HYROX pacing: how fast to run each km

How to set your run pace from your 5k, why the first two runs decide your race, and the one session that teaches you race pace on tired legs.

Reece · Level 3 PT · 19 October 2026 · 7 min read

In my first HYROX, in London, I ran the first kilometre in under four minutes. That's my 5k pace. In a race with eight runs and eight stations, it was a terrible idea, and I paid for it for the next hour.

Five months later in Cardiff, I aimed for around 4:45 per km and let the first one or two drift out closer to 5:00. My 5k pace hadn't changed much, still right around 4:00 per km. My finish time dropped to 1:17:54.

The difference wasn't fitness. It was pacing. Here's how I set it now, for myself and for the athletes I coach.

Slow down to speed up

If I could tattoo one thing on every first-timer's arm, it would be this:

Slow down to speed up. You can always accelerate your pace, but not if you've gone out too hard.

The first run feels easy. You're fresh, the music is loud, and everyone around you is flying. But HYROX punishes early mistakes hard. Burn too much on run one and the SkiErg, and you'll give that time back several times over on the sleds, the burpees and the wall balls.

How fast should you run?

Start with your 5k pace. Your HYROX run pace will be meaningfully slower, because every run comes straight off a station and the stations take a lot out of your legs.

My rule of thumb: add around 18–20% to your 5k pace. For me that's 4:00 per km for a 5k and about 4:45 per km in HYROX.

For context, the median Open man runs his eight kilometres in 41:31, about 5:11 per km. The median Open woman takes 46:29, about 5:49 per km. Both figures come from an analysis of over a million official results.

If you're more of a lifter than a runner, add a bit more. If you're new to training, add more again. The HYROX time calculator does this adjustment for you based on your background.

Run by run

Your target pace is an average, not a pace to hold from the gun. This is how I break it down:

• Runs 1–2: ease in. Go 10–15 seconds per km slower than your target. It will feel too easy. That's the point.
• Runs 3–4: settle. Find your target pace. By now your heart rate has caught up with your effort, so you can trust what it tells you.
• Run 5: hold on. This is the one after the burpee broad jumps, and for me it's usually the hardest of the race. Accept it will be slower. Focus on rhythm, not pace.
• Runs 6–7: stay consistent. This is where pacing pays off. If you got the first two right, you'll be passing people here.
• Run 8: controlled. Wall balls are waiting. Don't sprint into them and empty the tank before your hardest set.

Expect your run times to fade by 10–15% from run 1 to run 8, even when you pace it well. That's normal, and it's built into the splits the calculator gives you.

Pace by heart rate and feel, not just your watch

I use two things on race day: heart rate and feel.

In London, I came off the SkiErg feeling good, looked down and saw 190 on my watch. Feel lied to me. Heart rate didn't. Now I check it on every run, especially the first two. If it's climbing towards my threshold early, I back off, however good I feel.

Later in the race, the opposite happens: your heart rate stays high however slowly you go, so feel becomes the better guide. Ask yourself whether you could hold this effort for another 30 minutes. If the answer is no, ease off slightly.

Pace on your watch is useful too, but GPS is often unreliable indoors. Use it as a rough check, not a target.

The session that teaches race pace: the half HYROX

The best way to learn your pace is to practise it on tired legs. My go-to is a half HYROX: four runs and four stations, done at race pace and race weight.

• Option A: 1 km run, SkiErg 500 m, 1 km run, sled push 25 m, 1 km run, burpee broad jumps 40 m, 1 km run, wall balls 50.
• Option B: the second half of the race (row, farmers carry, lunges, wall balls), each with a 1 km run before it.

The aim isn't to go as fast as you can. It's to hit your target run pace every time, and to learn what it feels like when your legs are full of sled. Do one every two to three weeks in the build-up to a race, and note your heart rate on each run.

Get your splits

Pop your 5k time into the HYROX time calculator and it'll give you a target pace for each of the eight runs, already faded, plus every station split. You can print it as a pacing sheet for race day.

Wondering what to aim for overall? Read What is a good HYROX time?