Guide
What heart rate and pace should you race HYROX at?
Race on pace and use your own threshold heart rate as a check. In a simulated race, the heart rate of 11 recreational athletes averaged 170.9 beats per minute, with 79.5% of the time in the hardest category. In 24 PRO men in a real race, the runs averaged 84% of the speed at their second ventilatory threshold. A fixed heart rate from a formula says little, because thresholds differ.
In short
- In 11 recreational athletes, heart rate averaged 170.9 bpm, with a maximum of 185 (Brandt et al., 2025).
- 24 PRO men ran their runs at an average 84% of VT2 speed and 76% of vVO2max (HYScience, 2026).
- Run 1 for those PRO men was at 3:43/km, run 8 at 4:25/km.
- The same heart rate means something different for someone else; work from your own threshold heart rate.
- Steer the runs on pace, with heart rate as a brake, especially in the first half.
How high is your heart rate during a HYROX race?
High, all race long. Brandt and colleagues (2025) had 11 recreational athletes (8 men, 3 women, all with at least one race behind them) do a simulated Open race in a gym, with the runs on a treadmill. Average heart rate was 170.9 beats per minute, with a maximum of 185. They spent 79.5% of the time in the "very hard" category.
| Measurement in the study | Value |
|---|---|
| Median finish time | 86.5 min |
| Average heart rate | 170.9 bpm |
| Maximum heart rate | 185 bpm |
| Time in "very hard" | 79.5% |
| Average lactate | 6.3 mmol/l |
| Peak lactate (wall balls) | 8.5 mmol/l |
The limitation is big. Eleven people is few, it was a simulation and the group was slower than someone aiming for 1:15. The study mainly shows the pattern: almost an hour and a half close to the limit. Lactate peaked at the wall balls, the last station. Staying upright there is covered in wall balls without stopping.
How fast do good athletes run their runs relative to their threshold?
Well below their threshold pace, on average. In the HYScience study (Gutiérrez-Hellín and colleagues, 2026), 24 PRO men did a lab test within 10 days before HYROX Madrid 2025, then the real race, averaging 69:58. The runs averaged 84.13% of their speed at the second ventilatory threshold (VT2) and 76.33% of that at VO2max.
| HYScience, 24 PRO men | Speed | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Speed at VT2 (lab) | 16.41 km/h | 3:39/km |
| Run 1 | 16.13 km/h | 3:43/km |
| Run 8 | 13.58 km/h | 4:25/km |
| Roxzone | 10.52 km/h |
So run 1 was close to their threshold: 16.13 ÷ 16.41 = 98% of VT2 speed. Run 8 dropped to 13.58 ÷ 16.41 = 83%. That is about 16% less speed than in run 1, 42 seconds per kilometre.
A caveat here too: PRO men in one race, and we only read the abstract. VT2 from a lab test is also not the same as a threshold from a 30-minute test or your watch.
Why does a fixed heart rate formula fall short?
Because the same number means something different for two people. An age formula gives a group average, and your threshold can be far from it. Take the 170.9 from the Brandt study. With a threshold heart rate of 168, that is just above threshold. With a threshold of 180, it is easy.
Also, your heart rate in a HYROX race does not come only from running. The sleds, lunges and wall balls work large muscle groups. Back on the running loop, you can see a high heart rate at a pace that feels easy. Steer strictly on a heart rate limit and you run slower than needed. Ignore it and you easily run runs 1 and 2 too hard.
So we steer on pace and check with heart rate. The anchor for both is your own threshold, from a test; see find your threshold pace.
How do you convert that to your own pace?
Use the HYScience ratios as a rough direction, not a target. Below is the Benchmrk example profile, not a real athlete: Open Men, goal 1:15:00, threshold pace 4:25/km, threshold heart rate 168, maximum heart rate 188.
Convert a pace by dividing the threshold pace in seconds by the percentage; 4:25/km is 265 seconds.
| Example profile, with the pattern of the PRO men | Calculation | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold pace | 4:25/km | |
| Run 1 at 98% of threshold speed | 265 ÷ 0.98 = 270 s | 4:30/km |
| Average run at 84% | 265 ÷ 0.84 = 315 s | 5:15/km |
| Run 8 at 83% | 265 ÷ 0.83 = 319 s | 5:19/km |
| 8 runs at 5:15/km | 8 × 315 s = 2520 s | 42:00 |
Heart rate works the same way. The threshold heart rate of 168 is 168 ÷ 188 = 89% of the maximum in this profile. At the Brandt group average of 170.9, he would be 3 beats above threshold and at 170.9 ÷ 188 = 91% of his maximum.
