Can you explain what HYROX is? 

“HYROX is eight, one-km runs, and in between each run, there is a set station that doesn’t change. The race as such, remains the same no matter where you do it in the world. The floor sections are:  

• Ski Erg 

• Sled Push 

• Sled Pull 

• Burpee Broad Jumps 

• Rowing 

• Farmers Carry Lunges 

• Sandbag Lunges 

• Wall Balls (which is a squat and press with a ball). 

And then your one-km runs in between. It’s a very challenging race, but what’s great about it is you can do it in three hours or you can do it in under an hour if you’re fast enough. You can do it in pairs as well, so it’s just super accessible. I think the nicest thing is, whenever I go to an event, you can see anything from a 16 year old to an 84 year old man who finished it, which is incredible.” 

Club La Santa HYROX facilities 

We are proud to host the world first outdoor HYROX gym. 

The world-class HYROX facilities at Club La Santa support a variety of training classes and cater to everyone – from complete beginners to experienced HYROX athletes. With warm weather training all year round, our outdoor training space is perfect for any season and makes HYROX training here in Lanzarote some of the best in Europe. You can find these classes in our weekly programme.  

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about getting involved in HYROX for the first time? 

“Do most of your training as running training. Of course, the strength is important, but I think everyone pays too much attention to the sled particularly. Everyone gets so obsessed with thinking they won’t be able to push the sled, that they forget that they’ve got to run by the time you go in and out of the “Roxzone”, which is the area where all the activities for the stations are.

You’re running about nine and a half km, so if you can’t run 10k maybe even nudge it up to 90 minutes of running. That needs to be your biggest focus. Don’t worry about the stations with strength work – they’ll come, but just getting your base of running is essential.” 

As a run analyst, what are the most common mistakes you see runners making? 

“The main thing I see is something called cadence. So that is foot turnover when they run, and it’s usually very low. A lot of runners, when they’re starting out, their cadence is down in the 150s or 140s and that’s basically the amount of steps they take per minute, is what that number represents. The ideal for most is somewhere between 160 to 180 so as a runner, you want to try and be aiming for those. Most apps or watches will have that figure, so you can see and work on it. For me, that’s the biggest one, because it helps people to stay injury free if their cadence stays kind of in that dream zone.” 

How did you get into HYROX and running? 

“Running itself, I kind of got into from something bad I guess you could say. My dad died when I was 19, and then I was at university. I was kind of holding back from grief because I was in my university bubble.

Then I left university for the big, wide world, and realised I was on my own. And I suffered really badly with depression for a good few years and running saved me basically. I used to get out and run and focus on getting out there and say “Right, if I run, then I’ve got to take a shower. If I run, I’ve got to eat food. I’ve got to eat meals that help me fuel my runs” – my science brain kicked in. Then I just kind of fell in love with the community. 

I found that running space in London, which was amazing. And then come 2021, my partner, Clare, got roped into doing a HYROX because one of her friends needed someone. And I was like, “What’s this HYROX thing?”. She couldn’t stop raving about it! She said, “Let’s do it together”. So we went in together, and somehow got quite good at it, and we went to the World Championships in Vegas that year, and then did World Championships at Manchester. It’s been fantastic, and now I’m obsessed.” 

Tell me a bit about your achievements last year and any goals for this year 

“Last year, I ran five marathons. The whole year, I did four of them in four weeks in April. I did Brighton, Lake Garda, London, and then my own self-led Ultra. Because why not do an ultra? You’ve done three marathons back-to-back? That was 52k, and then Chicago, which is one of the best marathons in the world along with London, incredible location, incredible community of people that support you, support like I’ve never had on the side-lines.

Chicago was Claire’s first marathon, so I was just running it with her. I have actually got a ballot place this year. I’m definitely doing Valencia in December, and then doing Lake Garda half marathon.” 

If you are feeling inspired and ready to dive into the world of HYROX, explore our state-of-the-art facilities here at Club La Santa by booking your next active holiday to Lanzarote and find out what all the hype is about!