When Sayeeda Abrar and Sindhura Pudota signed up for the HYROX race in Delhi recently, they weren\u2019t chasing a podium finish. But as they crossed the finish line\u2014lungs burning, legs aching, hearts full\u2014they had no idea they had just placed second in the Women\u2019s Doubles category.<\/p>\n
The second edition of the race in India brought together over 2,500 participants from across the globe. The Women\u2019s Doubles category alone saw close to 200 participants compete.<\/p>\n
Amid a high-powered field, the duo stood out\u2014completing the grueling course in an impressive 1 hour and 32 minutes, just three minutes behind the winners.<\/p>\n
Fuelled by purpose, not podiums<\/p>\n
Unlike a typical fitness event, HYROX is a global indoor race that fuses running with functional workouts. Athletes alternate between eight one-kilometre runs and eight workout stations inside a 400-metre indoor track. The sequence includes ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmer\u2019s carry, sandbag lunges, and wall balls\u2014a true test of both endurance and strength. Participants can enter solo, in doubles, or as a four-person relay team, across Pro, Open, and various age divisions-making the event both inclusive and fiercely competitive.<\/p>\n
For Sayeeda Abrar, a veteran fitness professional and marathoner, HYROX was a natural next step in a life shaped by wellness. \u201cFitness is a way of life\u201d says Sayeeda, a long-time member of the Hyderabad Runners group. \u201cIt has never been about medals or podiums-it isn\u2019t what motivates me.\u201d<\/p>\n
From tennis court to race cours<\/p>\n
Sindhura Pudota, a former national-level tennis player and full-time mother of two, calls the experience \u201cnothing short of magical.\u201d She began her fitness journey just a year ago. \u201cI don\u2019t know why I didn\u2019t start earlier,\u201d she reflects. \u201cThe best part of HYROX is that it\u2019s inclusive-I saw 70-year-olds participating!<\/p>\n
The atmosphere was surreal-people flew in from the U.S., Singapore, France, and the U.K. I never imagined myself participating in something like HYROX, let alone finishing second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sindhura believes HYROX is more than a competition\u2014it\u2019s a movement. \u201cIt has bigger aspirations than just being a fitness brand. It hopes to eventually become a full-fledged Olympic sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The duo is training for the third edition of the race, this time in Mumbai, scheduled for September.<\/p>\n
Sayeeda Abrar<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, It has never been about medals or podiums\u2014it isn’t what motivates me. Fitness is a way of life. HYROX was a natural next step in a life shaped by wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sindhura Pudota<\/p>\n
\u201cThe atmosphere was surreal-people flew in from the U.S., Singapore, France, and the U.K. I never imagined myself participating in something like HYROX, let alone finishing second.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Sayeeda Abrar and Sindhura Pudota signed up for the HYROX race in Delhi recently, they weren\u2019t chasing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,11882,11883,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-18567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-sayeeda-abrar","11":"tag-sindhura-pudota","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}