The Complete Hyrox Race Day Checklist

The week before a Hyrox race is when athletes lose races to bad logistics, not bad fitness. Forgetting your bib, packing wrong shoes, eating something new - these are the actual race-killers. This checklist is the tested 48-hour-out → race-finish system used by Hyrox athletes who PR consistently.

🖨️ Print version available in the Hyrox Training Logbook - perforated race-day checklist pages designed to slip into your gym bag.

48 hours before race day

• Confirm registration + wave time (check email for any last-minute changes)
• Confirm hotel reservation if traveling
• Charge: phone, watch, heart-rate strap, headphones (warm-up only - no music during race)
• Pre-race meals planned and groceries bought (no race-day grocery runs)
• Race-day kit assembled in one pile (see kit list below)
• Walk through the venue’s location on Google Maps; identify parking + bathrooms
• If flying: shoes go in carry-on (NEVER check shoes for a race)

24 hours before race day

• Carb-emphasized lunch + dinner (~60% carbs)
• 2–3L water + 1 electrolyte serving
• Light mobility 15 min (NO heavy training)
• Pack the race-day bag (use kit checklist below)
• Lay out race-day clothes
• Set 2 alarms for race morning
• Bedtime by 9pm; phone in another room

Race morning - the 4-hour window

4 hours before wave: wake

• Glass of water immediately
• Light bathroom check
• Step on scale (track race-morning weight in your logbook)

3 hours before: pre-race meal

• Pre-race meal (300–500 cal, high-carb, low-fiber)
• Tested options: oatmeal + banana + whey OR bagel + PB + banana OR rice + chicken + avocado
• Coffee or caffeine source - slow-sip over 30 min

2 hours before: travel

• Final review of bib + entry confirmation
• Travel to venue (Uber surge starts at this window - leave EARLIER than you think needed)
• Sip water in transit (don’t slam)

1.5 hours before: arrive at venue

• Bag check (yes, do this early - lines build)
• Locate the wave staging area
• Locate the bathroom you’ll use (note proximity to staging)
• Note where bag check pickup is for after

60 minutes before: warmup window opens

• Light mobility (5 min)
• LMNT or electrolyte mix in 16oz water - sip over 30 min
• Final bathroom check #1

30 minutes before: full warmup begins

• 12-minute Hyrox warmup (run block, mobility, sled-pose, burpees)
• Final bathroom check #2 (yes, twice)
• Sip remaining electrolytes
• Mental rehearsal: first 3 stations, pacing plan, mantra

5 minutes before: wave check-in

• Bib visible, watch ready, HR strap paired
• Final breathing reset (4 deep breaths)
• Eyes on the start mat
• One sentence to yourself: “feet move, sled moves” (or your own mantra)

Race kit (pack this 24 hours before)

To wear at the venue

• Race-day shoes (broken in, NOT new) - see shoe guide
• Compression shorts
• Race singlet/shirt (lightweight, wicking - see apparel guide)
• Grip socks (high-cuff)
• Lifting gloves or grips
• Heart-rate strap (paired to watch)
• Watch (charged)
• Race bib + safety pins (or magnets)

Carry into venue (warm-up bag)

• Foam roller or lacrosse ball
• Resistance band (mini)
• Jump rope (optional - for warmup)
• Light layer for warmup (remove before wave)
• Water bottle (16oz) with 1 electrolyte packet pre-mixed
• Backup electrolyte packet for during-race or after
• Phone (silenced)

Bag-check bag (for after)

• Change of clothes (incl. dry socks!)
• Dry shoes (recovery shoes)
• Towel
• Post-race fuel:
  • Banana
  • Recovery drink (whey + carbs in shaker, mix before bag-check)
  • 2 dates or a small chocolate bar (real food)
• Wallet, ID, phone charger
• Warm layer (especially cold-weather races)
• Hand-warmers (winter races)
• Iced beverage in cooler bag (humid-weather races)
• Anti-chafe stick (optional but useful for post-race walking)

DON’T pack

• New shoes ❌
• New singlet ❌
• Anything you haven’t trained in ❌
• Earbuds for during the race (most events ban them) ❌
• Caffeine pills you haven’t tested ❌
• Heavy meals for “after” that won’t survive your bag ❌

During the race: pacing reminder card

Print this on a small card and slip into your bag-check bag. Read 5 minutes before wave start.

PACING TARGETS (sub-90 example):

  1km run:  5:30   |   SkiErg:    4:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Sled push: 2:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Sled pull: 2:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Burpees:   5:00
  1km run:  5:30   |   Row:       4:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Carry:     2:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Lunges:    4:30
  1km run:  5:30   |   Wall ball: 5:00

  TOTAL:    44:00  |   STATIONS:  31:00 = 75:00

PRINCIPLE: bank energy first 3 rounds. Race begins round 4.

WHEN IT GETS DARK: "feet move, sled moves."

Immediately after the race

The first 30 minutes after crossing the line.

• Walk for 5 minutes - don’t sit down
• Sip water + electrolytes immediately
• Recovery drink within 15 minutes (carb + protein 3:1 ratio)
• Find your bag-check bag
• Change into dry clothes (yes, you’re sweaty)
• Take a finish-line photo
• Banana or solid food within 30 minutes
• Don’t drink alcohol within 60 min of finish

24 hours after

• Light walk (20–30 min) - active recovery
• Mobility/stretching session (now is the time for static stretching)
• Big carb-protein meal
• Hydration for full day (you’re more dehydrated than you feel)
• Log race results in your training journal
• Don’t fill out your race debrief yet - wait 72 hours for emotions to settle

72 hours after: race debrief

This is where most athletes skip the highest-leverage step. Don’t.

• Open your training logbook
• Fill out the race debrief page:
  • What worked?
  • What didn’t work?
  • 3 things I’d do differently next time
  • 3 things I want to keep doing
  • One word for this race

The debrief is what makes you faster for race #2. Without it, you repeat the same mistakes.

The Hyrox Training Logbook has dedicated race-day pages: pacing strategy, fueling plan, kit checklist, post-race debrief. Designed to slip into a gym bag. Print + pack.

Common race-day mistakes

Mistake	Cost
Forgetting bib	Race-day panic; possibly not racing
New shoes	Blisters, no-rep risk on sled
Heavy meal at 1 hour out	GI distress at station 3
Skipping warmup	Brutal first 1km
Going too hard run 1	Wheels off by station 4
Music in earbuds (most events ban)	DQ
No bag-check pickup plan	30+ min delay finding your stuff post-race
Drinking alcohol within hour of finish	Dehydration crash + GI distress

Final pre-race night routine

The night before, the last 60 minutes before bed:

• Phone in another room
• Read fiction (not training content) for 15 min - distracts the pre-race anxiety
• One slow breathing pattern (4-7-8 breathing × 5 cycles)
• Set 2 alarms (primary + 5-min backup)
• Lights out 9pm
• Anxiety-spiral protocol: write tomorrow’s pacing plan one more time, then close the book

Related reading

• Hyrox Race Day Nutrition
• Hyrox Pre-Race Warmup
• Hyrox Mental Prep
• Hyrox Essential Gear Checklist
• Hyrox Training Plan for Beginners

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Part of the Kitaborn Hyrox series. Books born with purpose.