Look at a Hyrox split sheet from any athlete and you'll see two columns: the run times and the station times. What you won't see is the time between them. The 8-15 seconds spent transitioning from running into a station, or from a station back into running, that time isn't on the split sheet, but it's absolutely on the clock. The chip is timing continuously.
Add up the transitions and most age-group athletes leak 60-120 seconds across the race. That's 60 seconds of free time. The fitness to claw back 60 seconds of running pace takes 8-12 weeks of training; the technique to claw it back from transitions takes one weekend of rehearsal. This piece is that rehearsal.
What a "transition" actually means
There are four transition types in a Hyrox race:
- Run → Station. You finish a 1 km run and have to enter a lane, find your sled or kettlebells, and start the work.
- Station → Run. You finish the work and have to leave the station, return to the running track, and resume the next 1 km.
- Mid-station drop and restart. When you take a planned (or unplanned) break during a station, drop the kettlebells, take a breath, resume.
- The final transition. Wall balls finish → the final 100 m to the line. The decision moment.
Each has its own optimisation. Athletes train running. Athletes train stations. Almost no one trains transitions.
Transition 1: Run → Station
The transition that repays attention most. You're coming off a 1 km run with elevated heart rate, looking for your station, finding the right sled or kettlebells, and beginning work.
What the slow version looks like:
- You finish the run, slow to a walk.
- You search for your assigned sled position.
- You stand at the start of the lane for 5 seconds, hands on hips, catching breath.
- You bend down, take a moment to grip the sled handles.
- You start pushing.
Time spent: 18-25 seconds.
What the fast version looks like:
- You sight your lane in the last 50 m of the run. You know where you're going before you stop.
- You decelerate over the last 20 m, you don't sprint into the station.
- You step into the lane mid-stride and your hands are on the sled before your body has fully stopped.
- One controlled breath. Hinge. Push.
Time spent: 6-10 seconds.
That's 12-15 seconds banked, per transition. Across 8 station entries, that's nearly two minutes.
The rehearsal: in training, integrate "approach and start" drills into your station work. Run 400 m at race pace, decelerate over the last 50 m, immediately set up and start the station within 8 seconds of stopping. Three sets, twice a week during the build phase. By race day it's automatic.
Transition 2: Station → Run
Equally important, equally untrained.
The slow version:
- You finish the station work (last sled rep, last burpee, last wall ball).
- You stand up, take 10 seconds of recovery breathing.
- You walk out of the lane.
- You jog the first 50 m of the next 1 km until you can run properly.
Time spent: 20-35 seconds before you're actually at race pace.
The fast version:
- You finish the station work and immediately start moving toward the run track. The recovery happens as you walk-jog-run, not as standing rest.
- The first 20-30 m of the next km is deliberately easy, you're transitioning your breathing from station effort to running effort, not standing still.
- By 50 m in, you're at race pace.
Time spent: 8-12 seconds of true transition.
Why this works: standing still after high-effort work spikes blood pooling in your legs and makes the restart harder. Moving, even slowly, keeps the system in motion. The "easy" 30 m of jogging is recovery; just don't stop.
Watch elite Hyrox athletes coming off a station. They look like they're moving at half pace, but they're moving. They don't stop. They don't squat-rest. They just walk-jog-run, and by 30 metres they're back at race pace. The recovery happens during the locomotion, not standing still.
Transition 3: Mid-station drops
The skill of dropping kettlebells (or breaking a set of wall balls) at the right time, and restarting fast.
When to plan a drop:
- Farmers carry: A single drop at the 100 m mark is reasonable for first-time finishers. One five-second reset is much cheaper than three unplanned ten-second collapses.
- Sandbag lunge: No drops. The lunge is a tempo move; once you stop, restarting is brutal.
- Wall balls: Plan your sets ahead. Common patterns: 25-25-25-25 (clean) or 30-25-25-20 (front-loaded) or 20-20-20-20-20 (fives). Know your pattern before the race.
