Hi, I'm Ciaran, I’m 33, married to Becca and have 2 girls Monroe and Nellie. Everything I do in life is to make my family proud and hopefully inspire my 2 girls as they grow up. I have competed in hyrox for 4 seasons now, breaking numerous records along the way across multiple divisions and podiuming at the most recent championships. This season I hope to qualify for the E15 doubles in Chicago with my doubles partner Tony.
I run my own coaching business Fit4rox to help others compete in hybrid events and my goal in life is to help ‘busy parents achieve extraordinary things’ having already helped hundreds of athletes over the last 3 years. Here are some things to focus on going into your first Hyrox Race.
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The outcome - your first race should be about enjoyment and the time should be irrelevant- Use the data you receive from the event to focus on with your training moving forward.
Running - sleds or not - Hyrox is a running event with some functional movements thrown in - nail the running and you nail the event.
Comparison is the thief of joy - Get off social media and don’t worry about what others are doing! Focus on yourself and the time you have available to train - Your best is good enough.
Movement skillset - Things to really nail and think about are the more complex movements that don’t feature in an every day gym programme - Burpees, wall balls and sled pull will be the 3 biggest stations we see the biggest difference from 1st to last - practice makes perfect here.
Pre race nerves - These are perfectly normal and whether it’s your first race or you have done almost 40 like myself you will still get this - nerves mean it matters and I promise you once that first run is out the way they will subside.
Hydration and electrolytes - These will be your biggest friend within training and come race day and it this isn’t done correctly then you will certainly know about it come the half way point.
Run the rox-zone - avoid slowing down when hitting the rox zone - imagine it doesn’t exist and that your run finishes at the starting point of the station and starts again as soon as you have finished the station.
Understand your pacing - through your training you should know what pace your aiming to run at and what is achievable - try and have a 15 second pacing window for your runs that you stay within.
Know your tactics on the stations - whether that’s slowing down towards the end of the ergs or breaking up the sled lengths - Have a plan and stick with it.
Follow a plan - The best hyrox athletes have coaches and mentors who provide a structured and periodised plan to follow - if your unsure of what to do then find yourself a reputable coach who can get you race ready.
