Hyrox Doubles: rules, splitting the work, and good times

Hyrox Doubles is the full Hyrox race for two people: you both run all 8 km together, side by side, and you split the work at all eight stations however you like. Same course, same weights per tier, half the station work each (roughly), and one finish time that stops when the slower of you crosses the line.

This guide covers how Hyrox Doubles works, the Doubles rules from the 26/27 doubles rulebook, Mixed Doubles, how to split each station, and what a good Doubles time looks like. If you want the training sorted for both of you, Hyrox training that adjusts weekly is the shortcut.

How does Hyrox Doubles work?

The race is the standard Hyrox format: a 1 km run, then a station, repeated eight times. In Doubles:

• ›Both partners run every kilometer. Running is never shared. You run together, the whole way.
• ›Stations are shared. One partner works while the other rests, and you swap as often as you want.
• ›You enter and leave each station together. The station can't start until both of you are there, and you leave together once the reps or distance are done.
• ›You finish as a team. The official time is recorded when both partners have crossed the line, from the later of the two chip reads.

Because the running is the same as singles and the station work is roughly halved, the training is mostly the same as for a solo race, with a bit less emphasis on station endurance. A shared Hyrox training plan works if you train the same days; otherwise, each of you just follows your own and you meet for a few joint sessions.

New to the race itself? Start with a guide to what is Hyrox: the stations, the order and the basic rules.

Hyrox Doubles divisions

The doubles rulebook lists five divisions:

Each division races in its own start waves. A team's age group is set by the average age of the two partners on race day, which is a pleasant surprise for anyone racing with a younger partner.

Hyrox Mixed Doubles

Hyrox Mixed Doubles is one woman and one man, and the loads are the Men Open loads: a 152 kg sled push, 103 kg sled pull, 2 x 24 kg kettlebells, a 20 kg sandbag and a 6 kg wall ball. The wall ball target still goes by sex. The rulebook says female racers hit the women's target (2.70 m) and male racers hit the men's (3.00 m).

That matters for planning. In Mixed, the woman is working at Women Pro loads on every weighted station, so the split shouldn't be an automatic 50/50.

Hyrox Doubles rules that actually cost time

The rulebook is long. These are the Doubles-specific rules worth knowing before race day.

Running together

Both partners must run together for the full 1,000 m between stations. If one runs ahead, it's a 1-minute penalty, and a team with more than 3 penalties for not staying together is put out of competition with no ranking. Run at the slower partner's pace. That is the race.

The resting partner

During every station, the resting partner has to stay on their feet. No kneeling, sitting, lying down or touching a knee to the floor. They stay inside the designated workout zone without blocking other racers.

Station by station

• ›SkiErg: you can't pass the handles from one partner to the other, and only the working partner adjusts the damper. The resting partner stays in the marked area.
• ›Sled push: the resting partner walks immediately behind the working partner, never in a neighboring lane.
• ›Sled pull: the resting partner stays behind and may not touch the rope with hands or feet. They are allowed to give verbal and physical guidance, as long as they don't step onto or inside the Racer's Box.
• ›Burpee broad jumps: the resting partner walks behind. On a switch, the incoming partner places their hands where the working partner's feet landed, toes and fingers in line.
• ›Rowing: the resting partner stays in the marked area behind. You can't pass each other the handle, adjust the damper or adjust the footstraps for each other.
• ›Farmers carry and sandbag lunges: kettlebells and the sandbag can be handed over sideways or backwards, never forwards. The resting partner walks behind.
• ›Wall balls: hand the ball over or let it drop to the floor. A "flying" switch, where one partner throws and the other catches it in the squat, is a no-rep. The resting partner waits in the marked area under the rig.

Everything else is singles rules

Movement standards, penalties for missed laps, station order, the IN and OUT arches, chalk only at the sled pull and farmers carry: all the same as the individual race. Each partner wears their own timing chip, so a Doubles team has two.

