HYROX London ExCeL December 2026: Your 8-Week Plan to Race Day

HYROX London ExCeL 2026 takes place from Wednesday 2 to Sunday 6 December 2026 at ExCeL London in the Royal Victoria Dock, east London. If you start training on Monday 12 October, you have exactly eight weeks, and the final week is race week. This guide gives you a simple week-by-week plan, the provisional schedule for each day, how to get to ExCeL, and what to expect when you walk into the hall.

It is written for first-timers and second-timers who can already run around 5km and train two or three times a week. If that is not you yet, there is a note further down on what to do instead.

When and where is HYROX London ExCeL 2026?

HYROX's own event page lists the race, officially billed as Amazon HYROX London, as running from 2 to 6 December 2026 at ExCeL, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL. HYROX describes last season's London race at ExCeL as the biggest HYROX event it has ever held, so expect a packed hall, long days of start waves and a loud crowd.

The week also hosts the second HYROX Elite Series races of the 2026/27 season, with Elite 15 and Challenger 15 singles on Thursday 3 December and doubles on Friday 4 December. HYROX Youngstars races for ages 8 to 15 run alongside the main event too. Edge is not affiliated with HYROX or the event organisers. Everything here is taken from HYROX's event page at the time of writing and may change, so check the official page before you travel.

Which divisions race on which day?

Your race day depends on your division. This is HYROX's provisional schedule for the age-group races, which it marks as subject to change.

HYROX says your individual start time will be linked about three days before the event, and that start time changes are not allowed. Plan travel, childcare and time off work around the whole window for your day until you know your exact wave.

What does a HYROX race involve?

Every HYROX race follows the same format: eight 1km runs, each followed by one workout station. In order, the stations are:

• 1,000m SkiErg
• 50m sled push
• 50m sled pull
• 80m burpee broad jumps
• 1,000m row
• 200m farmers carry
• 100m sandbag lunges
• 100 wall balls

Between the running track and the stations is the Roxzone, a transition area. The clock keeps running while you are in it, so moving through it calmly but without dawdling saves real time.

In plain English, the divisions are: singles (Open), where you do the whole thing yourself at standard weights; Pro, the same race with heavier weights for experienced racers; Doubles, where two of you run every kilometre together and split the station work however you like; and Relay, where a team of four shares the race, each doing two run-and-station blocks. For Open singles, HYROX lists the farmers carry as 2 x 16kg for women and 2 x 24kg for men, the sandbag as 10kg and 20kg, and the wall ball as 4kg and 6kg.

Is eight weeks enough to get ready?

For most people who can already run 5km without stopping and do some strength work, yes. Eight weeks will not turn you into a podium finisher, but it is enough time to learn the stations, practise running on tired legs and arrive at ExCeL feeling ready rather than nervous.

If you are starting from zero, two good options are to enter Doubles or Relay, where the work is shared, or to follow our beginner's guide to training for HYROX and aim for a race in the new year instead. There is no shame in either. Walking parts of the runs is allowed, and plenty of first-timers do.

What does the 8-week HYROX London plan look like?

Use the rest of this week (6 to 11 October) to do one easy 5km and one gentle gym session so you know your starting point. Then follow the table from Monday 12 October. Easy means you could hold a conversation. Race effort means about 7 out of 10, a pace you feel you could hold for all eight runs.

A few notes to make the plan work for you:

• Racing on Wednesday 2 December? Move your week 7 half practice race to the weekend of 28 and 29 November at the latest, and keep Monday and Tuesday very easy.
• Only three days a week? Keep the key session and both runs, and add 10 minutes of lunges and carries after one of the runs.
• Clocks go back on Sunday 25 October. Evenings get dark early from week 3, so have a treadmill or indoor HIIT backup ready for the nights you cannot face a dark run.
• Pain is a stop sign. Normal tiredness is fine. Sharp or worsening pain is not, so skip the session and get it checked.

If you would rather have the whole thing built around your week, Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime. It is from £19.99 a month after a free 7-day trial, and Edge plans running, strength and HIIT as one plan, which is exactly what HYROX asks of you.

How do you train the stations without HYROX kit?

Most gyms have a rower and kettlebells, but fewer have a SkiErg or a sled track. Simple swaps work well for a first race:

• No SkiErg: use the rower, or do resistance band pull-downs for the same arm and core action.
• No sled: heavy goblet squats, walking lunges and hill walks build the leg drive. HYROX's own advice is to try the sled push at least once before race day, so book a session somewhere that has one if you can.
• No wall ball: squat with a light kettlebell or dumbbell held at your chest and press it overhead as you stand.
• No sandbag: walking lunges holding a dumbbell or wearing a loaded backpack.
• Burpee broad jumps: no kit needed. Practise a steady rhythm of burpee, jump forward, repeat, rather than sprinting the first ten.

What should you do in race week?

The work is done by now. Race week is about arriving fresh, so keep sessions short and easy, sleep well, and do not try anything new. Eat the meals you know agree with you and have a familiar breakfast a few hours before your wave. Our guide to what to eat in the week before a HYROX race goes into more detail.

Lay your kit out the night before: grippy trainers you have already trained in, layers for the cold December journey, a water bottle, a small snack and your physical ID. For a full kit list, use our HYROX London first-timer's checklist. It was written for the spring race at Olympia, but the kit and preparation advice applies just as well at ExCeL.

How do you get to ExCeL London?

ExCeL says the Elizabeth line and the DLR are the quickest ways in. Get off at Custom House (Elizabeth line and DLR) for the West Entrance, or Prince Regent (DLR) for the East Entrance. Each station is about 200m from its entrance, but the venue is long: ExCeL puts the walk between the West and East Entrances at about 600m, so check which entrance HYROX tells you to use before you set off.

• Driving: ExCeL says the only way to guarantee a parking space is to pre-book. Access to the venue car park is via the A13 only, and the car park entrance postcode is E16 1FR.
• Cable car: the London Cable Car crosses the Thames close to the venue, and ExCeL currently advertises a discounted single fare for visitors who show their event ticket.
• From outside London: get to any central London station, then use the Elizabeth line or DLR. Allow extra time for the walk inside the venue.

What should you expect on race day?

Check-in comes first. According to HYROX's event page:

• On-site registration for each division opens 90 minutes before that division's first start wave.
• You must bring physical ID. Digital copies and photos are not accepted, and nobody can check in on your behalf.
• During race week you can only check in on the day you are racing.
• At registration you get a race wristband, a venue access wristband, an ankle strap with your timing chip and your bib number. You cannot race without all of them.
• Your race ticket lets you watch on the day you race. Friends and family need their own spectator ticket, and the Elite 15 races need an add-on.

Once you start, the biggest first-timer mistake is running the first kilometre too fast because the crowd is loud and everyone around you is fresh. Treat run one as a warm-up. The sled push usually feels heavier than you expect, and the wall balls arrive when your legs are already tired, so save something for the end. Break the wall balls into sets of 10 or 15 from the start rather than waiting until you are forced to stop.

After you finish, keep moving, drink some water, eat something and put on warm layers before you leave the hall. HYROX holds age-group award ceremonies once every racer in a division has finished. A short walk the next day helps you feel human again, and then it is time to decide what is next.

Edge is not affiliated with HYROX, ExCeL London or the event organisers. Dates, schedules and venue details come from the organisers' own pages at the time of writing and may change, so check the official HYROX event page before you travel.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, pregnant, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.