From Swim Bike Run to Sled Pushes and Wall Balls: Why Triathlon and HYROX May Be a Natural Fit

What do triathlon, marathons, and hybrid fitness racing have in common? Running–and a heavy demand on the endurance system. For triathletes accustomed to layering swim, bike and run volume, the transition into HYROX may be more seamless than it first appears. Grand Rapids, Mich., native Alyssa McElheny has used years of an endurance-running background to power her rapid rise in one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. Just five months after qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon with a 2:34, she became the third-fastest woman in HYROX history.

McElheny has been running for 23 years; she was a DIII 3,000m steeplechaser at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., and made her marathon debut in 2013. She fell short of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020 and again in 2024. Last November at the Indianapolis Marathon, she ran a three-minute personal best, stopping the clock at 2:34:27 to surpass the qualifying standard by two and a half minutes. She credits her training with Michigan’s pro running team, the Gazelle Elite, for her breakthrough.

Pivoting to HYROX

McElheny, who leads a weekly run club ​called Village Rec Club, first tried her hand at HYROX racing later that month, after a run-club friend recruited her to do a mixed doubles race in Dallas. “After this race, I ​truly fell in love with the sport, the community and the race day environment,” she told Canadian Running. “I started seriously training for HYROX in early December 202​5, and my first solo competition was in Las Vegas in late February.”

Since winning her debut in the pro division in Las Vegas in 1:00:55 (the average women’s HYROX finishing time is 1:54:00, and anything faster than 75 minutes is considered elite), McElheny has travelled the world for races. She placed third in Glasgow in early March and, just a week later, won the event in Toulouse, France, in a PB of 58:26. Last month, she was invited to her first Elite 15 race in Warsaw, Poland, where she took third in 55:56–the third-fastest women’s time ever.

(The Elite 15 Majors are the four most prestigious races in HYROX, with the top 15 athletes competing in their own category. Athletes who place in the top three at one of the four Elite 15 Majors automatically qualify for the HYROX world championships, set for Stockholm in June.)

Now, HYROX has become her main focus. “I think my body and brain are built for this sport,” McElheny said.

What does training look like?

During a marathon training block, McElheny maintains high mileage and peaks at about 100 miles (160 km) weekly. During HYROX training, she hits 55-60 miles (88-96 km) weekly. Five days a week, she does HYROX work earlier in the day, and easy or recovery mileage in the afternoon or evening. The other two days are centred on high-quality running sessions, with threshold work and a 16-mile long run.

The athlete says that while she’s dabbled in strength training for 10 years, it’s never been a main priority: “During higher-mileage training blocks, strength work has definitely taken a back seat,” she says. “It’s all so new to me; we have a lot of improving to do on most every station.” Right now, McElheny favours the sled push, and her least favourite move is the burpee broad jumps.

Can you do both?

McElheny says that while marathon and HYROX training can have some overlap, the specific demands of each make it difficult to prepare for peak performance simultaneously. “Right now, I’m quite sure I’m not in my peak marathon shape,” she said. “But I do not doubt that when it comes time for me to race another marathon, adding that volume back in won’t be too difficult.”

She says that in just five short months, training for HYROX has made her into a better athlete. “I feel stronger and more energetic when I run,” she said. “Adding strength or HYROX training to any marathoner’s plan can be beneficial–it can be a natural piece for the off-season.”

The HYROX/marathon double

In the same race where McElheny grabbed her PB, Australian phenom Joanna Wietrzyk smashed her own world record with a time of 54:25. And, like McElheny, her athletic range extends far beyond the HYROX floor. Last August, at the Sunshine Coast Marathon Festival in Queensland, Australia, she broke three hours in the marathon, clocking 2:52:43.

Great Britain’s Holly Archer is also an Elite 15 doubles athlete with a ton of range. A 1,500m silver medallist at the 2021 European Indoor Championships, Archer competed at Warsaw in mid-April, and, a week later, ran a six-minute PB at the London Marathon, 2:33:44.

What is HYROX?

Launched in 2017, HYROX went from a small German project to a global fitness phenomenon after 2021; it finally landed in Canada in 2024. Every race looks the same: a one-km run and a workout station, repeated eight times inside a massive indoor arena.

In 2025 alone, more than 80 global races brought in more than 550,000 participants.

Workout stations include:

• 1 km on a ski erg (mimicking cross-country skiing)
• 50m weighted sled push
• 50m weighted sled pull
• Burpee broad jumps
• 1 km on a rowing machine
• 200m farmer’s carry (with kettlebells)
• Sandbag lunges
• 100 wall balls (squat and throw with medicine ball)

Divisions keep the event accessible to everyone, from beginners to gym rats: open (entry-level), pro (heavier weights), doubles (split with a partner) and relay (teams of four).