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Hyrox Doubles & Relay: How to Split the Stations

By Mathias Berger · Last updated 2026-07-09

Who runs what, how station work is shared, and how to split the 8 stations in Hyrox doubles and relay — including strategy for mismatched pairs.

Overview

You've signed up for doubles or relay. Now comes the conversation every pair or team eventually has: who does what? It sounds simple. It isn't. The wrong split plan can gas your stronger athlete too early, leave your better runner with nothing in the tank, or cost you 30 seconds in unnecessary station changeovers. This guide explains the format, the rules, and a practical framework for dividing the work — including what to do when one partner is clearly fitter than the other. In doubles, both athletes run every lap together, but the station work can be divided however you choose. Stations are completed in a fixed order. Weights follow the division, not each partner's gender. In mixed doubles, both partners use Men's Open weights. Both partners must run each 1km lap together — falling significantly behind your partner on a run triggers a penalty. More than three such violations is a disqualification.

How Hyrox Doubles Works

In doubles, you race as a pair — male, female, or mixed — and complete the same standard Hyrox race format as singles: 8×1km runs, each followed by one of the 8 functional stations. The key difference: both athletes run every lap together, but the station work can be divided however you choose. There is no fixed rule saying each partner must do half — one person can do the entire station while the other rests. Stations are completed in a fixed order: SkiErg → Sled Push → Sled Pull → Burpee Broad Jumps → Rowing → Farmers Carry → Sandbag Lunges → Wall Balls.

In mixed doubles, both partners use Men's Open weights — whichever athlete is working uses the single Men's Open implement weight at that station. The exception is Wall Balls: both partners use a 6 kg ball, but the male partner throws to a 3.00 m target and the female partner throws to a 2.70 m target. There is no Pro division for Mixed Doubles.

Both partners must run each 1km lap together — side-by-side throughout, not just both finishing before entering the station.

How Hyrox Relay Works

The relay format is structurally different. Teams of four complete the race, with each member doing two runs and one station — in sequence. The handoff works as follows: the first athlete starts in the start tunnel and runs their two laps, then completes their assigned station. After finishing, they run through the Rox Zone to the relay transition zone — a roughly 12.5m stretch where the handoff happens. The incoming athlete raises their hand; the waiting teammate runs to meet them at the front of the zone rather than waiting at the back. Meeting them saves both athletes time and momentum. The handoff is a high-five. Once contact is made, the next athlete goes.

One rule that catches teams off guard: if two consecutive legs go to the same person — legally allowed, though unusual — that athlete must still run back through the transition zone before heading out again. At Wall Balls — the final station — the remaining three team members wait at a designated meeting point near the finish. A judge escorts them to join the final athlete around rep 80. The whole team crosses the line together.

At London, per Woodsy from Woodsy Workout: 'the first run was considerably longer' — which factored directly into his team's decision to send their strongest runner first. Check race-specific info before you assign legs.

Doubles Vs Solo

If you've done singles before, a few things will feel unfamiliar in doubles. You recover during stations — the person who is not working is resting, which changes your energy management completely. Running is still your biggest time driver: across 40,242 mixed doubles results in our dataset of 224,008 recorded races, the median run split is 42:34 — roughly 55% of the total race time. Transitions cost time — too many changeovers and the dead time adds up; too few and one athlete empties the tank alone.

The median mixed doubles finish time across our dataset is 1:17:39, compared to 1:11:49 for open male doubles and 1:23:29 for open female doubles. See where you stack up at the Hyrox percentile calculator.

Splitting The Stations

There is no universal right answer — the split should match your pair's actual strengths, not an abstract fairness principle.

Sled Push and Sled Pull: Default split for roughly even partners: 2-2 or alternate by length. For mismatched pairs (one clearly stronger): let the stronger athlete take the first two lengths, swap, then let them finish the fourth. Lillie Bailey's mixed doubles team had the male partner do three of four sled lengths. She later reflected she could have done more on the sled pull and would take a larger share next time.

SkiErg (1,000m): Shorter blocks (150–200m per interval) let both athletes stay at a higher pace. Lillie Bailey's team tried 250m blocks and found 200m intervals worked better. Three intervals for the stronger skier, two for the weaker, is a reasonable starting split.