These sums are an illustration, not a pacing plan: run 1 goes at your required pace, no faster. The percentages come from PRO men with a lab threshold; the profile is a recreational Open athlete with a threshold from a field test. You work out your required pace from goal time, stations and Roxzone in run pacing.
What do you check in each phase of the race?
At the start heart rate is the brake, later pace is the measure. These are our rules of thumb, not research standards. The example profile is in brackets.
| Phase | Pace | Heart rate | Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | At your required pace, never faster than your threshold pace (4:25/km) | Below your threshold heart rate (168) | Too easy, you hold back |
| Run 2–4, after SkiErg and sleds | Back to required pace as soon as possible | Around threshold heart rate, above it after the sleds | Hard, but you can still say a few words |
| Run 5–7, after burpees, rowing and farmers carry | Guard your pace; in HYScience run 8 was the slowest | Can exceed threshold; mainly watch whether pace drops | Really hard, focus on your stride |
| Run 8 and wall balls | Whatever you have left | Stop looking at it | Everything |
Heart rate above threshold in run 1 while on pace? Then you are going too fast or your start was too hectic. If pace drops in runs 5 to 7 while heart rate stays low, the brake is more likely your legs than your fitness.
How do you practise this in training?
In a sim, with your watch showing pace and heart rate. For the example profile, about six weeks before the race:
| Part | Content | What you log |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 15 min easy, 3 × 100 m strides | |
| Block | 4 × (1000 m at required race pace + 1 station) | Pace and heart rate per kilometre |
| Stations | SkiErg 500 m, sled push 2 × 25 m, rowing 500 m, 50 wall balls | Heart rate at the end of each station |
| Afterwards | 10 min cool-down | RPE for the whole session |
Compare kilometre 1 with kilometre 4. How much does your heart rate climb at the same pace, and how long after a station until you are back on pace? Your own pattern says more than a study average. Building such a sim is covered in build a HYROX simulation. Running under fatigue is our choice based on research, not a proven biggest factor; more in compromised running and in the HYROX training plan.
Heart symptoms, dizziness or a heart rate that does not match how you feel? Have a doctor check it before you train this hard.
How Benchmrk does it
Your heart rate zones are percentages of your threshold heart rate (Friel), not an age formula. You log pace, heart rate and RPE per session, and the plan adapts. Five benchmarks recalibrate your threshold and your prediction per run, station and Roxzone, with your chance of hitting your goal time.
Frequently asked questions
What heart rate is normal during a HYROX race?
In the study by Brandt and colleagues (2025), the heart rate of 11 recreational athletes averaged 170.9 beats per minute, with a maximum of 185. That is a group average in a simulated race, not a target for you.
Can you run a HYROX race on heart rate?
Only as a check. Station work raises your heart rate and you carry that into the next run, so a fixed limit says little about your pace. Steer on pace and look at your heart rate relative to your own threshold heart rate.
How fast do good athletes run their runs relative to their threshold?
In HYScience, 24 PRO men ran at an average 84% of their speed at the second ventilatory threshold. Run 1 was at 3:43/km and run 8 at 4:25/km, while their threshold pace was 3:39/km.
Why does an age formula for maximum heart rate work poorly?
A formula gives a group average, while threshold and maximum differ per person. A measured threshold heart rate from a test is a better anchor for your zones.
Where does your threshold heart rate come from?
From a test of about 30 minutes of solo running, or as a first estimate from your watch. The guide on finding your threshold pace explains how.
Sources
- Brandt et al. (2025), Acute physiological responses and performance determinants in Hyrox©, Frontiers in Physiology (accessed on 13 November 2026)
- Gutiérrez-Hellín et al. (2026), Relative Running Intensity and Pacing During an Official HYROX PRO MEN Competition (HYScience), International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance – Abstract only; the full text is behind a paywall. (accessed on 13 November 2026)