You have trained for weeks or months. The race is approaching. Now begins a phase that is at least as important as the training itself, and that most athletes underestimate. What you do in the last 10 days, how you eat, how you sleep and how you approach the race itself, all contribute to how much you get out of your preparation. This is the complete guide for everything that comes after the last heavy training session.
Tapering: the last 10 days
Tapering is not the same as resting. It is the conscious reduction of training volume while largely maintaining the intensity, so that your body can process the training work of the past few weeks and arrive fresh at the start. Anyone who skips the taper or gets it wrong sacrifices weeks of preparation for nothing.
10 to 7 days before the race
This is the last week in which you build anything. Do not increase the training load, but complete your last quality sessions.
What you still do:
- A short but sharp run at or just below race pace (e.g. 4 × 1 km at target pace, with 2 min rest)
- A light strength session where you feel the station movements again: no maximum weights, but you do activate the specific patterns
- A bonus tip that works: the day before your rest day, do all 8 exercises in quick succession, each at high effort for 30 to 60 seconds. This gives your body a final stimulus and increases self-confidence, because you have felt everything again
What you no longer do:
- Don't try new workouts
- No more long endurance runs
- No maximum strength sessions
The last week (day 6 to 2)
You halve the volume. You maintain the intensity, but the sessions become shorter.
A typical taper week at 4 sessions/week:
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Mon (6 days before race) | Easy run 25–30 min, Zone 2 |
| Di | Short activation session: technical stations, light weights, 20 min |
| Wed | Peace or mobility |
| Thurs (3 days before race) | 4–5 × 400 m on race pace + finish. Total ≤ 30 minutes |
| Fri | Rest |
| Sat (day before race) | Walk 20–30 min, mobility, no training |
Sleep will be your most important training tool this week. Those who sleep an average of 8+ hours the last 3 nights before the race perform measurably better than those who do not. That's not an opinion, that's sleep research. And it costs you nothing!
The last 48 hours
No more new incentives. Your body now does the work, you just ensure that the preconditions are correct.
48 hours before the start:
- Meals: high in carbohydrates, low in fiber and fat, familiar products
- Hydration: start actively increasing. 2.5 to 3 liters per day, preferably with electrolytes
- Sleep: go to bed early, phone away, room cool
The day before the race:
- No intensive training: at most a gentle walk of 20-30 minutes
- Visit the venue if possible: know how to get there, where to go, what the hall looks like
- Get all your belongings ready: shoes, clothing, gels, starting number, ID (required when registering), sports watch, possibly tape or straps
- Eat early enough in the evening: no more heavy meals after 8 p.m.
The night before the race: A bad night before the race is normal. Almost everyone sleeps poorly the night before an event. That's okay. One bad night has little impact on sports performance if the two nights before were good. So invest in those two nights before.
Nutrition and hydration
Nutrition is not a detail on race day. It is the fuel with which you finish the race. But the biggest mistake athletes make is not eating too little on the day itself: it is not being prepared enough in the days before.
Is carb loading necessary for HYROX?
HYROX takes between 75 and 120 minutes for most recreational athletes. In that time frame you seriously use up your glycogen stores. Especially because the intensity is high and you put a lot of strain on both your aerobic and muscular systems. Nutritionist Andrea Deelstra explains it clearly: During a HYROX you are constantly feeding at high intensity. This means that sugar burning is high, which requires a lot of carbohydrates."
What this means in practical terms:
The last 2 to 3 days before the race, gradually increase your carbohydrate intake. Guideline: increase to 65–70% carbohydrates in your diet, without lowering your protein intake. Think of pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, bread. No exotic products, just what your body already knows.
Carbohydrates bind water: each gram of glycogen holds about 3à 4 grams of water solid. You will feel a little heavier in the last few days. This is normal and not a cause for concern.
What to avoid:
- Large amounts of fiber (cabbage, legumes, raw vegetables) in the last 24–48 hours
- Fatty, heavy meals the night before the race
- Alcohol: even though the temptation to relax is great
The day before the race
Eat normally, but in a familiar and carbohydrate-oriented manner.
Ideal evening meal (the day before): pasta or rice with a lean protein source (chicken, fish), little sauce, little fat, little fiber. A classic pre-race meal exists for a reason. No adventure on the board the night before your race.
Drink regularly throughout the day. Check your urineColor: light yellow is good, dark yellow means you need to drink more.
Breakfast on race day
This is the meal that most athletes eat too heavy, too late, or for which they wake up at a time that is inconvenient.
