If you’ve reached the 2024 HYROX World Championships, then congratulations! Here’s some tips to help ensure the event goes as well as possible for you…
Just Another Training Session
Going to the World Championships is a big moment. But you don’t want nerves, or excessive excitement, to have a negative impact on your performance. From a sleep, nutrition and mindset perspective, it may help to try to think of it as just another tough training session. This will help you to stay relaxed and perform at your best.
Manage Your Energy
The World Championships will kick off with the Opening Ceremony on Friday evening, followed by the Elite races. On Saturday and Sunday, 2 full days of racing awaits. It’s crucial to manage your energy wisely, taking into account your own start time. For some people, it can be especially important not to arrive at the venue too early, as wandering around, immersing yourself in the atmosphere, and unintentionally increasing your heart rate, may deplete your energy reserves before your race even begins.
Pro Weights
Some athletes racing at the World Championships will be experiencing Pro weights for the first time. If this applies to you, appreciate that the extra weights can have an impact on how you pace the event and can also place increased importance on your footwear choice. Be sure you’ve got shoes that have good grip, and which your heel won’t slip out the back of if the sled is much heavier than you’re used to!
Prepare Mentally
There’s little in the days before the event to improve yourself physically. But you can mentally prepare…
Athletes often use visualisation techniques to imagine how they want their event to go. But it can also help to think about how you’ll respond if things go wrong. Disruptions happen all the time in sport, and you don’t want to let the unexpected slap you in the face.
How will you react if the sleds feel lots heavier than you’d expected?
What will your response be if you get tripped up on the first run?
Will you lose your mind if your judge no reps your first 5 wall balls?
Will you remain calm if the traffic on the way to the venue is ten times busier than you expected?
What if your watch runs out of battery, and it messes with your pacing.
What will your nutrition, hydration and warm up look like if, for some reason, the start of your race is delayed by an hour?
If you’ve thought of these possibilities in advance, it can minimise the impact they have on you should they occur.
Enjoy It
Reaching the World Championships is a big deal. It’s a unique opportunity to compete against the best athletes in the world. For many it will be a once in a lifetime experience. Of course, you want to perform well but try to enjoy the experience as much as you can! Make sure it’s a memory you’ll be able to look back fondly on in years to come.
Run Your Race
During most HYROX events, you are racing against yourself and the watch. You generally have no idea how others in your age group are performing until after the race. But at the World Championships there is more of a racing element – those in your start wave are in the same age group / division as you. How will you deal with that? Will you continue to run your own race, at your own pace? Or will you try to stay with (or ahead of) the others in your wave? And what might the implications of that be? Decide your race strategy in advance!
Be Grateful
I’m a huge believer in the importance of gratitude for helping to manage your mental state. It’s easy to always feel like you want more (a better start time, a better performance, a smoother patch of carpet in your sled push lane, etc!). But it’s well worth taking time to be grateful for the whole experience; be grateful you have the health, fitness, and dedication to reach the World Championships. Be grateful that this amazing event exists. Feel grateful for the support, the community, the atmosphere, DJ’s, MC’s, judges and everyone else who makes this all possible and so special. It will help you to enjoy the event much more!
Be Proud
You’ve reached the World Championships!! It’s something to be incredibly proud of. The commitment and dedication it takes to do this is impressive. If you find yourself stressing over the result of the race, then just take some time to remind yourself that you’ve already achieved a hell of a lot by simply being there!
Finally, if you are competing at the World Championships congratulations, it’s a huge achievement. I wish you the best of luck!
