In HYROX Doubles, two racers start together, run every 1km together, and share the work at each of the eight stations, with one partner working while the other rests on their feet. If one of you runs ahead, the team takes a 1-minute penalty, and more than three penalties for not staying together puts the team Out of Competition. Within those rules, how you divide the reps and the distance at each station is entirely your choice.
That last sentence is where Doubles gets interesting. The loads are fixed, the running is shared and cannot be split, and every station has its own rule for how the work changes hands. Everything else is a decision the two of you make, ideally before race day rather than in the Roxzone at Station 2.
This guide covers the rules that exist only in Doubles, the handover rule at each station, the five divisions and their loads, and then our coaching advice on splitting the stations, reasoned from those rules. Every rule below comes from the official HYROX Season 26/27 Doubles rulebook . The movement standards, the penalty table and the course rules you share with solo racers are covered in our guide to the HYROX rules for every station , so this page sticks to what changes when there are two of you.
Key Takeaways
- Both partners must start together, run the entire 1,000m of every run together, enter each station together and leave it together.
- Running ahead of your partner costs a 1-minute penalty. More than three penalties for not staying together and the team is Out of Competition with no ranking.
- Only one partner works at a time. You decide how to split the reps and the distance, and the rulebook’s own example switches on the rower after a self-selected 250m.
- The resting partner must stay on their feet at every station: no kneeling, sitting, lying down or knee on the floor.
- Kettlebells and the sandbag may be handed sideways or backwards but never forwards, and SkiErg and rower handles may not be passed between partners at all.
- There are five Doubles divisions: Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro and Mixed. There is no Mixed Pro.
- Mixed Doubles and Women’s Pro Doubles race the same loads as Men’s Doubles, so the woman in a Mixed pair pushes a 152kg sled.
- Your official finish time is taken when the second partner crosses the line.
How HYROX Doubles Works
HYROX Doubles is the standard HYROX race done by a team of two: eight 1km runs, each followed by one workout station, for 8km of running and eight stations in the same fixed order. Both partners run all 8km. The stations are where the work is shared.
The rulebook is strict about the team being a team from the first step. Both racers must be at the start line and begin together, and “starting the race with only one racer is not permitted.” Doubles teams start in waves by division, and a wave only ever holds teams from the same division. Each team gets an official start time before race day, and starting in a different wave without permission from the race organisers is a disqualification.
The finish works the same way. Your official finish time is recorded when both of you have crossed the line, and “the later timing chip read determines the final result.” A partner who sprints the last stretch gains the team nothing.
Pairs also need to know:
- Your age group is your average age on race day, so a pair’s band is set by the midpoint of your two ages.
- If you race the same division twice at one event, only your faster time counts for the rankings, and you cannot take two podiums in that division.
The Rules That Only Exist in Doubles
Doubles keeps every solo rule and adds a set of rules about staying together. They are short, and the penalties for breaking them stack up quickly. This table is all of them in one place, from sections 7.1 and 7.3 of the Doubles rulebook.
| Rule | What the rulebook requires | If you break it |
|---|---|---|
| Start together | Both racers present at the start line, starting together | Starting with one racer is not permitted |
| Run together | Both partners run the entire 1,000m between each station together | 1-minute penalty if one runs ahead |
| Enter together | Both partners enter the station together, and the work cannot start until both are there | Counts as not staying together |
| Leave together | The station is exited once all reps or distance are done, by both partners together | Counts as not staying together |
| Repeat offences | More than three penalties for not staying together | Out of Competition, no ranking |
The reason the rulebook gives for the running rule is worth knowing: a partner running ahead “changes the dynamic of a Doubles race.” In other words, the run is meant to be raced at the pace of the pair.
What the rulebook does not do is define “together” as a distance or a time gap. The Season 26/27 text gives no figure in seconds. Treat side by side as the standard you are judged against, and do not build a race plan around how far apart you think you can get away with being.
The Roxzone Is Shared Too
Because you enter and leave every station together, you also move through the Roxzone together, and the solo arch rules apply to both of you. Running into the Roxzone through the OUT arch, or out of it through the IN arch, costs 2 minutes each time, and so does leaving a workout station through its IN arch. Our guide to the HYROX Roxzone covers how to move through it quickly. In Doubles, the main extra cost is waiting: whoever arrives at the station first stands still until the other arrives.
Running Together on the Course
The run course is split into a Fast Lane on the inside line and a wider Running Lane on the outside. Racers running at 4:00 per kilometre or faster must use the Fast Lane. In Doubles you share a pace by rule, so in practice the pair’s pace decides your lane.
One Works, One Rests: How the Stations Are Shared
At every station, one partner works and the other rests. The rulebook calls this You Go I Go, and its own example is the rower: partner one starts rowing while partner two waits, they switch “after a self selected distance [e.g. 250 meters]”, and they keep switching until the full 1,000m is done.
