"The biggest progress comes from the races that go wrong"

Lizzie May, athlete and certified Hyrox Performance Coach, took an unconventional path into fitness. She spent her early 20s in Thailand as a scuba diving instructor before finding her footing as a coach in Germany and Bangkok. Along the way, she learned the pitfalls of overtraining and the power of pacing and recovery.

We chatted with Lizzie about her evolving training philosophy, the common mistakes athletes make, and how to build confidence for race day.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Hybrid Letter: Were you always athletic growing up?

Lizzie May: I was always active—football, volleyball, whatever was happening at school or university. But I never thought about training beyond just showing up to play. No sports science, no structured prep.

At university, I realized how little I knew. I’d run ten minutes on the treadmill, avoid the weight room because it felt intimidating, do a few crunches, and call it a day. And of course, the UK student culture of binge drinking didn’t help.

I grew up near Munich in a small countryside town, then went to boarding school in the UK at sixteen. Being away so young really threw me off, and my 20s were messy. I dropped out of university, moved to Thailand, and worked as a scuba diving videographer and instructor. It was fun but came with smoking, partying, and no real structure.

THL: When did fitness start to become more of your livelihood?

LM: Around 22, I started with a personal trainer. She was good overall, but I’ll never forget struggling with a Romanian deadlift and being told, “I don’t think you’re ever going to get this. Let’s just move on.” That stuck with me. It showed me how powerful a coach’s words can be.

I drifted in and out of training, still wrestling with body image. I worked a corporate job in London that I hated, then ended up at the front desk of an F45 because I loved the classes. Later I became a personal trainer in Germany. At the time, the culture was all grind: long sessions, endless sweat. In 2017, when Hyrox first appeared, I watched friends training for it—100 wall balls, heavy carries—and thought, absolutely not. That looks insane.

THL: How did you end up focusing on Hyrox?

LM: During COVID, I went to Thailand for a holiday, and when the world shut down, I stayed. I ended up opening a gym on a tiny diving island, which became my whole project. After a year I wanted more, so I moved to Bangkok, found an amazing CrossFit gym, and started coaching supplemental classes.

That gym launched Hyrox classes, and it just clicked. By then I had built a solid engine—anything between 20 minutes and an hour was my sweet spot. CrossFit workouts felt too short and explosive, but Hyrox was different: once I’m warm, I can just keep going. I fell in love with it, started teaching, and posting about it. That was just last May, and everything has grown from there.

THL: You now work with all types of Hyrox athletes full-time. What is your training philosophy when it comes to athletes training in this manner?

LM: It’s definitely still evolving, but my mindset around training has changed a lot in the past year. I went through two pretty intense periods of overtraining, where I believed more was better—double sessions, under-eating, heavy lifts followed by runs, and constant conditioning. I thought that was the only way to improve.

But recently, I had one of my best race experiences ever, despite only being in the gym twice a week for the month leading up to it. I had been traveling, in a new relationship, and honestly just resting more. I felt fresh, calm, and for the first time, I didn’t spend the week before a comp crying through every workout. It made me realize that once you’re two weeks out, the work is done. It’s no longer about pushing harder, it’s about sleeping well, eating enough, and recovering properly.

THL: Do you find that people often struggle with that same mindset?

LM: It’s a mindset I still struggle with, especially in a world where Instagram makes it look like everyone’s doing more, lifting heavier, running faster. But I’ve learned to stick to my lane and limit how much I consume from the Hyrox space online—it can be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.

Now, as a coach, I see the same patterns in others. Clients say they want longer, harder sessions, but what they often need is balance. I’ve had conversations where it became clear that the hard sessions weren’t about progress, they were about stress release, guilt, or trying to prove something.

But that mindset becomes its own kind of comfort, even if it’s damaging. I’m learning that when life is stressful, the answer isn’t more training. Sometimes it’s dialing it back: taking a walk, moving gently, giving yourself space. Because training is stressful too.

Having something like Hyrox on the calendar has helped me think long-term. It forces me to ask: How is what I’m doing today going to affect me on race day? That structure has brought a lot more purpose to my training and taught me that performance doesn’t come from doing the most. It comes from doing what’s right.