How to split the work in Hyrox Doubles

The rulebook's example is the classic "you go, I go" on the row: partner 1 rows a self-selected distance, say 250 m, then partner 2 takes over, and so on until 1,000 m. Every station can work like that. The question is how you split.

Coaching practice, not rules:

Split by strength, not fairness. If one of you is much stronger on the sleds, that person takes more of the sled lengths. Equal shares are polite. Unequal shares are faster.

Short turns on the ergs, longer turns on the carries. Frequent switches on the SkiErg and the rower keep the pace high. On the farmers carry and lunges, every handover costs a few seconds, so fewer, longer turns usually work better.

Plan the wall balls. Something like sets of 10 to 15 each, swapping on a drop, keeps both of you moving and avoids a long grind. Decide the scheme in training, not at rep 60.

Protect the slower runner. The runs aren't shared, so whoever is slower on the run sets the team's running pace. Give them a little less station work if it keeps them faster on the run that follows.

Practice the switches. Each handover has a rule attached. Rehearse them so race day isn't the first time you pass a sandbag.

What's a good Hyrox Doubles time?

There's no official benchmark, but a 700,000-result analysis reported by BoxLife Magazine gives these medians:

Those are noticeably faster than the singles Open medians in the same report, which makes sense: shared station work means shorter stations and fresher legs for each run. The article doesn't say which seasons the data covers, so take it as a ballpark. The singles numbers, and how to turn them into a goal of your own, are in what is a good Hyrox time explained.

Doubles vs singles: which should you do?

If you're choosing a first race, Doubles is the friendliest way in. You still run 8 km, but the strength side of the race is far more forgiving, and racing with someone you know takes the edge off. The trade-off is that you can only run as fast as the slower partner. The full comparison of Open, Pro, Doubles and Relay is in which Hyrox division to enter.

And if you're wondering how hard is Hyrox in Doubles specifically: easier on the stations, identical on the running.

Don't waste the Roxzone

In Doubles you enter and exit each station together, so every hesitation costs two people. Agree before the race who leads into each station, who starts the work and where you meet. The time between the run course and the station counts, and the roxzone Hyrox section of the course is where pairs who never talked it through lose minutes.

Before you sign up

The age rule is the same for Doubles as for singles: the answer to how old do you have to be to do Hyrox is at least 16 on race day, for both partners. You register as a team at hyrox.com, which the rulebook says is the only way to sign up.

If one of you is coming from a CrossFit gym, the answer to how is Hyrox different from CrossFit mostly comes down to predictability: the workout never changes, so you can rehearse every handover in advance.

Adaptive racers have their own rulebook, with categories for men and women. The question of what is Hyrox Adaptive for men and women has a different answer from standard Doubles, because the divisions, standards and in some cases the distances are set separately.

How exrsz handles Doubles prep

exrsz builds a periodized plan from your race goal, schedule, level and equipment, with running and station strength in one plan. If you both use it, each of you gets a plan that fits your own week. It adapts to how training actually went, and it reshuffles missed sessions instead of letting them pile up.

FAQ

How does Hyrox Doubles work?

Two partners run all 8 km together and split the work at each of the eight stations however they like. The team's time stops when both have crossed the finish line.

Do both partners run in Hyrox Doubles?

Yes. Both partners run every 1 km together. Running ahead of your partner is a 1-minute penalty under the doubles rulebook.

What are the Hyrox Mixed Doubles weights?

Mixed Doubles uses the Men Open loads: 152 kg sled push, 103 kg sled pull, 2 x 24 kg farmers carry, 20 kg sandbag and a 6 kg wall ball. Women throw to the 2.70 m target and men to the 3.00 m target.

What are the main Hyrox Doubles rules?

Run together, enter and leave stations together, keep the resting partner on their feet, and never pass kettlebells or the sandbag forwards. Wall ball switches must be a hand-off or a drop, not a flying catch.

Can you split Hyrox Doubles stations unevenly?

Yes. The rulebook lets you switch as often as you like and doesn't require an even split, so most pairs give more of the heavy work to the stronger partner.