Timing is everything. Plan your breakfast 2.5 to 3 hours before the start. If you start at 10:00 AM, you will eat around 7:00 AM - 7:30 AM. Then get up on time. Waking up with 20 minutes to spare for breakfast is a recipe for stress.
What should be on your plate:
- Easily digestible and rich in carbohydrates
- Low fat, low fiber
- No products that you are not used to
Concrete examples:
- White sandwiches or a white roll with jam or honey
- Oatmeal with banana (not too much fiber)
- Rice porridge or porridge with some sugar/honey
- Possibly a yoghurt without too many additives
HYROX coach Delphin Kruithof Kremer is specific: "On race day you eat four white buns with jam for breakfast, a banana half an hour before the start, and a gel just before the race. If it takes you longer than an hour, take another one halfway through.
30 to 60 minutes before the start: The golden rule: Test everything during your training. You don't know what you eat or drink for the first time on race day. You don't take that risk.
During the race
HYROX offers few natural eating moments. There are drink stations, but no real rest stops.
Do you have a time goal under 75 minutes? Then you don't need extra carbohydrates during the race if you are well loaded at the start. Focus on hydration at each hydration station.
Does your race last 75 minutes or longer? Then one gel or a sip of sports drink halfway through (somewhere between stations 4 and 6) is useful to keep your energy level stable. Make sure you have tested this in advance and that you know how to take it with you: in a bracelet holder, in a pocket on your pants...
Drink a small amount at each drinking station. Not too much at once, that will give you a full feeling during the next run. Small sips, consistent.
After the race
This is where most athletes go wrong. The race is over, the adrenaline subsides, and you sit down with your family. Logical, but your recovery starts the moment you cross the finish line, not an hour later.
Delphin Kruithof Kremer puts it sharply: "The most common mistake is that athletes are ready, sit down, drink a Red Bull, talk to family and exchange stories, but they forget that recovery starts immediately."
Within 30 minutes after the finish:
- Eat something with carbohydrates and proteins: a recovery shake, a chicken sandwich, cottage cheese with fruit
- Keep moving lightly: walk around a bit, stretching or foam rolling is allowed
- Drink water or an electrolyte drink
The rest of the day:
- Eat a full meal within 2 hours of the race
- Avoid heavy strength training or intense exercise for the next 2–3 days
- Sleep as much as you can that night
Race pacing and strategy
This is where your race will be won or lost. And it is the part that most athletes master the worst on their first race.
How do you determine your race pace?
A good rule of thumb: plan your running miles at a pace that is 10 to 15% slower than your current 10 km pace. If you run 10 km in 50 minutes (5:00/km), plan your HYROX runs at ~5:30–5:45/km.
This is not an exact science. The fatigue of the stations makes it impossible to walk as you normally would. But it gives you a starting point.
A simple self-test:
In training, do a compromised run: perform a tough station block (e.g. Sled Push simulation + RowErg 1 km) and then immediately run 1 km at your target pace. If you succeed, your pace is realistic. If that doesn't work, adjust.
The best athletes run all 8 km with almost metronomic consistency, with only a few seconds of variation per lap. That's the goal: not faster and slower, but evenly. Every unnecessarily fast km in the first half will be paid back in the second half.
Where are you not saving time?
The first kilometer is the most dangerous. The hall buzzes with music, everyone sprints away, the adrenaline pumps through your body. This is when most races are ruined. Consciously start slowly and trust your plan.
The first few stations (especially the SkiErg) also tempt you to exert too much. That's tempting because you're still fresh. But what you give away too hard here, you won't get back. The SkiErg is the first station and also the least decisive for your finishing time. Don't go all out.
You don't gain more time by stopping at every drinking station. Limit the contact time to a few seconds: a small sip and move on.
Where do you lose the race?
The RoxZone. More about this in the next section.
The Wall Balls. This is the last station and for most athletes also the toughest, both physically and mentally. Anyone who starts the Wall Balls without a plan will get stuck. Decide in advance which sets you will do them in and stick to them, even when it is tough. A plan of 20+20+20+20+20 or 25+25+25+25 is better than starting unbroken and collapsing halfway through.
The Sled Push. Many athletes waste too much energy here by going too fast. Small, powerful steps. Don't sprint. The sled stops when you stop. Keep a constant rhythm.
The transitions. Every time you leave a station and start the next run, you lose 10–30 seconds without consciousness. Over 8 stations that is potentially 2–4 minutes. More about this below.
The RoxZone as a strategic element
The RoxZone is the transition zone between the track and the workout stations. The clock continues to run. There is no "break time". Every second you spend there watching, searching or catching your breath counts towards your finishing time.
