I lost first place because I did not drink enough electrolytes.
That is not a sentence I say lightly. I had trained hard, I was fit, I was ready. And then halfway through the race my legs started cramping. Not a twinge, full on lock up cramping that forced me to slow down and change how I was moving just to get through it. I finished the race knowing I had left a win on the table, not because I was not strong enough or fast enough, but because I had not fuelled and hydrated properly in the days leading in.
That race taught me more than any training block ever has. So when I see new HYROX athletes making the same kinds of mistakes I made, I want to save them the lesson the hard way. Here are the ten I see most often, starting with the one that cost me a race.
The mistakes new HYROX athletes make most
Most of these come down to preparation rather than fitness. The good news is that every single one is fixable once you know to look for it. Work through them honestly and you will already be ahead of most first timers on the start line.
1. Not fuelling and hydrating properly before the race
This is the one that got me. Athletes will nail their training but treat race week nutrition as an afterthought. Electrolytes are not optional extras, especially if you are racing somewhere warm or you sweat heavily. Get your fuelling and hydration strategy locked in well before race day, not the morning of. The official HYROX event guidance is a useful starting point for understanding race day logistics.
2. Pacing too aggressively in the opening stations
I did this in my early races too. The adrenaline hits, the crowd is loud, and it feels easy for the first two or three stations. Then the wheels come off. HYROX rewards even pacing far more than it rewards a fast start. If you cannot hold your opening pace for all eight stations, it is too fast. Getting this right is so important that we wrote a full guide on how to pace your first HYROX.
3. Ignoring compromised running training
Your open 5K pace means very little in HYROX. What matters is how you run after a sled push or a set of wall balls. If all your running training happens fresh, you are not preparing for the race you are actually going to do.
4. Rushing the warm up
I used to rush warm ups too, thinking they were a box to tick before the real training started. They are not. Proper activation changes how your body performs under fatigue, and skipping it is one of the quickest ways to underperform or get injured.
5. Treating strength and running as separate worlds
New athletes often pick a lane, either they lift or they run, and try to bolt the other one on. HYROX demands both working together. Your strength should support your running, and your running should not be undoing your strength work.
6. Getting station technique wrong under fatigue
Technique that looks fine when you are fresh often falls apart under fatigue. Practising stations only when you feel good does not prepare you for doing them on tired legs, which is exactly what race day demands.
7. Overtraining in the final week
More is not always better, especially close to race day. I see athletes trying to cram in extra sessions right before the race, arriving tired instead of sharp.
8. Underestimating the Roxzone
The transitions between stations are not a rest period, they are part of the race. Athletes who ignore this lose time and momentum without realising it. We break this down in The Roxzone: the free time most athletes waste.
9. Comparing your race to someone else’s
Every athlete’s HYROX journey looks different. Comparing your first race to someone else’s tenth is a fast way to lose confidence you have not needed to lose.
10. Not having a plan at all
Turning up to your first HYROX with no pacing plan, no fuelling plan and no strategy is setting yourself up to survive the race rather than perform in it.
If you are preparing for your first HYROX and want a proper starting point rather than trial and error, our free Race Ready guide walks you through exactly what to focus on in the weeks before you race. It is the guide I wish I had before that race where the cramping cost me the win. Avoid the mistakes new HYROX athletes make, and your first start line becomes a whole lot less daunting.