Rowing (1,000m): Same logic as the SkiErg. Median mixed doubles row time in our dataset is 4:40. Match the stronger rower with the first and third intervals.

Burpee Broad Jumps (80m): Swapping every 4–5 reps works for most pairs. Taller athletes cover more ground per rep, which can influence the split slightly.

Farmers Carry (200m): One of the shorter station times — median of 1:44 in mixed doubles. The stronger athlete can run the first two lengths at pace, hand off, take them back, and carry across.

Sandbag Lunges (100m): Both athletes should contribute equally here. Swap by length: 1-1-1-1.

Wall Balls: This is the final station — empty the tank. Start with blocks of 10 reps each, then extend the run as you both get into rhythm.

Strategy For Mismatched Pairs

Mixed doubles with a significant fitness gap between partners is one of the most common scenarios at open Hyrox events.

Protect the running. The run is taken together, and it is the biggest time sink. If the gap is in aerobic capacity as well as strength, the weaker runner sets the pace and the stronger one manages their effort to match. Going out at the stronger partner's natural pace will destroy the weaker partner before station 3.

Load the stations away from running. The whole point of having a stronger partner is that they can absorb more station work, letting the weaker runner's legs stay fresher for the laps. This is not charity — it is race strategy.

Don't overload your anchor. It is tempting to put your stronger athlete on everything difficult. By station 6 or 7, the person who did 70% of every hard station will be struggling to run with you. Lillie Bailey's team deliberately preserved her energy for the running, which paid off in their 50-minute run split.

Have a mid-race check-in plan. Agree before the race on when you will check in about the split — 'after station 4, we re-assess' — and leave room to deviate from the plan if one of you is having a better or worse day than expected.

Relay Assigning The Legs

For a four-person relay team, you assign two runs plus one station to each athlete. General principles: put your best runner on the first leg if the first run is longer (common in many venues — verify at your event briefing). Assign stations to athletes who are genuinely good at them, not just whoever hasn't done a station yet. Avoid putting your weakest runner between two demanding stations — they still have to run to the transition zone after their station regardless of how wrecked they are.

Think about the transition zone distance: after some stations the athlete has roughly 100 metres of Rox Zone to cover before tagging their teammate. Factor into how hard you push at the end of each leg.

The recovery window is a feature — because each relay athlete is working for only 6–20 minutes at a stretch, you can go significantly harder than in singles or doubles. Manage the recovery between your legs: stay moving, refuel with fast carbs, don't sit down, and walk around to keep circulation up before your second leg.

Relay teams should attend the pre-race relay briefing. Rules, transition zone location, and first-run length are all covered there, and they vary by venue.

Faq

Do both athletes have to complete some of every station in doubles? No. In doubles, you can choose any split for each station — including one athlete doing all of it while the other rests. There is no mandatory minimum contribution per partner. Both athletes must remain within the station area and exit together.

Do both athletes run every lap in doubles? Yes. Both partners run all 8 laps together — side-by-side throughout each lap. Only the station work can be divided.

Can the same relay athlete do two stations back to back? Yes — you can assign consecutive stations to the same person. However, that athlete must still return through the transition zone between the two legs before heading out again.

What weights do mixed doubles athletes use? In mixed doubles, both partners use Men's Open weights. At Wall Balls, both use a 6 kg ball, but men throw to a 3.00 m target and women throw to a 2.70 m target. Women's Doubles use Women's Open weights. Men's Doubles use Men's Open weights.

How long is the Hyrox relay compared to singles? A full singles race runs 1–2 hours for most open athletes. Relay legs are roughly 6–20 minutes of work each, with meaningful rest between. It is a strong format for a first Hyrox experience.

Is doubles faster than singles? Not automatically. Both athletes run every lap together, and the running is the biggest time cost. See what counts as a good Hyrox time for division comparisons.

Official References

RoxUpdates is an unofficial fan site. For authoritative information, consult the official sources below.

Lillie Bailey — How to Split Hyrox Mixed Doubles Stations | Our Hyrox Strategy — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTlhoxApZOk
Woodsy Workout — Everything You Need to Know About the Hyrox Relay — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22-1FD5kMVw
Dana Bobyn — First Hyrox in Vancouver: full race vlog & debrief, women's double race — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI8VhEpRd4M

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