to the correct stations in the right order.

At the sled pull, I was relying on her strength.  She pulled about a quarter of the way and then said, “It’s all you”- she was exhausted.  With adrenaline kicking in, I just kept pulling, even tripping on the ropes once before getting back up.  We alternated again for the last 2 lengths, completed all four lengths to reach the required distance.

As we moved from run to station to run through the Roxzone, I noticed her face was bright red, like a huge red apple.  I checked in and suggested she drink some water.  She looked dehydrated.

On our final run, I cheered her on: “Last run, then last station!”  That’s when she started cramping.  She suddenly screamed and had to stop, grabbing the barricade, her calf had locked up.  We stopped so I could massage it while she yelled in pain, but it was necessary to get moving again.

As we slowly trotted forward, she drank some of my Tailwind from my hydration vest (not such a bad idea to wear it after all)!  I didn’t say anything. I just kept encouraging her.

Finally, we reached the wall balls.

I started with 10 reps, then switched.  She threw the ball maybe 10 times but only got one rep.  I thought to myself, we might be here all day.  I kept doing sets of 8-10, sometimes 12, then resting to gather myself before going again.  She kept trying, squatting well, but missing the target.

With all the encouragement I could muster, I told her, “Just throw it like a basketball, hit the target!”

Near the end, with six reps left, I dropped the ball.  I had no strength left and hoped she could finish. She got three reps, then I stepped back in to complete the final three.

As soon as we finished, I said, “Sprint!”

So we did.  I sprinted to the finish, thinking she was right beside me.  I couldn’t find her hand, so I raised mine in the air as we crossed the line.  I looked at the board and saw our time: 1:54:24!

We did it.  We achieved our sub-2-hour goal!

Later, when we looked at the race photos, we saw the image of us running into the finish, me slightly ahead and her just behind.  I had imagined us finishing hand in hand with our arms raised together.  I never posted that finish photo on social media.  Instead, I only shared the posed ones in front of our finish time, except here, on my blog, where that photo finally gets its moment.

Looking back a week later, it was truly so much fun — from training to race day.  This experience will hopefully make me an even stronger ultrarunner, which aligns well with my broader endurance goals and the way I consistently use cross-training like HYROX to build strength and resilience for longer races.

I couldn’t have done this without the help of my coaches and peers at Leander Athletic Club (thank you for the intense six-week prep!)

The work continues, and I’m getting stronger, better, and faster every step of the way.