The ageless wonder of Hyrox
Amy Bevilacqua finished second at the Hyrox Anaheim, finishing in an impressive time of 1:03:47 and punching her ticket to the World Championships in Nice, France. At 50, she rose to the top of an extremely talented field of women in their 20s and 30s. A mom of 5, Amy works as an endurance coach and has a background in running and triathlons.
The Hybrid Letter talked with Amy about her mentality going into Anaheim, taking a wrong turn, and turning weaknesses into strengths.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Hybrid Letter: How did you first hear about Hyrox?
Amy Bevilacqua: I was sitting at the dentist with one of my kids reading Men’s Health Magazine. I was flipping through and saw an article about Hyrox. It sounded interesting because it was nothing too technical. There was a lot of running. I looked it up and thought I could be good at this, so I decided to experiment with it. My first race was in New York in June, so it’s been about a year.
THL: What is your athletic background?
AB: I grew up doing gymnastics. I had a muscular base and then I got into track and field in high school. I did cross country through high school and college. After college, I worked full-time in New York City and would run recreationally. I got into road running and triathlons after that. I had some success in triathlons but never swimming; it was always my Achilles heel. I was good at triathlon with my age group, but once I got to the pro level, swimming held me back. I tried to work on it, but I hated it. It is really hard to work on something you dislike. From there, I went into road cycling. I could climb a mountain like nobody else, but I didn’t like descending. I was afraid I was going to die or break something. I won some big races and enjoyed them.
I got into Spartan and OCR racing a little. So when I saw Hyrox, I knew I could do it. I don’t need to be able to hang on to slippery things in the rain. I didn’t start out good at everything in Hyrox. But I enjoy working on the things I am not good at.
THL: Going into Anaheim, how were you feeling?
AB: My body was feeling great. I was ready for Anaheim a month and a half ago — although I am glad I had the time. I worked on squats, heavy lunges, and wall balls. I did a million wall balls. I actually counted and think I did between 15,000 and 20,000. I felt ready. I had done some benchmark running testing, and my runs were there. I didn’t really improve my running, but it didn't get any worse.
I was terrified of the wall balls station going in. I was thinking about it the whole time. The lunges went really well. Then, I made sure I had an energy gummy and some fluid. I went in there and took a deep breath. In DC, I squatted down on my first wall ball and fell backward. In Anaheim, I wasn’t the fastest one. I broke a couple of times. I got a few no-reps. But I did fine.
THL: What was your mentality going into the race?
AG: I am used to being a little fish in a big pond. I’ve been in some races and had some big successes and some big failures, too. At one triathlon, the swim was in the Des Moines River with a strong current, and it was three laps. I was still on the first lap when the rest of the field was getting out. My whole family was there. They kicked me out of the race because I had been lapped. In another triathlon, I was riding on a four-lane highway, and the cop was supposed to stop traffic. That didn't happen, and I crashed into a minivan and ended up in the hospital.
I’m used to success and failure. At the end of the day, it is going to be okay. It’s about being out there. But I felt internal pressure. I wanted to prove that I could make it through the race and perform at the wall balls. I had a goal in mind. I actually enjoy looking at my watch. I thought I could finish in 1:03:30. I wrote the time I needed each time I went out of the RoxZone on my hand.
Morgan Schultz and I got lost going to the sled pull. I was a little shaken by that and being off my pace. Over the years, I found that racing other people doesn’t really work for me. I can’t push super hard at the beginning of the race. I have to start slower. I don't even line up in the front at the start line. I’ll be five rows back because I would rather start out slow than be trampled. I knew that people would come back to me eventually. You have to be patient.
THL: After you took a wrong turn, what was going through your mind?
AB: I immediately thought, this sucks. When we finally got to the sled pull, Morgan and I had gone from second and third to maybe sixth and seventh. I reminded myself that I didn't start out in the front. I wasn't in the front coming into the skier. And I caught up with them. So I thought, I can catch up with them again. I just did my own thing. Because the worst thing you can do is over-extend at that moment or get too upset.
Morgan was pulling right next to me. I was trying to encourage her, too. And then her sled kept going off the turf and was crooked. The volunteers didn't notice. That was just like another slap in the face for her. I wasn't happy. But I knew burpees, farmers, and lunges are all good stations for me. So I went with it.
