HYROX vs Toughest: distance, stations, price & difficulty compared (2026-27)

HYROX is an indoor fitness race in which athletes run 1 km and then complete one functional workout station, repeated eight times. The stations and their order are fixed: 1,000 m SkiErg, 50 m sled push, 50 m sled pull, 80 m burpee broad jumps, 1,000 m row, 200 m farmers carry, 100 m sandbag lunges and 100 wall balls. Because the format is the same worldwide, results feed global leaderboards and a World Championship at the end of each season.

HYROX launched in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017 and is run by HYROX World GmbH. It was created by race organiser Christian Toetzke with Olympic medallist Moritz Fürste and marketing expert Michael Trautmann. Races take place in large exhibition halls, with start waves throughout the day. Divisions include Open, Pro (heavier weights), Doubles and a four-person Relay. There is no time cap and no qualification needed for age-group entry, so HYROX suits first-time racers as well as competitive hybrid athletes.

Toughest is an obstacle course race series held in Sweden and Norway. The organisers report more than 220,000 runners since 2013, and the race has repeatedly been voted the best obstacle course race in Europe in runner polls.

Each event weekend offers several formats. The Main Race covers about 8 km with the full set of obstacles, and Double Distance is two laps of that course, about 16 km. Xplore is a 4 km version with the hardest obstacles removed and no timing, aimed at first-timers, and Toughest Family is a 2 km course for children and adults together. An Elite class runs the 8 km course for competitive athletes, with the Toughest Tour and OCR World Championship qualification. Courses mix grass, sand, gravel, mud and water, with signature obstacles such as the Ramp and the Holmenkollen. Current venues are Gothenburg, Malmö, Stockholm, Oslo and Sälen. Every finisher receives a medal.