The ageless wonder of Hyrox

Simon Passmore is 54 years old, but he runs circles around Hyrox competitors who are less than half his age. He holds the all-time Hyrox open record for men over 50, completing the race in an incredible 1:01:27 at Hyrox Magala in 2023. He is also the reigning world champion in his age group. This month in Vienna, he competed in a Hyrox singles, doubles, and relay race on the same day.

The Hybrid Letter talked with Simon about balancing training with being a full-time dad, how he fell in love with Hyrox, and his goals for the future. 

The interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

The Hybrid Letter: You are competing in hybrid competitions at a very high level. What was your journey to get here? 

Simon Passmore: Growing up, I played football – soccer to you guys. That was really it. When I was in London, I would do some weights. Football was really the main thing. I moved to Hong Kong in 2010. There you can go two ways two ways. You can go down a rabbit hole, drinking all night long – the excesses of the ex-pat lifestyle in Hong Kong. Or you can get fitter. And slowly, I did. I started doing some dragon boating. I started doing half marathons as well. I didn’t have time to train for a marathon. Then I actually cut it down to 10Ks because I had a lot less time than I thought working in banking over there. I managed to break 40 minutes.

Then a whole bunch of things happened at the same time. I finally got made redundant from my finance job and retrained as a personal trainer. A couple of months before that, Spartan hosted their first event in Hong Kong. That’s a trail run with an army obstacle course thrown in. Running on the road is boring. This combined running with all these different obstacles, carrying and jumping over things. I absolutely loved it.

I went all over Asia racing. I won my first race in Malaysia. That qualified me for the 24-hour ultra championships in Iceland. Spartan was really the catalyst from the fitness point of view. I then trained as a Spartan coach, TRX coach, animal flow – lots of different things. 

We moved from Hong Kong to the UK when my little girl came along. After Covid, they started the UK Spartan series and won that two years in a row. Then Hyrox came along. It’s very, very different. I did my first one last February in Glasgow, and I absolutely loved it. I won my age group by hundredths of a second, which is pretty amazing after competing for over an hour. 

When you walk in there, it is like walking into a basketball game in the US. It’s amazing. The organization behind it and the atmosphere they got going. And it gives your training such a real focus. It gave me a renewed focus. 

THL: You worked in finance for many years. What made you decide to switch careers and become a personal trainer? 

SP: For me, personally, finance is probably one of the most unrewarding things to be involved in. And it was really tough in Hong Kong, to be honest. I thought I was going to go and have a bit of an easy ride. It was just a tough 8 years until I finally got made redundant. 

And so, I went down to the gym. And I thought, “What should I do?” I’ll get my NASM PT certification and see how that goes. So the switch was circumstantial, really. I found I could really relate to people very well. I think personal training and group training are a lot of psychology. It’s about finding out what makes the person tick and how much you can push someone and not push them. How can you get them to exercise to their best ability and keep coming back to make themselves better? 

THL: You are 54. But you have times in the very low 60s in the Hyrox open division. It’s very difficult to finish a race that quickly, no matter what your age. What do you think is allowing you to achieve these times? Is it your training? Your mentality? 

SP: I think mentality is a big thing. Especially in Hyrox. 

But I’ve got a really good engine, and I can just keep going. Because of the pursuit of a sub-40 minute 10K, I’ve got decent running speed. Others are getting more tired in the latter part of the race. I actually get faster normally in the back half of the race. That’s my favorite part of the race. You get the burpees out of the way and a bit of rest on the rower, and you start increasing the pace.

My training volume is minimal, really. I’ve been a stay-at-home dad for the last three years. I have a 13-year-old daughter as well, and I didn’t get to spend that much time with her growing up because I was working so much during the week. Then when our little girl came along, I decided to just take a break from everything. She’s in nursery three times a week now. She’s three years old. So now I’m basically training Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And two rest days on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I’m looking after her. Potentially a run on the weekend if I can. I try to fit a lot into those three days. The volume compared to other people's is not that much. It is about 9 hours total. 

Especially as you are getting older, it is great to have these built-in rest days. For me, training is quality over quantity. 

For a long time, I was training for Hyrox in the wrong way. Basically lots of mini-Hyroxes. It isn’t the best use of time once you are familiar with the movement standards. It’s better to focus on your running – intervals, speed, hills. And then work on strength endurance. So my training style has really changed. 

THL: How much running do you get in during those 9 hours? 

SP: It’s dependent. Normally, Monday would be hills, and it would be a 10K. So around 45 minutes or less, depending on speed. I run up this really steep hill in Glasgow. You run up there, you get to the top; it’s like coming out of a station. I loop around and do the same thing 5 or 6 times. That’s one day. Wednesday is a tempo 10K run, pushing the pace a little bit. Friday, I do sprints. That is maybe 5 to 10 200-meter or 400-meter sprint intervals. I try to run a monthly run test, where I do eight 1K runs where I increase the pace at each interval.

I try to do a Zone 2 run on the weekend. The only way I do this is by listening to a podcast. I try to talk to myself as a way to keep the speed down. 

THL: Are you trying to run each kilometer at around the same speed? Or is your pacing more by feel?

