HYROX offers several ways to enter the same basic fitness-race format: compete individually in Open or Pro, race as a two-person Doubles team, or divide the event among four people in Relay. The distinction is not simply about fitness level. It changes how the workload is shared, which weights apply, and, for some divisions, how qualification opportunities work.
In the individual race, every competitor completes all eight 1 km runs and all eight workout stations. Open uses the standard division loads, while Pro uses heavier loads. In Doubles, two athletes still complete the full running distance together, but they divide the work at each workout station. HYROX also offers Open and Pro Doubles in relevant men’s and women’s categories, while Mixed Doubles is an Open division. The exact categories available can vary by event and season, so the event’s registration page and current rulebook are the final reference.
The basic HYROX categories
HYROX describes four broad race formats: Open, Pro, Doubles and Relay. Within those formats are men’s, women’s and mixed divisions, as well as age groups and adaptive categories where applicable.
| Category | Athletes | Running | Workout stations | Main distinction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 1 | 8 × 1 km | All 8 | Standard individual loads |
| Pro | 1 | 8 × 1 km | All 8 | Heavier individual loads |
| Doubles Open | 2 | 8 × 1 km together | All 8, shared | Partners divide each workout |
| Doubles Pro | 2 | 8 × 1 km together | All 8, shared | Partners divide stations using Pro loads |
| Mixed Doubles | 2 | 8 × 1 km together | All 8, shared | Mixed-gender team; Open division |
| Relay | 4 | 8 × 1 km collectively | All 8, divided | Four teammates divide the race |
The table describes the general structure; individual event schedules and current rules determine which divisions are offered at a particular race.
HYROX Open: the standard individual race
Open is the standard individual HYROX format. One athlete completes the entire course: 8 kilometres of running and all eight functional stations.
The workout sequence is unchanged:
- 1 km run
- 1,000 m SkiErg
- 1 km run
- Sled push
- 1 km run
- Sled pull
- 1 km run
- Burpee broad jumps
- 1 km run
- 1,000 m row
- 1 km run
- Farmers carry
- 1 km run
- Sandbag lunges
- 1 km run
- Wall balls
The significant point is that Open does not mean an easier version of the course in terms of distance or number of stations. The running and movement requirements remain substantial; the principal distinction from Pro is the prescribed workout load. HYROX describes Open as its standard race category.
HYROX Pro: the same race with heavier loads
Pro follows the same fundamental eight-run, eight-station structure, but the prescribed weights are heavier.
For example, HYROX’s published men’s specifications list a 152 kg sled-push load including the sled in Open and 202 kg in Pro. The farmers carry rises from two 24 kg kettlebells in Open to two 32 kg kettlebells in Pro, while the wall ball increases from 6 kg to 9 kg.
The women’s divisions similarly use heavier Pro loads.
That means Pro is not a longer race. The running distance remains 8 km, and the station distances and repetition counts remain fundamentally the same. The additional difficulty comes principally from the resistance that the athlete must move while already accumulating fatigue.
HYROX describes Pro as a category for experienced racers, with heavier weights providing the distinction.
Pro is also relevant to championship qualification
The distinction has a competitive consequence beyond the heavier equipment. HYROX’s current World Championship information says every Pro and Mixed Doubles division at its events offers at least one World Championship qualification spot per age group, with specific rules for older age groups.
Qualification rules can change between seasons, however, so athletes pursuing qualification need to consult the rules for the specific season rather than relying on an older description of the pathway.
HYROX Doubles: two athletes, one race
Doubles changes the individual format more substantially.
Two athletes run the 1 km sections together, while they share the work at the functional stations. HYROX specifies that partners can split the workout stations as they choose, subject to the applicable movement rules.
This creates a different type of race.
Neither partner can simply run half the course. Both are involved in all eight 1 km runs. But at a station such as the SkiErg, one partner can complete part of the required distance before the other takes over. The same principle applies to the station work, with the precise rules governing transitions and movement standards.
The format therefore rewards coordination as well as physical ability. Partners need to decide how to divide work without creating unnecessarily long transitions or leaving one athlete disproportionately fatigued.
Doubles Open
Doubles Open has men’s and women’s divisions, with the standard Open loads applying to the corresponding division. The current Doubles rulebook lists Open and Pro categories for men’s and women’s Doubles and an Open Mixed Doubles division.
For example, the published women’s Doubles Open specification includes a 102 kg sled-push load including the sled, two 16 kg kettlebells for the farmers carry and a 4 kg wall ball. Men’s Doubles Open uses the corresponding men’s Open loads.
