Formats and divisions at a glance
Singles, Doubles and Relay follow the same pattern: eight runs of about 1 km, each followed by a station, in the same order (how the race works). Adaptive keeps the order, with some distances and loads adapted by division. What changes is how many people share the work, which loads they move and how the results are grouped.
| Format | Divisions | Who races | Age group set by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro | One racer, every run and every station | Your age on race day |
| Doubles | Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro, Mixed | Two racers who run together and share the stations | The pair's average age |
| Relay | Women, Men, Mixed | Four racers, two runs and two stations each | The team's average age: Under 40 or 40 plus |
| Adaptive | 13 divisions | One racer, classified into a division first | Ranked by age group; the rulebook lists no bands |
In Singles and Doubles, waves start by division, so you only ever start alongside racers in your own division. Nobody needs to qualify, and every racer must be 16 or over on race day.
In every format, rankings are based on biological sex at birth. Anyone who wants to race for recreation only, outside the rankings, may register under their gender identity.
Singles: four divisions, one racer
Singles has four divisions: Women, Women Pro, Men and Men Pro. You run all eight runs and do all eight stations yourself, and the result is yours alone.
HYROX's FAQ calls Open the standard race, challenging but accessible, and Pro the same course with heavier weights for experienced athletes; when to step up is on moving up to Pro. Each division races one of three weight bands, listed in full on the weights page.
If you race the same division twice at one event, only your faster time counts in the rankings, and you can only reach the podium once.
Doubles and Relay in brief
Doubles: five divisions, two racers
Doubles has Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro and Mixed, where Mixed is one man and one woman. There is no Mixed Pro.
You run all eight runs side by side. A partner who runs ahead earns a one-minute penalty, and you enter and leave each station together. Inside the station you split the work as you choose, within each station's handover rules, one working while the other rests on their feet. The rulebook's example is a 1,000 m row taken in turns, switching at a distance the pair picks. The full format is on racing Doubles.
Relay: three divisions, four racers
Relay has Women, Men and Mixed: four women, four men, or two women and two men. Each racer runs two of the eight runs and does the station after each one. The team decides who takes which, and one racer can do both legs back to back or hand over in between. How to plan the legs is on racing Relay.
Adaptive: thirteen divisions for permanent impairments
Adaptive HYROX has 13 divisions: lower limb major and minor, upper limb major and minor, short stature, vision impairment, deaf or hard of hearing, three neurological divisions (major, moderate and minor) and three seated divisions (with hip function, without hip function and without core function).
Divisions differ in reps, loads and movement standards. Most run or push the full distance between stations, with exceptions the rulebook sets out by division. Racers must be classified into a division to be eligible, and Adaptive waves start by gender. Classification questions go to HYROX, through the customer service team for your region.
The divisions are reserved for permanent impairments. The rulebook says a temporary injury, such as recovery from knee or hip surgery, does not qualify. If an injury means you need a movement or load adapted, contact HYROX before the race: you still get a finish time, but the result is marked Out of Competition and sits outside the rankings. The divisions are set out in the Adaptive rulebook.
Age groups: how your band is set
Singles: your age on race day
Singles has 14 age groups: Under 24, which covers 16 to 24, then five-year bands from 25 to 29 up to 85 to 89. Your band is set by your age on the day you race, not the day you book. If you turn 40 between buying the ticket and race day, you race 40 to 44.
Pro, and the rule from 60
At regular races you can enter Pro up to and including the 80 plus groups, with age-group rankings, podiums and flags as normal. The UK and US FAQs, read 15 October 2026, still say there are no 60 plus age groups in Pro, so if you are 60 or over and want a Pro age-group result, confirm it with HYROX customer service before you buy. The World Championships work differently. From 60, you qualify only through Open, and every 60 plus group races Open weights, reps and distances at the Worlds. If you are 60 or over and the Worlds is the goal, enter Open. The qualifying route is on the World Championships page.
