HYROX Race Recap, Sled Drama & World-Class Comebacks

Dec 8

This episode of the RMR Training Podcast is brought to you by Rockopt—the number one analytics tool for your HYROX racing and training. I’ve used it for the past year and it’s without a doubt made me a better, smarter athlete.

Seeing everything in one place—strengths, weaknesses, what’s costing you time—removes the guesswork so you can actually train with a plan instead of vibes. You can grab a free custom Rockopt report with the link in the show notes.

Now, let’s get into it.

The Sled Push Problem No One Wants… But Everyone Gets

Let’s talk about the sled.

HYROX is supposed to be a “controlled” race. Same stations, same distances, same layout. But if you race enough, you start to realize:

Not all sled lanes are created equal.
Sometimes the carpet buckles, ripples, or slides.
And sometimes, like what happened to Kent in Atlanta, your lane becomes a full-body character test.

What Happened in Atlanta

Kent came into this race feeling fit. He had a key workout that was two minutes faster than before Boston. The plan was clear:

Smooth start
Strong SkiErg
Aggressive sled push

And then he hit the sled.

The carpet in his lane wasn’t fully taped or gripped to the floor. The front of the turf rippled like a wave every time he pushed, which:

Drove friction through the roof
Pumped his quads way earlier than planned
Turned a controlled effort into a full grind

He pushed it hard anyway—because that was the strategy going in. The time wasn’t horrible on paper, but the energy cost? Massive. And that’s what wrecked the rest of the race.

When Your Sled Lane Sucks: What Should You Actually Do?

You can’t control every lane. You can control your response.

Here’s the big lesson Kent pulled from Atlanta, and one you should steal before it happens to you:

1. Accept the Situation Fast

Instead of doubling down and trying to “force” a normal split, the better move would’ve been:

Accept: “This lane is slow. Period.”
Adjust expectations: “This station is going to be 45–60 seconds slower than ideal.”
Protect the rest of the race.

HYROX is energy management, not just station splits. If you blow yourself up early trying to save 30 seconds on the sled, you’ll lose minutes later.

2. Trust Your Fitness, Not the Clock

If your lane is objectively worse, the goal shifts:

Don’t panic. Everyone looks fast when you’re suffering.
Stay technical: low position, steady drive, consistent breathing.
Come off the sled with something still left in your legs, even if the clock stings.

It’s better to eat 45 extra seconds on sled push than to lose 3–4 minutes over the next four stations because your legs are cooked.

3. Reset on the Next Run

Meg’s take? Use the next run as your reset:

Dial the pace back more than your ego wants.
Let your breathing and legs come back to you.
Mentally file the sled away as “done” and focus on what’s next.

What’s behind you is behind you for a reason. You’re not getting that station back. All you can do is win the next one.

The Farmer’s Carry, Gloves, and a Lesson in Gear

While we’re here, let’s talk about gear mistakes.

Kent tried to save a few seconds in the farmer’s carry by slipping on gloves he’d been using earlier. Problem:

The gloves were wet from being tucked into his pants.
Wet grip + heavy farmer’s handles = slip city.
He ended up setting the weights down multiple times—one of his worst carries ever.

Moral of the story:

Test your gear in race conditions, not just in theory.
“Time-saving hacks” that compromise grip, mechanics, or confidence usually cost you way more than they save.

Meg’s Comeback: From Injury Doubt to HYROX PR

On the other side of the race recap, we’ve got Meg.

This race meant a lot—it was her first solo HYROX back after a long, frustrating stretch of injury, setbacks, and false starts. And she didn’t just survive it.

She ran a lifetime PR on a fair course with normal sleds and full-length stations.

That alone is huge. But how she got there is the real lesson.

The Training Shift: Boring, Ruthless, and Effective

Meg’s training over the last several months can be summed up in a few principles:

1. She Removed Her Ego

No “sending the last rep” just to feel like a hero.
No “I’ll just go a bit faster to prove I’m fit.”
Every workout was executed exactly as prescribed. Paces, reps, rest.