THL: Are there other messages and trends that you have noticed with athletes when it comes to racing and training in this space?

LM: One big mindset I’ve had to unlearn is that harder isn’t always better. I was in an F45 class recently, and at the rowing station, every damper was cranked to 10. It’s so common there and honestly, I used to do the same thing. You think, “10 means harder, so it must be better.”

But now, every time I step up to the rower or SkiErg, I turn the damper down to a 2, 3, maybe 4. Because higher resistance doesn’t mean more effective, it just feels harder. And I think that’s part of the issue: people associate discomfort with progress.

Whether it’s a lack of education or just that grind mentality, it’s something I see all the time. But smarter doesn’t always look or feel harder. And learning to understand that has made a huge difference in how I train and coach.

THL: Are there any of the same pitfalls you hear when it comes to strategy?

LM: Another big lesson is the value of pacing. It’s that tortoise and the hare idea: slow and steady really does win the race. In Hyrox, especially if you're racing over an hour, it’s not about going out fast. I always tell people, take the first run and the SkiErg as your warm-up.

Unless you’re racing Elite15 and every second matters, your goal is to maintain consistent energy. I like to start at the back of the tunnel to avoid getting swept up in the sprint energy of the front. It helps me stay calm and run my own race. If you take it easier in the beginning, you’ll probably pass 10 people after the sled pull. It’s way more satisfying than blowing up early.

That mindset came through CrossFit. One of my coaches once told me, “If it feels too slow at the start, good. That’s your pace.” And it’s true. You want to feel steady in the first half so you actually can push in the final stretch. Not necessarily faster splits but better energy and form when it counts.

The same goes for running. I used to just chase a 5K PB every time I ran, and if I didn’t hit it, I’d feel like I failed. But that approach ignores pacing, technique, and energy systems. And after a while, progress stops. Now I help clients train across different zones, not just max effort every session. That’s how you raise the ceiling—by building the whole range, not just hammering the top end.

THL: Is there something you are always sure to include in Hyrox plans for those looking to compete?

LM: The things you should always be including are the non-Hyrox stuff. Specifically mobility for a lot of people. I used to neglect the boring, unsexy stuff: mobility, glute activation, and core strength. And that’s the stuff that matters most.

Hyrox is massively lower-body dominant, especially with all the running volume. And even if someone isn’t following a structured program, they're often adding classes, group runs, extra sessions—and it adds up fast. That means your foundation needs to be rock solid.

That foundation? It’s simple: mobility in your hips, ankles, and knees, and strength in your glutes and core. And not flashy strength—slow, controlled, tempo-based work, often with bodyweight or light weight. It doesn’t stroke your ego, but it keeps you healthy and moving well. I’ve had to learn that the hard way.

THL: How do you balance the strength work with all the conditioning required?

LM: The red line for me now is heavy lifting. I just don’t need to push those numbers anymore. Partly because I physically can’t, but mostly because I’ve realized there’s no long-term benefit in putting my body under that kind of strain. It doesn’t serve the bigger picture.

What is helping? Taking more rest days and training smarter. I’m only doing two run sessions a week, but I’m seeing progress in both because I’m giving my body time to actually adapt.

That’s what I’ve started building into other people’s programming too: simple, consistent structure. Nothing flashy. Honestly, it might feel repetitive or even boring at times. But it’s exactly what most people skip and exactly what they need to improve and stay healthy.

THL: How do you help clients and yourself overcome a bad race?

LM: It’s a brutal feeling when race day doesn’t go to plan—especially when you’ve put in weeks of work for one shot. But that’s the reality: it’s one day. And there’s so much that can feel just slightly off—your sleep, your food, your mindset. But here’s the thing: just showing up is huge. You’ve committed to something, trained for it, and put yourself through a high-stress, physical and mental test. Not everyone does that.

And honestly, I think the biggest progress comes from the races that go wrong. The sleds felt off, you took penalties, the run sucked. You learn so much more from that than from the ones that feel smooth.

The failure, the discomfort, the “I want to quit” moments, that’s what builds a stronger mind. It forces you to reflect, to adapt. That’s why I ask all my clients to fill out a race reflection after. Write it down, jot it in your phone, or replay the day in your mind. Where did you feel strong? What threw you off? What would you do differently?

