“It’s just growing and growing and growing within our community…”
HYROX, a fitness indoor race, got its start back in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. “…and now you can see it worldwide, happening.”
Sitting at the intersection of competition and athleticism–the race is composed of running and functional strength exhibitions.
Chris Thomspon, owner of Elevate Fitness 502, began his HYROX journey in 2019 in the city of Chicago. Thompson, alongside his wife Sally, competed and came back to Louisville with a newfound excitement for the event.
“When you get there, the wow factor is real. It’s just an amazing experience. There’s DJs, it’s loud, the music’s popping,” said Thomspon. “Everything is done to the nines, so there’s a big starting tunnel you get into, so right away, we were really impressed and could tell that they wanted to be in this game for a long time, they were serious about this.”
The event sections competitors into four categories. For individual athletes, they’re welcome to compete in ‘Open’ or ‘Pro,’ while paired athletes can file themselves under the ‘Doubles’ categories or into team ‘Relays.’
The indoor race kicks off with a one kilometer run followed by a strength station, (either a ‘Farmers Carry,’ ‘Rowing,’ ‘Wall Balls,’ and more) that’s repeated eight times before you cross the finish line.
And with no time limits or ‘target’ times, every athlete’s goal is just to finish.
“Our passion for it ourselves and doing it ourselves really transferred over to our clients’ passion too,” said Thompson. “They’re like ‘they’re so excited by it,’ and they get excited by it and then it just feeds on itself. And that’s kind of why it’s blown up, it’s just one person’s passion trickles down and leads to the next.”
This ‘trickle-down passion’ has turned Elevate Fitness 502 into an Official HYROX gym, decorated with over 50 well-earned banners celebrating top podium finishes, training its next group of competitors for national and international meets.
“When somebody’s passionate about something, you know it just bleeds into the people around them and so we’re back like ‘Oh My God, it was awesome’ and ‘you gotta do this.’”
But why HYROX?
Before the German-founded indoor event, competitive-minded athletes found themselves in races like CrossFit and Spartan, much like the Thompsons’ who raced in events prior to their first HYROX.
And yet, many places cite the “HYROX boom” in the U.S. to the last two years. In the 2025/2026 season alone, approximately 1.5 million athletes will or already have competed in over 100 HYROX events.
“I think there were maybe, I don’t know, 500 to 800 people at the event,” said Thompson when reflecting back to his first time competing in 2019.
“And now there are three and four days with 5,000 people a day and they sell out in minutes. So it went from 500, 800 people for the whole event to 20,000 over four days.”
And the ever-growing popularity of the event is mirrored in the amount of athletes signing up to train at Elevate Fitness 502. Bringing together athletes of all backgrounds, levels–and even ages.
“We’re all across the board. If you come to one of our HYROX classes, there’s 20-somethings, 30-somethings, 40-somethings, 50-somethings, 60-somethings. And it’s pretty cool [be]cause they are all able to workout together and in perfect harmony,” Thompson said.
It’s that accessibility Thompson believes draws people into the event and, in turn, into the training sessions at his gym.
“Usually you think of athletes as teenagers or young 20s that are competing in sports etc, and there’s not many sports like this for people in their upper 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and so on. So it’s really refreshing and fun to work with people that come in and say, ‘I wanna get better at this sport,’” said Thompson. “I’m 51 and I’ve done 58 of them.”
His early start to the HYROX craze has also come with the firsthand experience of seeing the personal improvements beginners have made over the past few years, proving that the fitness side of HYROX inspires those who did not necessarily grow up with an “athletic” background.
“We have some people that were the last ones picked in P.E. class and have always hated sports and they have just blossomed in this because they literally just come in, they put the time in, they do their cardio, they push the sleds, and they greatly improve and they’re doing really well and even getting banners, which has been mind blowing for them,” said Thompson. “They’ve become addicted to the feelings of those podium finishes and it’s really cool.”
His early experiences have also translated to years spent building foundational exercises for those looking to train and building a space where everyone can feel, not only comfortable, but supported and celebrated in their fitness journeys.
It’s also why the trainers at Elevate Fitness 502 are all decorated with certifications and degrees in Exercise Science, some even holding master degrees–all equipped with the knowledge of how to help those who may have anything from arthritis to knee pain to cardiovascular issues and more.
“It’s just invaluable in terms of knowing for the client and knowing that they’re getting somebody training that truly understands their body.” […] “The members can see and feel that, so they know and feel comfortable knowing that they have a really well-educated coach with them.”
A detail that’s highly advertised as well as their excitement for HYROX.
“It’s a fun sport because it’s doable for everybody,” Thomspon said. “Everbody can push a sled, everybody can pull a sled, everybody can run. Everybody can squat and walk and lunge and that’s what appeals to people.”
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This article appears in April 24-May 7, 2026.