What Shoes Should You Wear for Hyrox Races, Anyway?

Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?GIACOMO FORTUNATO10 min readDYLAN SCOTT, ONE of the top Hyrox athletes in the world, made an unorthodox decision at the end of his Elite 15 Las Vegas race in February 2025. He had taken on the course up to that point in a pair of Mizuno Rebellion Pro running shoes, which Scott describes as “fast, with a really good grip pattern.” But the footwear had a major flaw: they were “tremendously unstable,”—so he opted to just take them off. “I can probably get in a better squat position and put less on my shoulders,” he recalls thinking ahead of the race. Scott pushed through 100 wallballs in his socks to save precious seconds and crossed the finish line to win without his sneakers.Scott’s canny wardrobe adjustment prompted Hyrox to change its rules (athletes now have to at least carry their shoes to the finish, as of June 2025) and highlighted one of the growing sport’s most glaring issues. Hyrox mania swept the world more quickly than the sportswear industry could keep up, and as the fitness race gained more participants (with more dollars to spend), there weren’t shoes that truly worked for the course and its gauntlet of eight different stations. The blend of endurance and strength presents a unique range of challenges that kicks built for CrossFit (with rigid heels for heavy lifts that weigh down runs) or marathons (with high, squishy stacks of foam that wobble under load) don’t necessarily meet.Now, a year and a half after Scott ditched his sneakers, the market is finally catching up. Brands are releasing shoes designed for Hyrox (or “hybrid racing,” since only corporate partner Puma can use the name) with characteristics that aim to bridge the strength-endurance gap. Scott won the 2026 World Championships wearing the Nike Hybrid Fly, a shoe slated to hit the market next summer. But will these sneakers actually help you gut through sled pushes and all those 1k runs—or should you be looking for footwear designed differently? I spoke to experts to find out.What Shoes Have Hyrox Athletes Worn So Far?FOR THE MOST part, Hyrox die-hards have opted for premium distance running shoes. When I raced in New York City in 2024, the field was full of Nike Alphaflys, Saucony Endorphin Elites, and Puma Deviate Nitro Elites—all carbon-plated super shoes made for fast marathons. This trend has been reinforced by the brands serving the athletes, too; the first shoe marketed directly as a premium Hyrox racer was a modified version of the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 4, a road racing shoe.All of these models are designed to do one thing: make distance running more efficient. That’s great for the running portion of Hyrox, but presents issues for the other eight disciplines, as Scott outlined in the above anecdote. Super shoes often have less outsole rubber and texture than other types of footwear to shave off precious ounces, which makes traction for sled pushes and pulls a problem. They’re also shaped to propel the wearer forward, with dramatic rocker silhouettes and midsole cutouts. That’s ideal when your only goal is maintaining marathon pace, but once you have to push a sled, carry weight, and get into a deep squat position for wall balls, that instability becomes a major problem for your performance. “You can't just pull a standard super running shoe and be like, ‘All right, this will fit perfect,’ because it's just not going to be race ready,” Scott says.But I have a larger concern about the trend of wearing marathon racing shoes for Hyrox. Experts have warned me that wearing super shoes can alter a runner’s gait—and in the wrong situation, that could lead to injuries. Dr. Jereme Shumacher, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments in San Diego who has finished three Hyrox races, agrees. “When you start fatiguing out those smaller muscles that are adapting to that carbon plate, you're going to have to start relying on more knee stability, more hip stability,” he says. “If you're landing on your forefoot, your ankle is going to be working a lot harder to stabilize, and once that gives out, all of a sudden your knees and hips start kicking in—then that's when you get to lunges and have to jump during the burpees, and then all of a sudden everything starts falling apart.”Schumacher has seen patients with Achilles tendonitis and patellar femoral pain syndrome (inflammation right below the kneecap), which he believes is in part due to the instability of these high-stack running shoes. Dr. Mark Mendeszoon, a board-certified podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon, says that he’s noticed an uptick of lower leg injuries among patients who have tried Hyrox, like stress fractures, tendonitis from overuse, and even an Achilles rupture. “I think it's these overuse injuries that are going to be magnified just from [going from] running to strength with very little rest—that's a different concept,” he says.That’s not to say you’re guaranteed to get an injury wearing high-stack carbon plate shoes for Hyrox, or more generally. But remember that these are tools designed for performance by trained athletes. If you’re not putting in the hours training and acclimating to the equipment, you’re more likely to have problems. “You're not at that level to where your body can adapt to [super shoes] because pro-level competitors are training seven days a week and you're not,” Schumacher says.What about cross-training shoes? There are sturdier models like the Reebok Nanos and Nike Metcons of the world that have been used for CrossFit and other fitness competitions that are more stable than super shoes—but they don’t seem to have the same popularity on the Hyrox course. The nature of the event means these kicks will be too heavy and structured for most athletes, even if they are more focused on the stations in the competition than the runs.