The key phrase is self-selected. The rulebook sets no minimum share for either partner and no fixed number of switches. One of you can take most of a station and the other most of the next, and nothing stops you changing the plan mid-race.
The resting partner is not off duty, though. Section 7.2 sets one rule that applies at all eight stations:
“During all workout stations, the resting athlete must remain on their feet. Any down-to-the-ground position - including kneeling, sitting, lying down, or having a knee or any other body part touch the floor - is not permitted.”
The resting partner also has to stay inside the designated workout zone without getting in anyone else’s way. So rest in Doubles means standing, or walking behind your partner, and never sitting on the floor. Plan the length of each turn with that in mind.
The loads do not change either. Each division has one set of loads, and whoever is working moves all of it.
The Doubles Rules at Each Station
Each station has its own rules for where the resting partner stands and how the work changes hands. They are scattered across chapter 8 of the rulebook. The table below lists every Doubles-specific line by station.
| Station | Where the resting partner must be | How the work changes hands |
|---|---|---|
| 1. SkiErg (1,000m) | In the marked area | Handles may not be passed between partners. Only the working partner may adjust the damper |
| 2. Sled Push (4 x 12.5m) | Walking immediately behind the working partner, never in a neighbouring lane | The sled must pass the 12.5m mark entirely before changing direction |
| 3. Sled Pull (4 x 12.5m) | Behind the working partner, off the Racer’s Box lines | The resting partner may not touch the rope with hands or feet |
| 4. Burpee Broad Jumps (80m) | Walking behind, not alongside | The incoming partner places their hands where the working partner’s feet landed, toes and fingers in line |
| 5. Rowing (1,000m) | In the marked area behind the rower | No passing the handle, and no adjusting the damper or footstraps for each other |
| 6. Farmers Carry (200m) | Walking behind the working partner | Kettlebells pass sideways or backwards, never forwards |
| 7. Sandbag Lunges (100m) | Walking behind the working partner | The sandbag passes sideways or backwards, never forwards |
| 8. Wall Balls (100 reps) | In the marked area under the rig | Hand the ball over or let it drop to the floor. A flying transition is a no-rep |
The pattern is consistent. The resting partner may not obstruct other racers and may not do any part of the working partner’s job, and nothing may move forward during a handover. Breaking a resting-partner rule is treated as an infringement at that station, which means the usual warning first and then a penalty, except at wall balls, where there are no warnings.
SkiErg and Rowing: No Shared Handles
On both machines, the handle may not be passed from one partner to the other. The incoming partner takes the handle themselves, from the machine. The damper is preset to 6 on both machines and only the working partner may change it, as often as they like.
The rower has one more rule. Partners may not adjust the footstraps for each other, and the footplates are preset to position 4, which racers may adjust before beginning. If the two of you row with different foot settings, every switch costs the time it takes the incoming partner to sort their own feet out.
Sled Push and Sled Pull: The Resting Partner Stays Out of It
On the sled push, the resting partner walks directly behind the working partner. Walking in a neighbouring lane and getting in another team’s way is an infringement. The sled must pass the 12.5m mark completely before it changes direction, and the station is done after four lengths.
The sled pull has the clearest Doubles rule in the rulebook. The resting partner stays behind the working partner and “may NOT assist with rope management in any way e.g. with their hands or feet.” What they may do is give “verbal and physical guidance”, provided they stay off the lines of the Racer’s Box and out of the box itself.
Burpee Broad Jumps: The Handover Is a Measured Spot
The first partner starts the station with a burpee from behind the start line. When you swap, the incoming partner places their hands where the working partner’s feet landed, with toes and fingers in line. Starting the next burpee from anywhere else is an infringement. The resting partner walks behind the working partner throughout, not alongside, and the station is complete when the working partner jumps over the finish line.
Farmers Carry and Sandbag Lunges: Never Forwards
Kettlebells and the sandbag may be handed over sideways or backwards, never forwards, because a forward pass gains ground the carrier did not walk. On the farmers carry you may put the bells down to rest, as long as they do not move forward when you do. On the lunges, the sandbag must stay fully supported on the working partner’s shoulders, and resting it on the ground, a barrier or your feet costs 15 seconds each time.
The return rules apply to the team as well. Kettlebells left in the wrong box or not standing upright cost 30 seconds, and so does a sandbag not returned to its area, unless you go back and fix it before leaving the Roxzone.
Wall Balls: Under the Rig, and No Flying Catches
The resting partner stays in the marked area under the rig without obstructing anyone. If they stray outside it, the working partner’s reps are no-reps “for as long as the infringement occurs”, so the cost is paid in extra reps.