Top athletes keep their transitions at 5 to 10 seconds per station. Recreational athletes can easily lose 20–30 seconds at a time here if they are not focused. Over 8 stations this increases to 2.5 à 4 minutes.
How to make the RoxZone more efficient:
Know where each station is in advance. When you arrive in the hall, walk through the route in your head. Find the stations if you have time to explore.
Walk into the RoxZone, lower your heart rate as you walk to the station. Breathe consciously. Start the station once you get there. If you need to grab material (like with Farmers Carry), do it while moving, not standing still.
Leave each station without lingering. The first few steps after a station are difficult, your legs are still shaking, your heart rate is high. Walk anyway, with short steps. Use the first 100–200 meters of each run to recover, not to be the fastest.
Station-by-station approach
Not every station deserves the same approach. Below is a brief strategy per station. For the complete technology, we refer to the individual station pages.
SkiErg: You're still fresh. That's the danger. Go 10–15% calmer than you think you can. You pay that back in the last 3 stations.
Sled Push: Keep your body low, short powerful steps, keep a constant rhythm. No sprints. This is where you lose the race if you are too eager.
Sled Pull: Slightly less strenuous than the Push for most athletes. Find your rhythm and keep it up. Test whether stepping backwards or hip thrust works better for you. You only know that if you have trained it.
Burpee Broad Jumps: This gets your heart rate up. Keep a steady, controllable pace. No rush, each jump only has to be a short distance. Take your rest lying down, not standing.
RowErg: Row technically correct: long stroke, push from the legs. Poor rowing technique costs energy without gaining speed. Know your splits: aim for consistent 500m splits.
Farmers Carry: Don't put it down if you can avoid it. Small, quick steps. Keep your shoulders back. Grip is the limitation here for most athletes.
Sandbag Lunges: Keep technique and rhythm. Lower deeply enough for each rep or you will be given a rep assignment. Do not put down the sandbag: this will result in a time penalty and a risk of disqualification if repeated.
Wall Balls: Plan your sets in advance. The most commonly used strategy: sets of 20 or 25 with a short controlled break in between. Don't go unbroken if you have doubts about whether you can keep it up. Consistent is better than starting heroically and collapsing.
Mental strategy
Most athletes prepare their physical capacity. Few prepare for what happens mentally during a race.
Visualize in advance. Go through the race in your mind: how do you enter the hall, how do you feel the first kilometer, what do you do if the Sled Push is harder than expected? Athletes who go through mental scenarios in advance react more calmly when things don't go as planned.
Expect setbacks. There comes a point in the race (usually somewhere between stations 5 and 7) when the going gets tough. That's not a sign that something is going wrong. That's HYROX. Plan how you will deal with that moment before you get to the start.
Split the race into blocks. Don't think about the finish line when you're at station 3. Think about the next mile. Then at the next station. Smaller mental units are easier to manage than the entire race as one big whole.
Use your breathing. Your heart rate will be high after each station. Use the first 100–200 meters of each run to breathe consciously: 2 steps in, 2 steps out. Regular breathing stabilizes your heart rate faster than random hyperventilation.
Trust your preparation. You won't change anything on race day. What you have trained is in your body. Trusting that work (instead of doubting your preparation) is the only mental work that makes sense on race day.
The practical checklist
The night before the race — get ready:
Running shoes (stable, broken-in, no new shoes)
Sportswear (light, breathable, not new material)
Starting number and safety pins
Identity document (required for registration)
Sports watch charged
Gels or snacks for on the go (tested during training)
Water bottle with electrolyte drink
Tape, straps or sleeves if you are used to them
Gloves (optional, for grip on Sled Pull and Farmers Carry)
Warm clothes for after the race (you cool down quickly)
Recovery snack for immediately after the finish
Race day — morning:
Get up on time: minimum 2.5–3 hours before the start
Eat your usual breakfast, not too late
Drink 500–700 ml in the 2 hours before the start
Bring your snack (banana or gel) for 30–60 minutes before the start
Drive on time: park far enough from the entrance if the location is full
In the hall:
Register on time: many events have a mandatory check-in time
Walk down the hall: know where the stations are
Do a 10–15 min warm-up: mobility, some low-intensity cardio, short activation sets at 1–2 stations
After the finish:
Move over. Do not stop abruptly
Eat and drink within 30 minutes
Celebrate! You've accomplished something
Have you finished the race and want to know what you can do better next time? View your official splits on the HYROX results platform. Which stations took you the most time? Which kilometers were slower? That's your training agenda for the next cycle.
Bart Vandenbussche is passionate about sport and never shies away from a sporting challenge. He has run several marathons (including sub-3h), is an Iron+Ultra Viking, and currently has the Hyrox bug.
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