Across the weekend, 25 of the Beyond Walls crew, and extended crew, took on HYROX Cardiff. And while that was happening, 2 more Beyond Walls members were flying the flag overseas at HYROX Lisbon. Twenty-seven athletes. Two cities. Multiple divisions. One very active WhatsApp group!
Across singles, doubles, mixed doubles and pro categories, our athletes stepped onto the competition floor, stared down the SkiErg, sleds, burpees, sandbags, farmer’s carries and wall balls, and somehow still managed to smile at the end.
HYROX is simple on paper: run, station, repeat until your soul briefly leaves your body somewhere between the sled push and the wall balls.
In reality, it is a huge test of fitness, pacing, teamwork and resilience. And across the weekend, the Beyond Walls crew answered with grit, humour and a lot of support.
The Beyond Walls Cardiff Roll Call
Every race tells a different story, and every athlete had something worth celebrating.
Lara Edmonstone-West & Rose Cooke
Lara and Rose put together a brilliantly steady women’s doubles performance. Their row in 5:03, farmer’s carry in 2:16 and wall balls in 4:59 were real highlights, and they still found one of their best runs late on, hitting Run 7 in 5:59. That is proper back-half composure.
Sarah von Landsberg-Sadie & Kath Hunt
Sarah and Kath showed huge grit across the full course. Their row in 5:11, with Kath pulling about 40 strokes a minute, and wall balls in 4:28 really stood out. Their quickest run came early, with Run 2 in 6:51, before they dug in and battled through the rest.
Alex Piras
Alex took on the individual men’s race, which is a different beast to doubles. No partner. No shared workload. Just you, the course and a lot of internal negotiation. His running was impressively consistent, with Run 2 and Run 7 both around 5:39, and his sandbag lunges in 4:57 and wall balls in 6:48 showed he still had fight left late on.
Jamie Thomas & Paul Hamilton
Jamie and Paul delivered a great finishing time, crossing the line in 1:19:41. Their race got stronger as it went on, with their fastest run coming at Run 7 in 5:03, followed by a solid wall ball finish. A proper “keep moving, don’t think too much, deal with the consequences later” kind of performance.
Andy Wadge & Jessica Griffith
Andy and Jess put together a proper mixed doubles effort, sharing the workload well and keeping the race moving. Their SkiErg in 4:31 and farmer’s carry in 2:38 were two of their strongest sections, with their best run coming in the middle of the race at Run 4 in 5:54.
Rachael Hodge & Alex Cook
Rachael and Alex produced one of the standout Beyond Walls performances of the weekend. Finishing in 1:10:25 is seriously impressive, especially with the heavier pro standards. Their running was excellent, including Run 2 in 4:30, and their sled push, row and farmer’s carry all stood out in a very strong race.
Kate Hewett & Pippa Jeans
Kate and Pippa were exceptional. Their women’s doubles finish of 1:10:17 was one of the headline performances of the weekend. They ran brilliantly, with Run 2 in 4:42, and their farmer’s carry, row, sled pull and wall balls all jumped out as strong sections. Fast, well-rounded and very impressive.
Jenny Burnett & Gemma Keys
Jenny and Gemma showed great determination across the course. Their quickest run came early, with Run 2 in 6:30, and their row in 5:07 and wall balls in 4:21 stood out. By the time you reach wall balls, nobody is having a lovely time. They kept working, kept moving and got it done.
Pip Kirkby & Angela Costello
Pip and Angela looked particularly strong in the later stages, especially through the farmer’s carry in 2:12 and wall balls in 4:08. Their running was nicely consistent too, with Run 2, 4 and 7 being almost identical. A very tidy way to manage a HYROX race.
Briony Barber-Wood & Mindy Kilpatrick
Briony and Mindy delivered a fantastic women’s doubles performance, finishing in 1:25:13. Their sled push in 3:35 and sled pull in 4:12 were brilliant strength-station highlights, and their fastest run came late with Run 7 in 5:42. Extra respect to Mindy, who completed the race while still recovering from tonsillitis. Very impressive. Slightly questionable. Very HYROX.
Chantal Watts & Kerry Forrester
Chantal and Kerry showed huge resilience across the course, with their wall balls in 4:45 standing out as a brilliant late-race highlight. Those that know Kerry know that running is not her favourite past-time, but some gentle encouragement (read bullying!) from her sister got her round!
Helen Mackellar
Helen’s individual women’s race was one of the most impressive solo performances from the Beyond Walls crew. Finishing in 1:28:53 as an individual athlete is a fantastic result. Her running was strong, with Run 2 in 5:20, and her sled pull, row and farmer’s carry were particularly strong technical moments in a race where there is absolutely nowhere to hide.
Arvinder Rangi
Arvinder took on the individual women’s race and kept finding a way forward. Her quickest run was Run 2 in 7:29, and even when her IT band started causing real pain midway through, she kept moving. Her sled pull in 6:23, farmer’s carry in 3:23 and wall balls in 7:44 were strong moments in a big solo effort. Serious grit.
Jean Abou Saleh & Peter Downer
Jean and Peter put together a very strong men’s doubles performance, with brilliant consistency across the course. Their quickest run was Run 2 in 4:59, and their SkiErg in 4:12, sled push in 2:33, farmer’s carry in 2:17 and wall balls in 4:47 all stood out. A really solid race built on teamwork, pacing and persistence.
Meanwhile, in Lisbon...
While all this was happening in Cardiff, two Beyond Walls members were absolutely not taking it easy on holiday. Georgï Darley and John Bromfield arranged their travels around HYROX Lisbon, because apparently sightseeing is better when it includes sleds, burpees and wall balls. Both took on the solo category, with Georgï getting it done in 1:56:47 and John finishing in a brilliant 1:20:37. A new city, a new culture, an overseas event, and another reminder that the Beyond Walls crew will find a start line pretty much anywhere.
More Than the Result
Twenty-seven members of our community put themselves forward for something hard across two HYROX events.
They trained for it.
They dealt with the nerves.
They crossed the start line.
They found their way through the messy middle.
They finished.
Then they towelled themselves down and supported the next crew.
That is what we love most.
This is fitness for life: fitness that gives you the confidence to say yes to challenges, something to aim at, and people to share the experience with.
Proud Doesn’t Quite Cover It
To every Beyond Walls athlete who raced at Cardiff: we are incredibly proud of you.
Whether you were chasing a time, supporting a partner, testing yourself, coming back for another go, or simply trying to survive the wall balls with dignity intact, you represented the gym brilliantly.
Big performances. Bigger smiles. Probably some questionable walking downstairs the next day.
And, as always, the best bit was seeing our community take on something hard together.
On to the next one.