The ball changes hands in one of two ways: you hand it over, or you let it drop to the floor. A flying transition, where one partner throws to the target and the other catches it in the squat and keeps going, is a no-rep. Targets follow the racer: women throw to 2.70m and men to 3.00m, so in a Mixed pair each partner aims at their own target.
HYROX Doubles Divisions and Weights
There are five HYROX Doubles divisions in Season 26/27: Doubles Women, Doubles Women Pro, Doubles Men, Doubles Men Pro and Doubles Mixed. There is no Pro version of Mixed. Every division runs the same 8km and covers the same station distances and reps. Only the loads differ. How Doubles sits alongside Open, Pro and Relay is covered in our guide to HYROX divisions explained .
This table carries the Doubles loads exactly as the rulebook prints them. Sled weights include the sled.
| Station | Doubles Women | Doubles Men, Women Pro and Mixed | Doubles Men Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkiErg | 1,000m | 1,000m | 1,000m |
| Sled Push (4 x 12.5m) | 102kg | 152kg | 202kg |
| Sled Pull (4 x 12.5m) | 78kg | 103kg | 153kg |
| Burpee Broad Jumps | 80m | 80m | 80m |
| Rowing | 1,000m | 1,000m | 1,000m |
| Farmers Carry (200m) | 2 x 16kg | 2 x 24kg | 2 x 32kg |
| Sandbag Lunges (100m) | 10kg | 20kg | 30kg |
| Wall Balls (100 reps) | 4kg | 6kg | 9kg |
The middle column is the one to read twice. Three divisions share it, so a Mixed pair, a Men’s pair and a Women’s Pro pair all push 152kg and carry 2 x 24kg. For the woman in a Mixed team, that means working at Men’s Open loads at every loaded station. The only thing that changes for her is the wall ball target height.
The loads line up with the solo divisions: Doubles Women races the Women’s Open loads, Doubles Men and Mixed race the Men’s Open loads, and the two Pro Doubles divisions race the Pro loads. Our full HYROX weights by division reference puts them side by side with Singles, Relay and Elite 15.
Age Groups and the World Championships
Doubles age groups run in five-year bands from Under 24 (16 to 24) up to 85 to 89, and your band is set by your average age. For the World Championships, teams in the 60+ age groups qualify through the Open division only and race Open loads there. Mixed Doubles keeps the same loads at the championships as at a regular race. Slots, deadlines and the 48-hour acceptance window are covered in our guide to qualifying for the HYROX World Championship .
How to Split the Stations With Your Partner
This section is our coaching advice, and none of it is a rule. It is reasoned from the parts of the race the rules fix, because those are the parts your split has to work around: the shared run, the fixed loads, standing rest and the handover rule at each station.
Start From the Run, Because You Cannot Split It
Both of you run all 8km, together, at one pace. That pace will be closer to the slower runner’s limit than the faster runner’s, because the faster runner cannot leave. So the stronger runner arrives at each station having worked less hard for the same kilometre, and the weaker runner arrives having worked harder.
That is the first lever. The stronger runner can usually afford a bigger share of the station work, because the run in between is relatively easy for them. If you split every station 50/50 by default, you are ignoring the one difference between you that the race format guarantees.
Then Look at the Loads, Because You Cannot Scale Them
The weights are set per division, and nobody in a pair gets a lighter sled. So the honest question at each loaded station is whether each partner can move that load continuously at race pace. A partner who can move the 152kg sled in short, steady efforts is worth more than one who can move it once very hard and then needs a long stop.
That gives a rough sorting of the eight stations:
- The sleds are where strength differences matter most, and where a lopsided split usually makes sense. Each length is 12.5m and the sled has to cross the line before it turns, so the end of a length is a natural place to swap.
- The SkiErg and the rower carry no external load, so they suit the partner who is weaker at the heavy stations, and they are where that partner can take the larger share. The cost on both machines is the switch itself, because handles cannot be passed.
- Burpee broad jumps, the farmers carry and the lunges sit in between. The load is moderate or bodyweight, and both handovers are slow by rule: a measured hand placement on the jumps, a sideways or backwards pass on the carries.
- Wall balls come last, after 8km of running and seven stations, so plan this split for how you expect to feel at the end of the race.
Fewer Switches on the Machines
Every switch has a fixed cost. On the SkiErg the incoming partner has to take the handles from the machine, and on the rower they also have to get their feet in and their straps done, since nobody may do it for them. If your foot settings differ, agree in training on one footplate position you can both use, so a switch is sitting down and strapping in, nothing more.
The trade-off is that short turns keep each effort fast, while long turns waste less time changing over. Rehearse your machine split at race pace, switches included, so the changeover is something you have done before.