What a fast restart looks like (kettlebells):
- The bells touch the floor at your chosen marker.
- One breath in, one breath out. That's it.
- Re-grip and walk.
Six seconds, not twenty.
Practise restarts in training. Do 100 m of farmers carry, drop, count "one breath in, one breath out", restart. Two sets after a strength session, weekly.
Transition 4: Wall balls → final sprint
The final transition is psychological as much as physical.
The wall balls station ends at rep 100 (open division) or rep 75 (women's open) or 100 (doubles split). The final 100 m sprint is your last chance to bank time. Most age-group athletes:
- Hit the final wall ball, exhale.
- Stand still for 8-12 seconds to "compose".
- Start the sprint at jogging pace.
- Pick up speed in the last 30 m as they realise they have legs.
Time lost: 15-25 seconds, easily.
What works:
- The last 10 wall balls, look at the finish corridor. Your eyes lead your body.
- Hit the last wall ball, exit the lane immediately. Don't even pause.
- The first 20 m of the sprint is light, not all-out, but at race pace.
- The last 80 m: build to full sprint. Look at the finish, not the floor.
The cumulative effect: 10-20 seconds banked on the most visible part of the race.
The transition checklist
Use this list to score your last race. Be honest.
- Did I scout each station's location before approaching it? Yes / No.
- Did I stop at any station for more than 6 seconds before starting? Yes / No.
- Did I walk after any station instead of jogging into the next km? Yes / No.
- Did I plan my wall ball sets before starting? Yes / No.
- Did I pause before the final sprint? Yes / No.
Each "yes" to questions 2, 3, 5 is roughly 10 seconds of free time. Each "no" to questions 1 and 4 is 15-30 seconds of leaked time across multiple transitions.
Most amateur athletes lose 60-120 seconds on race day to bad transitions. The technique is learnable in a long weekend.
How Suth Performance programmes transition work
The Suth Performance First Race and Sub-90 programmes include "transition drills" twice a week from week 4 onward. They're not marketed as a marquee feature, but they're some of the most leveraged minutes in the build:
- Approach drills: Run 400 m at race pace, decelerate over the last 50 m, set up and start a station within 8 seconds.
- Exit drills: Complete 60 seconds of station work, immediately walk-jog-run the next 400 m starting easy and building to race pace by 50 m in.
- Wall ball pattern rehearsal: Once a week, do 75 or 100 wall balls broken to your planned set pattern. Builds the muscle memory of the restart points.
- Final sprint drill: Once a week, finish a station with a 100 m sprint to a marker. Builds the legs-to-finish habit.
On race day
Eight stations. Eight runs. Fifteen transitions. The race clock doesn't stop between them, and most athletes have never trained any of them. The athletes who knock 90 seconds off their finish time without "fitness gain" almost always do it by cleaning up transitions. Train the seconds between the work, not just the work itself. The fitness gets you to the time. The transitions get you to the time you actually deserve.
[ FAQ ]
Frequently asked
How long is a Hyrox transition?
Officially, the timing chip counts everything continuously, there's no formal transition zone. In practice, the seconds between leaving a station and beginning the next run, or finishing a run and starting the next station, are 'transition' time. Most age-group athletes spend 8-15 seconds in each.
Can I drink water during transitions?
Yes. Water stations are placed at key points around the course. The transition is the only honest moment to drink, drinking while running spikes side stitches; drinking on stations breaks rhythm. Plan two water sips: after burpee broad jump and after sandbag lunge.
Should I look at the leaderboard during transitions?
No. Looking at the leaderboard mid-race triggers either complacency or panic, both bad. Race your own watch. Check the leaderboard only at the start of the wall balls.
Written by
The Suth Performance teamCoaches and editors
The Suth Performance programming team, led by HYROX Elite 15 athlete Ben Sutherland.
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