ATHX vs XLETIX Challenge: 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.

The XLETIX Challenge (presented by MaxiNutrition) is a team-focused obstacle race series organised by XLETIX GmbH, a Berlin company founded in 2013 by Jannis Bandorski and Matthias Ernst. Events take place at seven locations in Germany and Austria, including Berlin, Tirol Innsbruck, München Erding, NRW, Norddeutschland and, from 2027, the Nürburgring.

Participants choose one of three distances, 6 km, 12 km or 18 km, with up to 35 obstacles involving mud, water, walls and slides. The course is run in 6 km loops, so team members can pick different distances and anyone can stop after a completed loop. The focus is on getting through the course together rather than on finishing times. The series suits groups of friends, colleagues and first-time obstacle racers as well as fitter runners who want the longest distance. The same company also runs XLETIX Kids for children aged 5 to 15 and the women-only Muddy Angel Run.