Training
What is compromised running and how do you train it?
Compromised running is running while you are already fatigued from station work, like in a HYROX race after every sled, lunge or wall ball. You train it by combining station work and running directly: in a sim, or with a short finisher after your threshold run, such as 3 × (2 minutes of station work plus 1 km at race pace). Research shows that running is more than 60% of race time. That running under fatigue is the biggest factor has not been measured.
In short
- Compromised running is running after station work, with tired legs.
- In research, running was more than 60% of race time.
- Running under fatigue was not measured separately in that study.
- Train it in a sim, or with a compromised finisher if you have no sim day.
What is compromised running?
Compromised running is running while your legs and your cardiorespiratory system are already fatigued from other work. In a HYROX race that is the normal situation: after the SkiErg, the sleds, the burpee broad jumps and the other stations, you run 1 km again and again. HYROX itself recommends imitating that feeling in training, at home or in the gym.
What does the research say and not say?
The research shows that running is the biggest part of the race. It does not show that running under fatigue is the most important factor. Brandt and colleagues (2025) had 11 recreational athletes run a simulated race.
| Finding | What the study found |
|---|---|
| Share of running | More than 60% of the time; a median of 51.2 minutes of running at a finish time of 86.5 minutes |
| Strongest relation to finish time | VO₂max, then training volume and body fat percentage |
| No clear relation | Grip strength and muscle mass |
| Highest lactate and RPE | On the stations, peaking at the wall balls |
| Running under fatigue | Called important, but not measured |
So training compromised running is a Benchmrk choice based on this research, not a proven main factor.
There is a hint from race results, though. In an analysis of more than 14,000 results in Open men, runs 5 to 8 were most strongly related to finish time. Those are the runs after the heaviest stations. Correlation is not causation, but it fits the picture that the second half of the race counts.
How do you train compromised running?
You combine station work and running with no break in between. There are two ways to do that.
- In a sim. You run part of the race: sections of running and stations in turn. How to build one is covered in build a HYROX simulation.
- With a compromised finisher. After your threshold run you do a short block of station plus running. Handy if you can't do a sim this week.
You set the pace of your runs with your threshold pace as the base, see run pacing.
What does an example workout look like?
Below is an example from the compromised running phase in the Benchmrk plan. T is your threshold pace.
| Workout | Content |
|---|---|
| Sim, compromised running phase | 8 × (750 m at race pace + station at 75% of race volume) |
| Goal of the sim | Run 8 within 12 s/km of run 1 |
| Compromised finisher | After the threshold run: 3 × (2 min wall balls, lunges or burpees, straight into 1 km at race pace) |
| Pace decay test (benchmark 4) | 8 × 1000 m with stations, log your splits |
Start easy. The goal is to run evenly, not to win the first kilometre. HYROX itself warns against starting too fast.
Which stations make your legs the heaviest?
In the study, lactate and RPE were highest at the wall balls, the last station. Notably, the heaviest stations went the fastest. The sled push took 128 seconds on average and the sled pull 155 seconds, and heart rate and RPE dropped there. Specific tips are in faster sled push and wall balls without stopping.
How Benchmrk does it
In the compromised running phase, your weekly sim has sections of 750 m at race pace with station work in between. If you have no sim day, your threshold run gets a compromised finisher. Benchmarks 3 and 4 measure your splits and the decay between run 1 and run 8. The app uses that result for your prediction. How this fits in the whole plan, see HYROX training plan.
Frequently asked questions
What does compromised running mean?
Running while you are already fatigued from other work. In a HYROX race you run every kilometre after a station.
Is compromised running proven to be the most important factor in HYROX?
No. Brandt and colleagues (2025) call running under fatigue important, but did not measure it. Benchmrk trains it based on that research, as its own choice.
How often do you train compromised running?
In the Benchmrk plan it sits mainly in the compromised running phase, weeks 9 to 12, and in the peak weeks. Usually in the weekly sim.
What is a compromised finisher?
A short block at the end of your threshold run, such as 3 × (2 minutes of wall balls, lunges or burpees and then 1 km at race pace). Benchmrk adds it when your week has no sim day.
How do you measure whether you are getting better at running under fatigue?
Compare your last run in a sim with your first. In Benchmrk's pace decay test, the goal is for run 8 to stay within 12 seconds per kilometre of run 1.
Sources
- HYROX Sports Science Report 2025 (data analysis Duffuler) (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- Brandt, Ebel, Lebahn and Schmidt (2025), Frontiers in Physiology, doi:10.3389/fphys.2025.1519240 (accessed on 22 October 2026)
- HYROX – Best HYROX Preparation (accessed on 22 October 2026)