Mixed Pairs: Plan Around the Men’s Open Loads
In Mixed Doubles, both partners work at the Men’s Open loads. For many Mixed pairs that makes the sleds the station where the split is most uneven, with the machines and the bodyweight work balancing it out. The wall balls are the exception to the shared loads in practice, because each partner throws the 6kg ball to their own target height.
Write the Split Down, Then Agree the Fallback
Before race day, write down a split for all eight stations, then add one fallback rule the two of you agree on, such as who takes over when a turn goes badly. Because the split is self-selected, you can change it on the day. The fallback is what saves you from negotiating at Station 6 when neither of you can talk in full sentences.
When You Are Evenly Matched
If neither of you is clearly stronger or faster, an even split is a sensible starting point. Swap at natural break points: the end of a sled length, an agreed number of wall balls, a set distance on the machines. Then judge your split on how you both arrive at the wall balls, because that is the station where any earlier imbalance shows.
What the Doubles Rulebook Does Not Settle
The Season 26/27 Doubles rulebook leaves a few practical questions open, and you should know which ones before you build a plan on them.
- How close “together” has to be. The rulebook gives no distance or time gap for the running rule.
- Switching mid-length on the sled push. The rules govern the resting partner and the direction change, but say nothing about where in a length a swap may happen. Swapping at the end of a length avoids the question.
- The rowing seat rule. The rowing section says the athlete “may not stand up, leave the seat, or dismount the rower until the 1,000 meters are completed”, which reads like a line carried over from Singles. It sits beside the rulebook’s own rowing example of switching after 250m. The switching example is the one written for Doubles.
- Setting the sandbag down during a handover. The lunge rules say the bag must stay supported on the working partner’s shoulders and must never be passed forward. They do not say whether it may touch the ground between partners. Hand it straight across.
If any of these matters to your plan, ask at the athlete briefing or contact your race’s customer support before race day. All decisions of the Lead Race Director are final, so the time to ask is before the start.
FAQ
Two racers start together, run every 1km together and share the work at all eight stations, with one partner working while the other rests on their feet. Running ahead of your partner costs a 1-minute penalty, and more than three penalties for not staying together puts the team Out of Competition. The movement standards are the same as the solo race.
Yes. Both partners must run the entire 1,000m of every run together, so each of you covers the full 8km. Only the station work is shared. If one partner runs ahead, the team receives a 1-minute penalty.
However you like, as long as only one partner works at a time. The Season 26/27 rulebook sets no minimum share and no fixed number of switches, and its own example switches on the rower after a self-selected 250m. Kettlebells and the sandbag can be passed sideways or backwards but never forwards, and machine handles cannot be passed at all.
No. The rulebook's format is one working partner and one resting partner at every station. The resting partner must stay on their feet, stay in the designated area or walk behind the working partner, and may not help, for example by handling the sled pull rope.
Mixed Doubles uses the same loads as Men's Doubles and Women's Pro Doubles: a 152kg sled push and 103kg sled pull including the sled, 2 x 24kg kettlebells, a 20kg sandbag and a 6kg wall ball. Both partners work at those loads, and each throws wall balls to their own target, 2.70m for women and 3.00m for men.
Yes, for Men's and Women's Doubles. Season 26/27 has five Doubles divisions: Women, Women Pro, Men, Men Pro and Mixed. There is no Mixed Pro. Women's Pro Doubles races the same loads as Men's Doubles, and Men's Pro Doubles races the heaviest loads, including a 202kg sled push.
By the average age of the two partners on race day. Age groups run in five-year bands from Under 24 up to 85 to 89. For World Championship qualification, teams in the 60+ age groups qualify through the Open division only.
When the second partner crosses the finish line. The rulebook records the team's official time when both have finished, and the later timing chip read decides the result.
Conclusion
The HYROX Doubles rules come down to two ideas. You race together, so you start, run, enter and leave every station as a pair, and a partner who runs ahead costs the team a minute. And you work one at a time, so the resting partner stands, follows and keeps their hands off the job, while every kettlebell and sandbag goes sideways or backwards, never forwards.
Inside those rules, the split is yours. Start from the run you cannot share, check each loaded station against the weights you cannot change, keep the switches on the machines few and well rehearsed, and write the plan down with a fallback before race day.
The part a rulebook cannot help with is the training between now and then, when two people’s weeks have to line up and one of them always seems to move.
That is where Kracey comes in for your half of the pair. It is an AI HYROX coach that lives in Telegram, with nothing to install. It reads your training through intervals.icu, so it sees what you actually did rather than what the plan said, and it redraws your week when a session has to move. Tell it when your race is and it counts the weeks back from that date. The first 14 days are free, starting when it can see your training rather than the moment you sign up.
Meet your coach in Telegram and train for your Doubles race .