Charlie Botterill: HYROX Background and Training

Charlie Botterill is an English HYROX athlete with a background in academy football and professional cycling. After going full time following the 2025 World Championships, he finished fourth in the Elite 15 singles at the 2026 Worlds. In this Rox Lyfe interview, he explains the training, recovery and mindset behind his progress.

From Football and Cycling to HYROX

Charlie’s sporting background began in football, including spells with the Reading and Brentford academies. Two serious knee injuries ended that route, but he discovered cycling during rehabilitation and eventually spent six months racing professionally in France.

After leaving cycling, he studied sports broadcasting at university and began looking for a new sporting challenge. HYROX caught his attention on Instagram, and he entered the first UK event. His cycling background now helps explain the endurance he brings to the sport and the prominent role the bike plays in his training.

Full-time Commitment

Charlie went full time in HYROX after the 2025 World Championships in Chicago. Savings and investments gave him the financial room to try it for six months. By the time of our interview later that year, he felt the decision was paying off through better racing and support from sponsors.

The biggest benefit was having more room to recover. Previously, he was constantly trying to fit training around other commitments. Going full time helped him draw a clearer line between working hard in sessions and switching off afterwards.

Smarter Training

Charlie told us that in the eight weeks before Hamburg in 2025, he averaged around 23 hours of training per week. Much of that volume came from low-intensity work on the bike, StairMaster and elliptical. He explains that running beyond roughly 50–60km a week tends to bring niggles, so these alternatives allow him to build his endurance while limiting the impact.

His strength training has also changed. Rather than the bodybuilding-style sessions he previously followed, he now includes more explosive work and plyometrics. Examples include cross-body kettlebell swings, overhead presses with kettlebells suspended from bands, and trap-bar deadlifts performed with an emphasis on moving explosively. He chooses each exercise with its intended contribution to HYROX in mind.

Charlie has become more deliberate about when to push hardest. Earlier in his HYROX career, he raced frequently without always building towards a particular event. Ahead of Hamburg in 2025, he followed a structured training block, then used that fitness across several race weekends to improve his singles qualifying times.

He’s also refined how he builds toward races. Rather than pushing hard every week, he uses what he calls the “pulling the carrot” approach – a concept borrowed from the Ingebrigtsens. Go all-in too often and you burn out; time it right and you get the best growth from each peak. For Hamburg and the races that followed, he peaked once, then rode that fitness through a three-week block of races without ever tipping over the edge.

Running Sessions and Cycling Power

Charlie’s cycling background still shows in his power on the bike. At the time of our interview, he reported averaging 411 watts over a 20-minute test on the Concept2 BikeErg. That was nine watts higher than his best during his cycling career, although he noted that he was also considerably heavier.

His running training centres on a small number of repeatable sessions. One example is 10 × 4 minutes at approximately 3:20/km, with one-minute walking recoveries. He performs much of this work on an AssaultRunner, which he finds easier on his body, while also taking sessions onto the road to maintain familiarity with running on a solid surface.

Mindset and Resilience

Charlie has spoken openly about his past experiences with eating disorders and depression. In our interview, he described university as a turning point and said he now has strong support from his partner, family and friends. Going full time has still brought moments of self-doubt, but he credits the enjoyment and community of HYROX with helping him feel happy and healthy.

When racing gets tough, he reminds himself that being able to choose this challenge is a privilege: “I get to do this. Being able to choose my discomfort is a privilege.” He also draws confidence from the training he has completed. After receiving burpee penalties in Hamburg, he focused on making that preparation count rather than allowing frustration to derail his race.

To check out the full interview, watch below or listen on the Rox Lyfe Podcast.