‘The sport for everybody’ - Sarnians step up to Hyrox challenge
Hyrox has taken Guernsey by storm this year.
The relatively new fitness racing discipline – which alternates running with functional exercise stations – bills itself as ‘a sport for everybody’ and indeed has already become a favourite for scores of islanders.
Just ask Kate Collenette, the head Hyrox coach at Upgrade Fitness.
The Guernsey Press Sport Podcast did exactly that as Collenette gave her reflections on the sport’s growth since Upgrade Fitness introduced classes in January, capping off this annus mirabilis by sending a 22-strong contingent to the massive ExCel London event last weekend.
The Upgrade Fitness team were up against huge fields, including around 2,700 men and 1,700 women in the individual events, to say nothing of the popular doubles and team relays.
However, after the hustle and bustle of the weekend, the head coach was pleased with how they got on.
‘Every single person that participated from here this weekend absolutely smashed it,’ Collenette said.
‘We had people that were going in with an idea of a time they wanted to do, other people just wanted to finish it, and every single person came out with a smile on their face, and that’s all it was about really.’
Hear more from Upgrade Fitness coach Kate Collenette on the latest Guernsey Press Sport Podcast
Collenette placed 171st in the open women’s category and Ruairi Pollins was the island’s top man at 282nd individually.
Guernsey also featured solidly in the popular doubles disciplines, including Joshua Davies and Leo Sanders finishing just outside the top 100 in the pro men’s category.
Collenette also partnered Grace Dovey as both ended up just outside the top 100 open women’s combinations.
Hyrox is no walk in the park. In competition, participants will take on eight 1km runs, each followed by functional stations ranging from ski and rowing ergometer legs to gruelling farmer’s carries and sandbag lunges.
But it still retains a reputation of being inclusive – with each competitor setting their own targets.
‘For a lot of people, I think it’s just about setting a personal challenge of “Can they do it?”,’ Collenette added.
‘And that’s why the sport itself is so inclusive, because everyone can do it. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you.’
Breaking the hour barrier is a realistic target for the strongest and most capable Hyrox competitors.
For these elite, qualifying for World Championships – such as the ones to be held in Chicago next year – is a major objective.
Certainly, any competitor will spend plenty of time on their feet, and so running fitness helps. But?
‘People say it’s a runner’s race, because I mean, the majority of it is running.
‘But until January, I hadn’t run for about a year.
‘So it really is accessible for everyone.
‘At the weekend, I saw several wheelchair users competing. I saw a guy on crutches, a guy with only one leg competing – a prosthetic leg – it is the sport for everyone.’
Hyrox launched only in 2017 and soon began promoting itself as the fastest-growing fitness sport in the world.
But it did not instantly become big in Guernsey, Collenette admitted.
‘There were only a few people who had dabbled in it before January.
‘And then yeah, this year it really kicked off.’
Recently, with the London competition to build towards, she reports that they have had full classes every week.
‘I think we’ve hit the jackpot. I think we’ve hit the nail on the head here.’
And while ExCel London has come and gone – for 2024 at least – the local Hyrox community pushes on.
The international Hyrox map features an extensive list of destinations, with Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia hosting an array of competitions between them.
But it is currently those closest to home seeing the most demand from Sarnians.
‘We’re thinking maybe next November, if there’s another London one, we’ll try and make it an annual thing for Upgrade to go as a group.
‘But myself, I’ve got Manchester in eight weeks.
‘Already planning the next one, I think they’re going to release London Olympia soon, so I think there’s quite a few people who have just done November who are going to want to compete in May again.
‘We’ll just keep pushing through, helping people get to their goals.’