Doubles: the pair's average age
A Doubles team's age group is set by the pair's average age on race day, across the same bands as Singles. The HYROX UK and US FAQs give the example of a 50-year-old and a 49-year-old, who race 45 to 49. An average can put you in a band neither of you would race alone: a 28-year-old and a 42-year-old average 35, so they race 35 to 39.
The Doubles rulebook adds that teams may race the Pro divisions up to and including the 80 plus age groups at regular races, with age-group rankings, podiums and flags as normal, and that teams in the 60 plus groups qualify for the Worlds through Open only.
Relay: Under 40 or 40 plus
Relay has two groups, set by the average age of all four racers on race day. The rulebook's example is a team aged 24, 38, 48 and 40: the average is 37.5, so they race Under 40.
Athletes under 16 have a separate format, HYROX Youngstars, for ages 8 to 15.
Solo, doubles or relay: choosing your format
The format decides how much of the race is yours. Three questions settle it: how much of the running you can already do, how the stations feel at race weight, and who can commit to the same date as you.
Both of you run all eight runs, side by side. If the running is what worries you, a partner does not shorten it. A relay does: each racer runs two of the eight runs.
- Singles if you want the whole race on your own legs, you are chasing a time to compare with your next race, or your training week is yours to plan. Nobody takes a station off you, so it asks the most of your preparation.
- Doubles if you can run 8 km at a steady pace but the sleds or the wall balls worry you, and you have a partner whose running pace is close to yours. The slower runner sets the pace on every run, so run together in training, and rehearse your changeovers at the stations. Training as a pair is on Doubles training.
- Relay if a full race is too much for now, or you want to bring friends or a gym team. Each leg is short, so you can race it hard, and the handovers are part of the race.
Your first race
If you already run 8 km comfortably and train alone, Open Singles gives you an honest baseline for every race after it. If you have never pushed a sled at race weight, Doubles lets you learn the stations with someone sharing them. Either way, do every station at race weight before the day: your first HYROX covers how.
Your next race
After a first Doubles, a Singles race shows whether you can carry every station yourself. Whether and when to move from Open to Pro is on moving up to Pro.
When you add your race, from the plus on Home or Agenda, you record its date, your division and format, your experience, whether you are chasing a time or aiming to finish, and how hard you want to commit. None of it has to be perfect, and you can edit all of it later. The help page Races and events has the detail.
With Pro or during your trial, editing an upcoming race rebuilds your plan around the change. On the free plan the edit is saved, but your plan stays as it is.
Ticket rules worth knowing before you buy
These come from the HYROX UK and US FAQ pages, read on 15 October 2026, not from the rulebooks. They vary by region and change between seasons, so read the FAQ for the event you are buying.
- Your division is final. The UK FAQ says race and division transfers are not available, including a change of competition day, and a ticket cannot move to another event or the next season, with or without Flex. Choose Open or Pro, Singles or Doubles, as if you cannot change it, because you cannot. If you are torn between two, the full Flex Add-On is the only way out: a refund inside its windows, then a new ticket for the other division if any are left.
- Flex is bought with the ticket or not at all. In the UK, Lite Flex allows one name change until 7:59 am, event time, the day before your race. Flex adds a refund of the ticket price (not the Flex or service fee): all of it up to 31 days before race day and half up to 7 days before, and can only be bought with the ticket, up to six weeks before the race. Without either, the ticket cannot be changed. The US FAQ gives the same refund windows, and charity tickets follow their own rules.
- A partner can change; the division cannot. With Lite Flex or Flex on a Doubles or Relay ticket, you get one name change on the ticket, so a partner who drops out can be replaced. Both the UK and US FAQs add that division changes are strictly prohibited.
- Personalise early. The US FAQ says athlete tickets must be personalised at least two weeks before the event to be given a start time.
- You cannot pick your wave. The US FAQ says you can estimate your finish time when you sign up: the fastest estimates go in the first waves, and anyone who skips it is placed in a wave of their division at random.