ATHX vs Battle Cancer: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

ATHX is a UK-born hybrid fitness competition, co-founded by coach Ollie Marchon, that now runs events across the UK, Europe and the United States. Each ATHX event is a continuous 2.5-hour session across six zones. Every competitor completes the same three workouts: a Strength zone (20 minutes), an Endurance zone (30 minutes) and a MetCon X zone (30 minutes). These are separated by a warm-up zone, a refuel zone and a recovery zone. The workouts and movement standards are published for each season.

Athletes enter as singles or pairs, in an ATHX or a harder ATHX PRO category, and pairs can be same-sex or mixed. Season results lead to the ATHX Finals, held in Lisbon in 2026. The fixed rest periods and clear divisions make ATHX accessible to first-timers, while the strength element suits athletes who lift as well as run and row.

Battle Cancer is a fitness fundraising event series in which athletes raise money for cancer charities and compete in hybrid fitness challenges. Since 2019, the organisers say, more than 100,000 athletes have taken part in events across over 15 cities, including London, Glasgow, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Dubai, Singapore and Miami.

The main Battle Cancer Challenge is a 90-minute event for teams of four (male, female or mixed). Teams rotate through nine stations in three zones, Endurance, Burn and Power, working five minutes of maximum reps followed by four minutes of rest at each. Hybrid 3|20 is a format for individuals or pairs: three minutes of work per station across nine stations, then a 20-minute maximum-distance run. Both formats have a Challenge division that allows movement modifications and a stricter Compete division. Money raised counts as points on the leaderboard, so it suits groups who want a sociable team event with a charity goal.