"It was manageable until it wasn’t"
Marc Howe is the 2022 Hyrox Mixed Doubles World Champion and currently serves as a brand manager for Hyrox in Chicago. A former ice hockey player, cyclist, and triathlete, Hyrox has been a critical part of Marc's journey to sobriety.
The Hybrid Letter spoke with Marc about addiction, community building, and the importance of just getting started.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Hybrid Letter: Have you always been active, even growing up?
Marc Howe: I was all about sports. I started with baseball and was a catcher, pretty good at it too. Then around age seven, my mom wanted me to stay busy, and in South Florida, there was roller hockey. I played for a while, even competing in the Junior Olympics. We won gold, silver, and bronze. I remember watching The Mighty Ducks and thinking ice hockey looked so cool. I was 11 at the time, and my mom got a call from someone looking to fill in on an ice hockey team. I had never ice-skated before, but I jumped in and played ice hockey ever since. I went to prep school in Connecticut and then played in college at Lawrence in Wisconsin. After that, ice hockey was my life.
THL: How did you get into endurance sports?
MH: After college, I got into road cycling. I started doing it for cross-training during college, and I got hooked. I was satisfied with my college hockey career and didn’t feel the need to continue playing. I was lucky enough to break a bunch of school records, some of which still stand. A lot of my teammates went on to play in Sweden or for prep teams.
I moved to Florida and started racing with a semi-pro cycling team. It was tough—lots of riding, and it was more of an individual sport. Eventually, I got burned out. I figured I might as well get super strong. I had no goals, no desire for powerlifting or bodybuilding. This was all before I developed a drinking problem.
THL: How did this lead to Hyrox?
MH: In 2011, I stopped cycling and just focused on working out. I worked as a fitness director at a gym and trained clients. In 2015, I started drinking every day—a six-pack a day, which I thought I could manage. I wanted to be the guy who could drink and stay fit. Then I met Lauren in 2018, and we became that fit couple who worked out and drank together. It was manageable until it wasn’t.
In 2021, Lauren did her first Hyrox in Austin, and I watched. I thought, “This is hard. I don’t know if I can do it.” I’m not a runner, but she did Austin, then nationals in Chicago. I was just the water boy watching her. At the time, I was training for a 70.3 Ironman in Dallas. About four weeks after that race, I told myself I’d be confident and signed up to do my first Hyrox with Lauren. She’s a better runner than me, and I thought, “Now I have to keep up with her.” I was trying to figure out how to get faster and not get dropped by her because it was miserable just hanging on. You don’t want to let your partner down.
THL: How has Hyrox impacted your sobriety journey?
MH: Fitness and competing have become everything to me. I needed it to replace my addiction. I have an addictive personality, and I manage fitness much better than substances. Substances take control, and I’m trying not to get lost in racing. I’ve seen people lose themselves in competition, chasing accolades until they hate it. I don’t want that to happen to me because this means everything to me. Whether I’m racing or not, I train hard. It’s just part of my life now. I wake up, train early, and it’s a blessing that this sport came around. It’s more than fitness—it’s my career now, though not as a pro-athlete, but working for the brand.
THL: What do you do for Hyrox now?
MH: I call myself a community builder. I’m the Regional Manager for Chicago. My job is to build the brand and communities around it. I saw how powerful Hyrox communities could be, and I wanted to create spaces where people could connect and capitalize on what Hyrox has to offer. People are starting businesses, making great friendships, and even getting married or proposing on the racecourse. It’s been an incredible journey over the past three years.
THL: What keeps you like best about Hyrox?
MH: It’s the accessibility for everyone. The elites are impressive, but what inspires me most are the people who are scared to go out there but still believe in themselves. That’s what keeps me coming back. It keeps me telling my story because this sport can change your life. Yes, elite athletes are rockstars, but it’s also the person who walks the course, takes four hours to finish, and then comes back to get better. That’s inspiring. I remember at my first race in Dallas, a woman crossed the finish line after four hours. I thought, “That’s amazing.”
THL: What changes have you seen in Hyrox since you started?
MH: People are taking training more seriously, treating it like a sport rather than just a workout. Early on, people thought they could just get by, but now they’re putting in the time on the ergs, the sled pushes, the burpee broad jumps—it’s becoming a science. It’s interesting to see athletes from different backgrounds come in and change the way people train. At first, OCR athletes won because CrossFitters couldn’t run as fast. Now, track athletes and others are coming in and pushing the sport in new directions.
THL: What mistakes do you see people make in training?
