Love HYROX, Hate Running? Meet The Hybrid Games
HYROX has managed to convince CrossFit enthusiasts to do more of something most of us aren’t usually drawn to: running.
In the last couple of years, thousands of us have participated in a HYROX race, or multiple HYROX races, and have come to terms with the fact that the sport involves 8 kilometers of running.
That being said, the consensus among us remains: “I wish there were more stations and less running.”
Meet The Hybrid Games, one of the newer events making a splash in the hybrid sports world.
Remind Me
The Hybrid Games was founded in the UK in 2025 and features 10 stations — the eight HYROX stations plus two more. There’s only 600 meters of running before each of the 10 stations, and a 200-meter sprint after the final station.
Further, the order of the stations is slightly different than HYROX, as well, and goes like this:
- 50-calorie air bike
- 100 wall balls (6kg/4kg)
- 1,000-meter row
- 80-meter burpee broad jump
- 50 dumbbell snatches (17.5 kg/12.5 kg)
- 100-meter lunges (20kg/10kg)
- 200-meter farmers carry (24kg/16kg)
- 60-meter sled pull (105kg/80kg)
- 1,000-meter SkiErg
- 60-meter sled push (135kg/100kg)
Read more about the movement standards here.
The next Hybrid Games, which offers both individual and pairs races, will take place at the SEC Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, this October, with an expected 4,000 participants. After that, there will be six opportunities to race in 2027, all in the UK, but the plan is to extend beyond the UK in 2028.
The Hybrid Games’ Vision
Though the Hybrid Games sounds a lot like HYROX, Lisa Brennen, the company’s general manager, is adamant that their positioning “is very different.”
In some ways, the Hybrid Games can be seen as “the race you would come and do before trying a HYROX,” she explained in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up, especially for those who aren’t ready for the running volume.
But on a bigger-picture level, Brennen explained, the biggest difference is that “the vibe is more relaxed.”
Because HYROX is becoming increasingly serious for many athletes — culminating in the Elite 15 at the HYROX World Championships — the Hybrid Games isn’t this.
- “There won’t be an Elite 15. There won’t be a fast lane. It’s for first-timers, or for people who just want to have fun. If you want to walk a run, that’s fine. It’s meant to be a gentler approach for those who go to the gym three times a week and still want a challenge and to feel a sense of accomplishment,” Brennen said.
That being said, like HYROX, the Hybrid Games still provides athletes with split and finish times, and there is still a leaderboard for those who are curious how they fared.
Further, Brennen cautions anyone who thinks the shorter runs make it a walk in the park to think again.
- “In some ways, it’s actually harder because you don’t catch your breath on the runs as much,” she said. “A lot of the feedback we get from athletes who have done HYROX before is that it’s even more intense on the legs.”
The Big Picture
The growth of the hybrid race space shows no signs of slowing, and the Hybrid Games is betting that there is room for more than one way to compete.
For Brennen, that means providing what they call “the people’s race,” an event that focuses less on performance and more on getting people to show up and take on a challenge.
- “We’re really keen on the emphasis that it’s about the start line rather than the finish line, because for so many people getting to the start line is the toughest part,” she said.
And while the Hybrid Games is, in some ways, a competitor to HYROX, Brennen is also quick to acknowledge the role HYROX has played in creating and elevating the hybrid racing category.
- “We’re in this space because HYROX has been the leader, and people now expect a certain level from you because of the bar HYROX has set, which is great. It gives us a strong bar to rise to the challenge,” Brennen said.
For now, the Hybrid Games remain “an underdog in this story,” but Brennen believes they offer something that meets a major demand in the space.
- “We want to provide a space where people have fun and feel relaxed and comfortable and safe, and also to celebrate being there rather than having the pressure of performance. It’s about the celebration of participation,” she said.
