Ottawa has caught the Hyrox bug. What’s behind this new obsession?

Kenny Caceros, owner of The Strength Collective in Stittsville, showed off the Hyrox training setup at The Hybrid Training Pop- Up in Ottawa's west end on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

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Imagine running for one kilometre and doing one functional workout. Sounds doable, right?

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Now imagine repeating that eight times over.

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One-kilometre runs in between eight functional workouts including skiErgs (which simulate cross-country skiing), sled pushes and sled pulls, weighted burpee broad jumps (where participants lay flat on their stomach before jumping on their way up), rowing, farmers carry (holding a heavy weight in each hand and walking 200 metres), sandbag lunges (doing lunges while carrying a weighted sandbag) and wall balls (throwing a weighted ball up against a wall to hit a target).

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Sounds like hell? Well, Hyrox is now one of the world’s fastest-growing indoor fitness competitions in popularity and participation. On Thursday, May 14, 2026, Hyrox came to the nation’s capital for the first time to host a four-day-long event at the Cohere Centre, commonly known as the E.Y. Centre.

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“It’s like the Hunger Games,” Kenny Caceros said, explaining that getting Hyrox tickets has now become adjacent to getting high-value concert tickets. “It’s madness,” said the Hyrox athlete and Stittsville gym owner.

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“Everybody is on their laptops when it goes on sale,” he said. “If you’re not on your screen (at that time) … you’re not getting a ticket.”

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Lo and behold, Hyrox Ottawa tickets sold out in “genuinely” five minutes.

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Kenny Caceros, owner of The Strength Collective in Stittsville, showed off the Hyrox training setup at The Hybrid Training Pop-Up in Ottawa’s west end on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

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Ottawa has officially caught the Hyrox bug, and the weekend event was certainly proof of that.

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But what’s really behind this new fitness craze? Caceros, who has now completed about 10 Hyrox races over the last year-and-a-half, even travelling to the United States for some, breaks it down.

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Competition 101: The Chip

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Everybody competing in a Hyrox race gets a timing chip. Participants strap the chip around their ankles before starting the race. Caceros said this not only helps to keep track of timing and pace for all the runs and exercises, but it also ranks participants against everybody else in the race.

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Caceros’ history in soccer certainly helped him excel in the fitness competition, but what’s really behind the urge to keep raising the bar was something entirely innate to his human nature.

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Seeking new challenges.

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“I have kids now and I’ve become more of a family man,” he said. “What I have found is that Hyrox is something that brought back that competitiveness, giving me something to work towards … a new challenge.”

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The 38-year-old athlete said he completed the Hyrox race back-to-back on Friday and Saturday in Ottawa.

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On Friday evening, he did the mixed-doubles category with a gym colleague of his. The pair had done a previous race in Miami just a month ago, completing the race in an hour and 42 seconds.

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“(Friday) night we did it in 59 minutes and 30 seconds,” he said.

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Kenny Caceros, owner of The Strength Collective in Stittsville, showed off the Hyrox training setup at The Hybrid Training Pop-Up in Ottawa’s west end on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

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The pair came in first place in the 40-44 age group category. (Teammates’ ages are averaged to determine what group they will compete in.)

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Though, he quipped, that they were beating some of the younger guys in the race. “It’s a healthy competition,” he said.

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“(The chip) just adds an element of — for the competitive person — fun.”