MH: A lot of people do too much too soon or try to figure it out themselves without asking for help. In the beginning, there weren’t many coaches, so people just did what they thought was right. It’s important to understand your body and your background, then build a program around that. If you’ve never run before, you shouldn’t be running 50 miles a week. Also, don’t compare yourself to others. With Hyrox, you can see everyone’s times, but that takes the fun out of it. Focus on your own progress and what you’re capable of.
THL: What would you tell someone on the fence about signing up for Hyrox?
MH: Have someone sign you up if you’re scared. Make yourself accountable. Don’t wait for the next one or tell yourself you’ll train more. Just sign up and figure it out. You’ll learn so much during preparation, even if you’re not fully ready. And even with perfect training, you might still feel terrible on race day. But the key is to get out there and do it, then take notes afterward to improve.
THL: What are you excited about for Hyrox this year?
MH: The new people coming in, especially the pro athletes. They’ll inspire others to get involved. It’s incredible to see beginners and pros competing side by side. I run a Chicago Hyrox track club, and at first, I just coached. Then I started running with them and realized how talented everyone is. It’s been great for my own improvement, and it shows that you have to put yourself out there to get better.
THL: What do you hope to bring to the Hyrox community?
MH: Sobriety and fitness are the two most important things in my life. Hyrox has given me a platform to share my sobriety story, and I know there are others out there who can relate. I want to build a community within Hyrox focused on sobriety and inclusion. A lot of people come to Hyrox to express themselves, and it’s a great platform to connect and share stories. If anyone is struggling, I hope they reach out. Fitness can be a powerful outlet, and I’ve learned through Hyrox to be myself and share that with the community.
You can follow Marc's work for the Hyrox Community on Instagram or watch him share his story of addiction on YouTube.
Why an Olympic gold medalist is also a goat farmer
On Instagram, top athletes frequently post their most grueling workouts and their constant efforts to improve at their sport. But is this approach the most productive?
Letsile Tebogo won a gold medal in the 200 meter sprint at the Paris Olympics. He also ran the anchor leg for Botswana in the 4x400 relay, helping his country secure a silver medal. Since then Tebogo has won 200 meter and 100 meter events in the Diamond League, the premiere track and field competition.
In a recent interview, Tebogo attributed his success, in part, to taking time away from track and field and working as a farmer:
I personally had 10 animals – cows and goats – and then the Botswana government gave me about 30 more now. I am still counting, there are still more coming from them.
Farming takes me away from the city life, so I can just refresh my mental life. Because in the city you are not a free human, but in the bush you are a free human being.It allows me to distract myself away from track and field. Once you think about track and field too much, at the moment you get too much stress
Performance coach Steve Magness notes that Tebogo's experience shows that athletic success does not require being obsessed with your sport twenty-four hours a day. That approach could actually impede your performance.
Hybrid Athlete of the Week: Sarah Hernandez
Name: Sarah J. Hernandez
Age: 43
Hometown: Waycross, Georgia
When did you start hybrid racing? I started training for HYROX in 2019. I attended my first event in 2018 with my fiancé, Bruce Jackson, to watch him compete, and I was so impressed by seeing so many fit people of all ages in one place! I knew I wanted to train for it, which meant I needed to start strength training. I’ve always shied away from heavier lifting, but I wanted to embrace it more. As for running, that comes naturally to me.
Favorite race? My favorite race was HYROX Dallas 2023. I ran my second HYROX Mixed Doubles race with Bruce, and we won our age group, qualified for France, and shaved about five minutes off our previous time! That evening, I competed in an over-40 relay with friends, and we won, so I went home with two first-place banners in one day.
Race goal? My goal is to keep gaining strength in the stations. I feel like I’m on the cusp of regularly reaching the podium in my age group. My running is strong, but I need to cut down time in some of the stations. I know what work I need to do to get there, and it’s just a matter of putting in the effort.
Favorite station? Station 5, the rower! I’ve always loved the rower. I pull controlled and smoothly at an RPE of 7. I’ll pop a gel before hitting the rower, regroup, and recover. It’s my chance to give myself a quick pep talk before I’m ready to run again.
Least favorite station? The SkiErg. I’m not upper-body dominant, so it takes all my effort to hold a 2:10 pace for the 1,000 meters. Anything faster feels like it would kill me! In doubles events, though, with shorter bursts, I’m much faster —1:57 for two 250-meter turns.
Things you wish you knew when you started racing? When I started training for Hyrox, I didn’t know how much time to dedicate to Hyrox-specific work. I wish I’d figured out the right balance sooner. I love learning from others and reading about fellow athletes’ experiences and training insights.