THL: You are one of the strongest runners in the women's field. How do you train?
AB: I don't run a lot of miles, maybe 15 to 20 a week. The top females run between 50 to 60 miles. I can't do that. My body would break down. I do speed work, I do hills, and I do threshold work. I alternate those three types of workouts every week.
I also do some quality sessions on the Stairmaster, believe it or not. Like single steps and then double steps and then get off and do walking lunges. I have a huge background in running, so my form is good. I do a lot of volume on the bike, which I think translates well enough for me. But I have to be very careful. The reason I stopped running races and triathlons was because I had tears in my hamstrings — right where your butt meets your leg on both sides. I couldn't run faster than a seven-minute mile for years. And then I just started running uphill, doing the Stairmaster, and biking. It eventually got better.
I don’t think my running can improve much — maybe a little. But there's a lot of room to improve in the other stations that I've never done before a year ago.
THL: You’ve competed a few times with the Elite field. How have you seen it change?
AB: The field is getting faster. At last year's World Championships, there were three times above 1:08. This year, I don’t think anyone will be more than 1:05.
I am also getting to know all these people. I met Megan Jacob because we were on the same flight to Stockholm. I was too afraid to talk to her on the way there. We chatted on the way home, waiting at the airport for six hours together.
THL: You have five kids, you’re 50, and you are still able to compete with women who are 20 years younger than you. How do you make it all work?
AB: Some weeks, I feel good. I can run hard one day, take it easy, and then go hard the next day. Some weeks, I need two or three days in between a hard running workout.
Running is what will get me. But there are a lot of other things that I can do that won’t injure me. Now that I have been working on the ergs, I feel like I can throw some quality onto those.
I haven’t noticed any huge changes in my performance as I've gotten older. I am sure there have been changes. But you don’t become 50 overnight. It takes a while.
THL: What keeps you competing?
AB: I just love it. I really like Hyrox. People say that having kids fulfills them — and I’m not saying my kids don’t fulfill me — but racing fulfills me, too.
Every pregnancy is a chance to stop and start up again. Having kids helped me take time off. It’s at least a year and a half of downtime. I just always get hungry to come back to something. I had four kids in a row with small gaps, and with every kid, it was really difficult. When they are young, you have a short window of time to train.
With Hyrox, I have the capability to make each component of it a strength, even if it is a weakness for me right now. My rowing is not great and my wall balls are not great. But I think it’s exciting that I can still improve.
I like to travel for races. I don’t like to travel just to travel. I always like having something to do there. I don’t know why. It’s not like I wouldn’t take a beach vacation, but I get to the beach, and I’m like, what are we doing?
You can follow Amy on Instagram or listen to her on the Rox Lyfe podcast, where she talks about her time as a circus performer.
Workout of the Week: Balls to the Wall!
Each edition of The Hybrid Letter features a workout from Dylan Scott, the Hyrox North American Champion, and Markus Frison, the original Hyrox VCF champion and head coach of The Frision Method.
If you are interested in training with The Frision Method, you can find out more information here. If you have any questions about this workout, let us know in the comments.
Inspiration of the Week: Anaheim last chance qualifier
Watch Jonathan Wynn and other incredible male athletes compete for the last two spots in the Hyrox World Championships.
NOTE: The highlights of the women’s race should be posted on Hyrox’s YouTube channel soon.
Hybrid athlete of the week: Daria Daspin
Name: Daria Daspin
Age: 30
Hometown: Boonton, New Jersey
When did you start competing in hybrid races? My first race was Hyrox NYC in 2019. It is very similar to what we embody at The Training Lab NYC, where I train and coach, so it was a no-brainer.
Favorite race to date?: NYC 2022. I placed 2nd in my age group.
Goals for the future? I am really looking forward to Hyrox NYC next month. I am also doing my first women's pro race in Toronto.
Favorite station? It is a toss up between sled pull and burpee broad jumps. I perform well on those.
Least favorite station? Sled push and row hurt me the worst.
Things you wish you knew when you started racing? The power of community. Find a great community that pushes and provides you with knowledge and opportunities for success. "You want to go fast, go alone. You want to go far, go together."