SP: It’s all by feel. I don’t look at my watch. I push myself to the most I can push myself at that particular point in a run. It’s always so interesting with Hyrox because you always keep a little something reserved. In the last half of the race, I’ll increase my perceived effort. 

TH: You said the back half of the race is your strength. What is your mental approach to keep pushing when you’ve already been working hard for 40 minutes and have another 20 minutes to go? Are you talking to yourself? Are you giving yourself encouragement?

SP: I just focus on that particular part of the race. That’s what I love about Hyrox. When you are doing burpees, all you can think about is the next burpee. Not much else goes on in your mind because it is so intense. 

I was listening to a psychology podcast, and they talk about smiling. Give yourself a little bit of a boost. I do that every now and again. I do sometimes look at the crowd. It is a fantastic community, and you meet so many new people. There is normally someone out there shouting for you, which is great. 

The principal thing is focusing on the race itself. And then thinking about my family. I’ve got this thing in my head: Team LSR, for my wife and two daughters. You want them to be proud, and it helps drive you on.

THL: You are performing at a very high level later in life. Do you think there is something in your physiology that has allowed you to do this? Or do you think this is something that a lot of people could do if they were willing to devote the time?

SD: The potential is in everyone. It’s whether you are willing to put in the work while no one is watching. It’s pushing yourself. You push yourself every day to be the best version of you. Whether that be in training or in other aspects of life. If you do that, it transfers into the race. If you put in the work, you can get the result. 

The other thing, I had a good childhood, but there were aspects that were difficult, and I had to learn to be quite independent. I had to learn to get things done without anyone motivating me or in my corner. I want to perform for me. Then, by doing that, I’ll be a bit of an inspiration. 

It’s all doable. It’s hours of quality training. And then have the mental drive to get to the finish line.

THL: Do you see yourself five or ten years from now still doing these races?

SD: I don’t know. I just really like the format of Hyrox, and the community is fantastic. For now, I’ll keep doing this. I definitely want to be doing something. I’ve got a three-year-old kid, and I’m 54. I’ve got to remain as young as possible for as long as possible. This kind of functional fitness test is fantastic because every movement type is there. 

My biggest goal at the moment is to be the World Champion again for my age group. But probably more so to complete a race in less than 60 minutes. No one over 50 has ever done that.

You can keep up with Simon’s training – and his race results – on Instagram.

Hybrid Athlete of the Week: Patrick Nguyen

Name: Patrick Nguyen

Age: 35

Hometown: Houston, Tx

Why did you start hybrid training? I’ve been in the Army for 14 years, and there’s a good amount of hybrid fitness training that goes on, especially in the Infantry community. I was never really serious about fitness until I joined a CrossFit gym in 2019, where I realized I could push past my mental limits. Later on, I started including running as part of my CrossFit routine to improve my endurance. I essentially went from a couple of miles here and there to doing my half-marathon in December 2022. The fitness community has been great to me, and I wanted to give back. So I got my CrossFit Level One Certificate and started coaching in late summer of 2023. I love guiding others toward becoming a fitter version of themselves and seeing their progress.

Favorite race to date?: Although Hyrox Dallas in November 2023 was a blast, completing the Snow Mountain Peak Trail Half-Marathon in the Granby, CO, mountains was the most scenic fitness experience I’ve had.

Do you have a race goal?: My next goal is to complete Hyrox DC, where I’ll race in the men’s open division, in 1:30 or less.

Favorite station?: The farmers carry because I can knock it out quickly by just grabbing those kettlebells and running. 

Least favorite station? It’s a tie between the Burpee Broad Jump or Weighted Lunges. I’ve got some knee issues, and the down and up of those movements puts a lot of stress on them.

Things you wish you knew when you started racing? I wish I had focused on nutrition as a key element of fitness when starting my fitness journey instead of treating it as a separate thing. I incorrectly thought I could out-train my diet, and it wasn’t until this past year that I got serious about nutrition.

Science Corner: A new study on the Maurten Bicarb System 

For many years, endurance athletes have used sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda. Studies have found that sodium bicarbonate can act as a buffer against lactic acid build-up, which delays the onset of fatigue and the burning sensation associated with excessive lactic acid. 

The big problem with sodium bicarbonate is that, for many people, it causes gastrointestinal distress. And it’s hard to PR in a race if you are constantly making pitstops to use the restroom. 

Maurten, a supplement company, has created a concoction called the Maurten Bicarb System which it claims gives athletes the benefits of sodium bicarbonate without the GI distress. This month, a study was published in an academic journal, Sports Medicine - Open, which backed up those claims. The researchers concluded that the Maurten Bicarb System “can increase buffering capacity and reduce GI discomfort.” Participants who used the Maurten produce reported “reduced stomach cramps, bowel urgency, diarrhea, belching, and stomachache” compared to a control group who was given an equivalent amount of regular sodium bicarbonate.

It’s possible that the Maurten Bicarb System could improve performance at a Hyrox or Deka competition. 

It’s important to note that the researchers did receive partial funding from Maurten but reported that there was an agreement that “all data could be published irrespective of the outcome of the study and subsequent analysis.” You can read the full study here.