Ottawa first-ever Hyrox fitness race kicked off this weekend. More than 13,000 participants gathered at the Cohere Centre to take part in the experience that combines running and functional fitness. The event consists of 8 kilometres of running combined with functional fitness exercises. Each kilometre of the race is followed by a functional fitness station that includes exercises like lunges, burpees, farmers carries, sled pushes and pulls, machine rows and more. The race ends with a wall ball station, where athletes must throw a weighted ball against a wall 100 times. “We call it the World Series of Fitness Racing. It’s really like a sport for people that go to the gym all the time,” said Allison Muscart, Hyrox’s head of marketing for North and South America. Participants Danny Grant and Ryan Brissett are firefighters who drove to the capital from Oshawa, Ont. and Mississauga, Ont. for the race. This is their first time participating in Hyrox and they say it’s a good way to stay fit and active. “We’re trying to do a respectable time. Have fun at the same time but be competitive with ourselves,” said Brissett. “I’m here for fun. Go out there, run and give our heart out,” said Grant. Hyrox events have taken place in more than 30 countries. Events have been held in Canada, in Toronto and Vancouver, but this is the first time Hyrox has come to Ottawa. Organizers say the competition is expanding rapidly and their goal is to be in every major city in the world. “I just wanted to challenge myself. I look to empower myself. I seen a lot of people doing Hyrox over the last two years and I was inspired so I said, ‘this year I had to train and give it a shot,’” participant Chervon Hopkinson said. Hopkinson came from Toronto for his first Hyrox race. He said he’s very proud of himself but now realizes how difficult the event is. “I should have trained a little bit more because it was very humbling. Now I know to do better next year,” Hopkinson said. “I feel cooked. I’m done. My feet are swollen. My joints are sore. I need to get an ice bath and a sauna and stretch. The key is electrolytes. I should have taken a lot more electrolytes.” “It’s something that everybody can do. It’s not easy but everybody can do it. We have a 99.6 per cent finish rate. Anyone that starts it, finishes it. It’s you against you,” said Hyrox’s Muscart. Organizers say the event features a strong community aspect, with strangers cheering on strangers. “It’s a community that’s very empowering. They motivate you. Strangers are cheering you on as you run and I think it’s best to at least give it a shot, one time in your life,” said Hopkinson. “We have training clubs in every major city all over the world, where people are coming together to train together to build, find, make connection and build community. That’s what it’s all about for us, that people are bettering themselves, building their confidence and getting fitter.” Grant and Brissett say they hope this is their first event of many. “I feel good like we can do it again. He crushed it. I crushed it. We kept each other going. Proud that we stuck through it,” said Brissett. The race runs until Sunday.
