SINGAPORE – The first time Mr Edward Soon, 36, joined a Hyrox race in 2024, he just wanted to spend time with his younger brother, who was going overseas for further studies.

He has not looked back since.

Over 14 months, he participated in nine categories across seven Hyrox races in four cities – Singapore, Beijing, Taipei and Bangkok.

He has always been active, playing competitive basketball as a teenager, followed by multisports such as triathlons as an adult. So, he signed up for the men’s singles category in Singapore in June 2024, following his 30-year-old brother’s lead.

“I didn’t perform very well. The intensity is very high compared with an endurance sport, which caught me off guard, and I also had muscle cramps,” says Mr Soon, a regional business controller in a retail company. He took 1 hour and 39 minutes, slightly longer than the 1½-hour target many racers aim for.

“But when I crossed the finishing line, everything was worth it.”

The fitness competition, which follows the same format across the world, comprises a 1km run followed by a functional workout station, repeated eight times. The stations are 1,000m on a SkiErg machine, a 50m sled push, a 50m sled pull, 80m of burpee broad jumps, a 1,000m row, 200m farmer’s carry, 100m of sandbag lunges and 100 wall balls.

Participants aged 16 to 89 can sign up as an individual, pair up for doubles, find a group of four for the team relay or pick the adaptive category, which has modifications for various physical and neurological disabilities. There is also a pro category for advanced athletes and corporate relays. Fees to take part are dynamic, costing upwards of $114 a person.

In his last Hyrox race in Beijing on Aug 23, Mr Soon finished the men’s open singles category in 1 hour and 8 minutes, a personal record.

Later that day, he competed again, this time in the mixed doubles category with his wife Low Yuanyu, 36, who works in the financial technology industr...