Hi everyone hope you’re all doing well. After reading the discussion on Catherine’s post about breathing, I’d love to bring the topic back from a slightly different angle, especially around running at higher intensities in a HYROX context. I understand the value of keeping breathing rhythmic and predictable, and the points raised about nasal vs mouth breathing made a lot of sense. What I’m still trying to better understand is how breathing should be approached when effort gets very high. • Do you tend to use a specific breathing rhythm when intensity rises? • Do breathing patterns change across intensity zones, or does it become more of an automatic response over time? • From a physiological standpoint, what should we actually be trying to “optimise” with our breathing when running hard? Personally, when I feel intensity climbing, I often fall into a pattern of two inhales and one long exhale. It seems to calm things down and give me a bit of emotional control, but I honestly don’t know if that’s something beneficial and trainable, or simply an automatic response under load. I’d really value hearing how others approach and train this and whether breathing is a true performance lever, or more something that naturally improves as fitness and pacing improve.

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a short reflection after racing HYROX this past weekend, in case it’s useful for others going through a similar process. I returned to HYROX almost two years after my last race, coming off a not-so-fun period that included a complete ankle ligament rupture and a bone contusion. I only started running with minimal pain about four months ago, so at the beginning of the 12-week prep my expectations were… let’s say carefully optimistic. As the weeks went by, confidence slowly built and the idea of a PB stopped feeling crazy and started feeling possible. In the end, I took almost 4 minutes off my previous best and had one of the most controlled races I can remember. Apart from the first run — where adrenaline still convinces me I’m fitter than I really am — four of my run segments were identical to the second. The gap between my fastest and slowest was just 16 seconds, which for me felt like a small miracle. The workouts were solid, but also gave me a clear lesson. In a few stations I was probably too cautious. Lack of confidence and aggression meant I left some time on the table. Ironically, some of the workouts I thought were strengths ended up being weaker on race day — most likely because I’d got a bit too comfortable with them in training. A good reminder that comfort can quietly become complacency. What really stood out to me was how clean the overall strategy felt. The guidance and discussions within this community helped me race with much more clarity and intention. The programming made complete sense, the taper felt spot on, and I arrived on the start line full of energy and motivation — exactly how you want to feel. I’m now shifting focus into a longer development phase with the Hybrid Racer Program and aiming toward a race in July. The goal is to keep building on this foundation, especially by improving execution and confidence within the workouts. Taking another few minutes off of PB might be to ambitious — but that’s part of the fun.

Hi everyone — I’ve got a question that’s been coming up more and more as I look back at races. No matter how well the rest of the race goes, the first run loop often feels the most chaotic: higher anxiety, breathing that won’t settle, and heart rate that feels disconnected from what I can hold later in the race. I’ve experimented with short, intense warm-ups as well as longer, more progressive ones with changes in intensity, but I still haven’t quite found the right focus. As I get older, I definitely feel like I need more time to “warm the engine” 😄 — but how much is enough, and when does more become too much? From your experience, how do you approach pre-race warm-up to reduce that first-loop disruption? • What key elements do you prioritise (physical, respiratory, psychological)? • How close to race start do you like athletes to finish warming up? • And how much of this is solved by the warm-up itself versus an intentional strategy for the first minutes of the race? What principles help athletes arrive at the start line calmer, more settled, focused on the task, and able to find rhythm early? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing well and that the holiday season has been treating you well. I’ve got a question, this time more focused on strategy and athlete behaviour during a very specific part of the race: the Roxzone. In my last race, the Roxzone alone accounted for almost 6 minutes. While it often feels like a “dead” phase of the event, it clearly has a significant impact on overall performance. From a strategic standpoint, how do you recommend approaching this section? • Should the Roxzone be treated as a continuation of the run, maintaining rhythm and intent? • Or is it more effective to deliberately adjust pace and breathing to prepare for the upcoming station? • And how should the exit be managed to avoid losing momentum back into the run? Finally, does your approach to the Roxzone change meaningfully between solo and doubles races? Apologies for the length of the question — the more I study, the more questions seem to surface.

Hi guys — first of all, thanks for the work you’ve been sharing. I’ve been following the programming and really appreciate the clarity around pacing and intent. I’ve got a question that’s been on my mind for quite a few HYROX races now 😅 At the end of sled push → run transitions, I consistently find the first 50–100 m of running to be the most disruptive — heavy legs, altered mechanics, and a noticeable breathing lag, even when pacing is well controlled. From your experience, what strategy has proven most effective to “clear” the sled stimulus in those opening meters? Specifically, do you see better outcomes with a deliberate mechanical reset (shorter stride, higher cadence, controlled breathing), or with maintaining race-pace intent and allowing physiology to normalize on the fly? I’ve tested multiple approaches and the discomfort seems persistent, so I’m curious whether you see this as something to solve biomechanically, metabolically, or simply accept as part of the event cost.