That meant:

Fewer flashy, high-risk workouts
More predictable, repeatable sessions she could track over time
No failed sessions from overreaching

2. Threshold Over Flex

Meg’s weekly volume:

~90–95 km (56–59 miles) of running
A ton of cycling—her biggest tool by hours per week
Strength that’s highly specific to HYROX: sleds, single-leg work, station-focused lifts

What she didn’t do:

Chase every VO2max workout under the sun
Live on random metcons or CrossFit WODs
Spend tons of time on heavy deadlifts or vanity strength she doesn’t need

Instead, her work leaned heavily into:

Threshold training
Grindy, race-specific efforts
Repeating similar sessions weekly and watching fitness climb

Is it sexy? Not really.

Is it effective? Her race says yes.

All Chips In: The Mindset Behind a Real Comeback

Maybe the most powerful part of Meg’s story isn’t the race time—it’s the mindset.

When you lose months of running, when your back flares up under simple movements, and when every burpee broad jump feels like a gamble, a lot of people quietly downgrade their goals.

Meg didn’t.

She leaned into a line she repeats to herself often:

“Faith and fear both rely on you believing in something you can’t see.”

If that’s true, you might as well pick faith.

That looked like:

Training with full intent, even when she wasn’t sure she’d ever be “elite” again
Being willing to put all her chips in—no mental escape hatches, no halfway effort
Accepting the possibility of failure and still going all in anyway

Most people never actually do that. They say they’re “all in,” but leave themselves an out:

A half-committed plan
A “we’ll see” attitude
A lot of “I could’ve done better if…”

Meg removed the out. Whatever the outcome, she wanted to know how good she could be.

Racing Less, Training Better

Another shift: Meg stopped chasing every race opportunity just to be “on the floor.”

She’s made peace with:

Skipping big races if her body isn’t ready
Prioritizing long-term health over camera time
Protecting the thing she loves most: training at a high level every day

Missing one major race hurts.
Not being able to train how you want for months? That’s worse.

Kent’s Path: Callousing the Mind, One Race at a Time

Kent, on the other hand, is taking the opposite approach—for a reason.

After a rough run of DNFs over the last couple years, he’s on a mission to:

Callous his mind
Stay in it when things go sideways
Make finishing, not dropping out, his new default

That’s why you’ll see him:

Racing doubles in Chicago
Turning around and racing solo in the same weekend
Heading straight into Dallas and Anaheim afterward

It’s not just about stacking races—it’s about proving to himself that he can stay in the fight, even when the day isn’t going to plan.

What You Can Steal for Your Next HYROX

You might not be chasing world records, but these lessons scale to any level:

When something goes wrong (bad sled, bad lane, bad station):
Accept it fast, adjust on the fly, and protect the rest of your race.
When in doubt in training:
Get a little more boring and a lot more consistent. Repeated threshold work and specific strength will beat novelty every time.
When fear sneaks in:
Remember—faith and fear both ask you to believe in something you can’t see. Choose faith and find out what happens when you actually go all in.

Ready to Level Up Your HYROX Performance?

You don’t have to guess where you’re strong or where you’re leaking time anymore.

👉 Step 1: Get Your Free Roxopt Report
Use the link in the show notes to grab a free custom Roxopt analytics report based on your HYROX results. You’ll see:

Exactly which stations are helping or hurting you
How your running compares to your station work
Where to focus your next block of training

👉 Step 2: Listen to the Full Episode
This blog only scratches the surface. Hit play on the full RMR Training Podcast episode to hear:

The full story of Kent’s sled push nightmare
Meg’s emotional first race back
How we’re planning Chicago, Dallas, Anaheim, and beyond

👉 Step 3: Apply One Lesson This Week
Don’t just consume the content—act on it. Pick one of these:

Clean up your sled push strategy
Commit to 4–6 weeks of repeatable threshold workouts
Drop the ego and start hitting prescribed paces exactly as written

Then hit reply, DM us, or tag us and tell us what you’re working on.

We’re out here racing, learning, and sharing the journey so you can show up on race day knowing you’re ready.

Hyrox

Rich Ryan