The important distinction from individual Open is therefore not a reduction in the race’s overall running distance. The pair still runs 8 km each. What changes is that the eight workout stations can be shared.
Doubles Pro
Pro Doubles combines the two defining features of Pro and Doubles: two athletes share the stations, but the team uses the heavier Pro loads.
The current Doubles rulebook identifies men’s and women’s Pro Doubles and states that entry into the Pro Doubles division is limited to the 15 fastest men’s and women’s Doubles teams within the relevant region based on official rankings. Teams must qualify together, and the rulebook says the partnership is then locked.
That makes Pro Doubles structurally different from simply deciding to enter a Doubles race with heavier weights. There is a qualification mechanism governing access to the Pro Doubles field under the current rules.
Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles consists of two athletes of different genders competing as a team.
The current Doubles rulebook lists Doubles Mixed (Open) alongside men’s and women’s Open and Pro Doubles.
As with other Doubles races, both athletes run the 1 km sections together while sharing the workout stations.
One important detail is that Mixed Doubles is not simply the same thing as Pro Doubles with a mixed-gender team. Under the current rules, Mixed Doubles is an Open division, with its own prescribed requirements.
Relay: the four-person alternative
Relay is the other major team format.
Instead of two athletes sharing each station, four teammates divide the race. HYROX describes the relay structure as each teammate completing two 1 km runs and one workout station.
This substantially reduces the individual workload compared with either Singles or Doubles, because each participant is responsible for only part of the overall race.
Current rules list men’s, women’s and mixed relay divisions.
Relay is therefore best understood as a four-person team race, rather than a lighter version of Doubles.
Where age groups fit in
Age group is a separate classification from the basic race format.
An athlete can compete in a division such as Women’s Open or Men’s Pro and also belong to the applicable age group. HYROX uses age groups for rankings, awards and, under the relevant qualification rules, championship qualification.
This matters because “Open” can cause confusion. In HYROX terminology, Open refers to the race division and its standard loads; it does not mean that the athlete has no age classification.
Similarly, Pro does not mean “a separate race for professionals” in the everyday sense of the word. It is a defined HYROX division with heavier prescribed loads and specific competitive rules.
Adaptive divisions
HYROX also lists Adaptive divisions for eligible athletes. The current singles rulebook identifies both Women’s Adaptive and Men’s Adaptive alongside the standard individual divisions.
Adaptive racing has its own rules and classifications, so athletes who may qualify should consult the current Adaptive Rulebook rather than assuming that the standard Open or Pro rules apply unchanged. HYROX publishes separate rulebooks for Singles, Doubles, Relay and Adaptive competition.
How the categories relate to each other
The simplest way to understand the system is to separate how many people are racing from which loading standard applies.
An individual can enter Open or Pro. A two-person team can enter Open Doubles or, where available and eligible, Pro Doubles. Mixed Doubles is currently an Open division. A four-person team enters Relay, with men’s, women’s and mixed formats available under the rules.
The running component remains central throughout the standard HYROX formats, but the amount of workout responsibility carried by each athlete changes dramatically between Singles, Doubles and Relay.
What changes from one category to another?
The differences are easiest to understand through four questions.
How many people are competing? Singles has one athlete; Doubles has two; Relay has four.
Who performs the running? In Singles, the individual runs all eight kilometres. In Doubles, both partners run the eight 1 km sections together. In Relay, the eight kilometres are divided among the four-person team.
Who performs the workout stations? A Singles athlete performs every station. Doubles partners divide the work at each station. Relay teammates divide the stations according to the relay structure.
Which loads apply? Open uses the standard division loads; Pro uses heavier prescribed loads. The applicable load also depends on sex/division and, for team formats, the specific Doubles or Relay category.
The category can matter as much as the fitness level
A HYROX result cannot be interpreted properly without knowing the division.
Two athletes might both record a 70-minute finish, for example, while competing under very different conditions if one is in an individual Pro division and the other is in Doubles. The clock alone does not describe the workload because the Doubles athlete has a partner sharing every workout station.
That is also why comparing a Singles time directly with a Doubles time is generally unhelpful. They are different competition formats with different workloads per athlete.
For anyone entering a race, the practical starting point is therefore not simply asking how fast they can run or how much weight they can move. It is identifying the exact division, team format, sex category, age group and rule set attached to the event entry.
HYROX publishes its current rulebooks and updates them by season, while individual event pages show which divisions are actually scheduled. Checking those documents is particularly important for Pro and Doubles competitors because qualification and eligibility provisions can differ from the standard Open categories.