Because in the end, this isn’t about chasing a time. No one else really cares about your result. Take the hard day as part of the process. It’s the hard races, the gritty, imperfect ones, that end up teaching you the most.

You can follow Lizzie on Instagram.

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Video of the Week: The sprint to Hamburg

Elite 15 athlete Rich Ryan has launched a new YouTube series documenting his preparation for the first Hyrox Major of the 2025-26 Season, which will take place on October 3 in Hamburg, Germany.

In the latest installment, Ryan details his Zone 2 cardio training. He is tracking this closely and is averaging around 8 hours of Zone 2 work each week, including running, cycling, and other modalities. That constitutes 80% of his aerobic work, with the remaining 20% at Zone 4 intensity. Ryan is trying to boost his Zone 2 volume slightly so that he can increase his higher-intensity work while maintaining the 80/20 ratio. He believes this approach is superior to simply tracking the total miles at all intensities.

You can watch the full episode here:

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Athlete of the Week: Delaney Nelson

Name: Delaney Nelson
Age: 32
Hometown: San Diego, CA

How did you get into Hybrid racing? I grew up in the pool, swimming competitively from age 5 through college. By the time I finished my senior year, I was burned out. I always said I was “a water athlete, not a land one,” but I didn’t want to see another pool again.

In April 2020, right in the middle of COVID, my husband and I found out we were pregnant with twins. Our boys were born healthy, but I gained a lot of weight, developed postpartum preeclampsia, and those first two years were a blur.

The turning point came with a New Year’s resolution in 2023. I was tired of feeling like a stranger in my own skin. I started with Peloton rides, stroller walks, and a garage workout group for moms. I puked halfway through my first class but kept showing up. That led me to F45, which introduced me to HYROX. I realized how much I missed competing—not just for my body, but for my mind, and to show up as the best mom I could be.

I ran a half marathon in October 2024 and loved training and racing again. When a friend mentioned HYROX, I thought, “Why not?” At first I was just running long miles and hammering workouts with no plan—definitely not sustainable—but it reignited my competitive fire.

Favorite race to date? Most people might expect me to say Vegas doubles, where we qualified for Worlds, or Worlds itself. But honestly, my favorite race was my individual in Vegas. It was only my third HYROX, and I went in with one goal: give it everything and have the best time.

When I crossed the line and stood on the podium with a 3rd-place banner in my age group, I was so proud. For so long I thought my competitive days were behind me, that I was “just a mom.” That race reminded me that the athlete in me was still very much alive. It gave me back a piece of myself I didn’t know I’d lost.

Now I race to show my boys what it looks like to chase your dreams, do hard things, and love what you do.

Do you have a race goal? Yes! In October I have a half marathon, and I’m chasing a sub-1:35. I’ve also got DEKA Miles and Strongs on the calendar, aiming to shave time and climb the leaderboard. For HYROX, the big goal is sub-70 Pro and making it back to Worlds—individually, in doubles, or maybe both.

Favorite station? Burpees. I know that sounds crazy. But they represent grit—you can’t hide, you just keep moving. Coming from swimming, I love the explosive rhythm, and once I lock in, I can jam them out. They’ve also become symbolic for me as a mom. Burpees are all about falling down and getting back up again, stronger each time. That’s been my whole postpartum journey. And honestly, loving the station everyone else dreads gives me an edge.

Least favorite station? Wall balls. They’re the final station when your legs are toast and your lungs are on fire. Missing a rep that late in the race is soul-crushing. They humble me every time. My coach and I have been working on my upper body this offseason, so maybe that answer will change!

Things you wish you knew when you started? That progress isn’t a straight line—some days you crush it, some days you don’t. A smart plan and a great coach make all the difference. Recovery and fueling matter just as much as effort. And the community is everything—people genuinely want to see you succeed.

Most importantly, being a mom doesn’t mean your competitive days are over. I thought I didn’t have the time, that I’d never bounce back. But here I am—training around my kids’ schedules, stronger than ever, and hearing my boys cheer for me is something I’ll never get over.