“I'm not a runner by trade, I'm more of a strength athlete,” Schumacher admits. “One thing I think a lot of people miss when they get into Hyrox is it's a running race. Yes, there's strength built into it—but your shoe needs to represent what helps you run most successfully.” For most people, these training shoes with their rigid lifting heels just won’t cut it, either.What Shoes Should You Actually Wear for Hyrox?THERE ARE IMPORTANT qualities that all of these experts would want to see in their race day Hyrox footwear. Mendeszoon says his ideal shoes for the types of movements you’ll face in a Hyrox race would have a wide, anatomical toe box, with a low heel-to-toe drop—four to eight inches— and asymmetrical lacing, since that can allow for more lateral movement and a better fit. And rather than stiff carbon components to add spring, nylon plates (which are available in some super trainer running shoes) can provide propulsion with a bit more give for side-to-side mobility.Courtesy of NikeScott running at the 2026 World Championships in a Nike prototype.Scott has three main qualities for the shoes he wears himself or recommends to the fifty athletes he coaches for Hyrox: runnability, stability, and grip. But the most important of these by far is grip, thanks to the demands of the turf-based stations. “If you don't have a shoe that grips on a heavy sled push or pull, you don't even get to test the other parts of the shoe,” he says. “That ruins your entire race if you can't move a sled.”Schumacher’s approach is more prescriptive. He asks patients where they perceive their worst area on the course to be—then suggests they pick something that can help to address their weakness. “Do you need something that's going to give you more cushion reaction, or do you need something more stable because you're feeling like you're unstable through more functional movement patterns that you have to do in the race?” he says. Schumacher applied this process to himself, and went through a painstaking trial and error process to figure out the shoe that has worked best for him. He landed on a running-first model that still provides stability, the Nike Vomero Plus.There should also be some variance between the shoes you use in competition and the shoes you use to train. Even while you’re prepping for a race, you should plan your workouts to focus on the different parts of the event—you’re not going to simulate competition every time. Scott says he alternates between kicks that are better suited for running for training sessions that focus on speed and endurance, but when he’s doing dedicated station work and strength training, he’s much more likely to lace up something to provide more stability, like a cross-trainer. Once his workouts begin to get more race specific, he’ll introduce his competition footwear into the mix.That last block of training will be important for successful races—and for acclimating yourself to your footwear. “Do not buy a shoe and then wear that shoe for the first time ever on race day,” Schumacher advises. “If you're not putting in at least a couple weeks in that shoe with that specific training to know how you're going to react, it's not going to be the most advantageous.”What Shoes Are Coming Out for Hybrid Racing?Brett WilliamsNOW THAT HYROX has blown up, shoe brands have begun introducing the first event-specific models. Puma, which is the official sportswear partner for Hyrox, released competition-branded versions of its running shoes before dropping the Deviate Elite Hyrox in February of this year. Adidas and On recently released their own premium models designed for race day, and the model Scott wore to a world title will launch next summer.There are also a few pairs that bridge the gap between training and racing, offering less technical features than the competition-grade versions (most specifically, they don’t feature the stiff plate components found in the race day shoes). As I’ve worn these models, I’ve found them to be more generally wearable for traditional cross-training and the lunges, burpee broad jumps, and thrusters I perform to simulate the course. These shoes can be a solid pick for most people who do Hyrox—if they’re willing to let go of their drive to buy top of the line gear for their hobby.We have worn all these new models, putting them to the test as they would be worn in a Hyrox race (we have not actually tested any of them on the course; I wore the Puma Velocity Nitro 3, a neutral running shoe without a plate, when I competed in 2024). Check out the list below for a closer look each shoe offers for your competition.Puma x Hyrox Activate NitroThis is a training shoe, meant more for workout sessions than race day. That’s how it feels, too—the reinforced heel is a stable feature of cross-training shoes, but will weigh you down on the run. Think about this for your station-specific workouts (and it can work for non-Hyrox gym workouts, too)Puma x Hyrox Deviate Nitro Elite 4This was the first race-specific shoe made for Hyrox, according to Puma. It’s very similar to one of Puma’s best marathon racers, with some Hyrox-specific tweaks (mostly, its grippy outsole for turf stations). We took a deep-dive, multi-editor review to test the model when it released earlier this year. Some of us loved it, while others found it to be a great running shoe that lacked the stability required for stations like wall balls and walking lunges. As a pro-level shoe, this isn’t something you should try to wear without a high level of experience and preparation.Nike Hybrid RNThe Swoosh entered the hybrid space this summer, announcing a duo of models designed for fitness competitions. This is not the pair Scott wore to win the World Championship (that won’t drop til next summer); the Hybrid RN is a training-first shoe, with a wide, stable heel and a midsole foam that’s designed more for responsive comfort than speed. The model is not available to the public until later this fall, but we got an opportunity to test ahead of launch. The Hybrid RN is a solid shoe for training, and it runs much more naturally than the other option on the list. For Hyrox athletes who don’t want to be overwhelmed by a super shoe, this will be a great race day pick.Adidas Adizero Dropset EliteAdidas hit the hybrid racing scene with one of the most audacious fitness shoes ever made. This is a super shoe to the max. It features the same midsole foam as the brand’s record-breaking marathon kicks stacked up to the sky and a carbon fiber “energy rim” along with a Continental outsole for grip. When we tested the Dropset Elite, we were surprised at how well all of these specs—along with the wide base and reinforced heel—translate into a fast, stable shoe. For all this, we named it an Editor’s Pick for our 2026 Sneaker Awards—but make no mistake: this is a pro-level shoe that only experienced racers should wear.Adidas Adizero Dropset ProThe second effort from the Three Stripes might be the best option for most hybrid race athletes for training and race day. The Dropset Pro takes cues from the brand’s wildly successful Adizero Evo SL—the clean, classic aesthetic, the energetic LightStrike Pro midsole foam—but morphs the shape to make it much more stable for moves like lunges and wall balls and adds a grippy Continental outsole for turf. You won’t get the same propulsion as the plated options on this list, but you’ll get respectable energy return that can keep up with most basic running shoes. Another Sneaker Award winner, the Pro is one of the best training shoes currently on the market, period.On CloudX Tempo ProSwiss brand On took a different tack for its hybrid race shoe rather than iterating on its running shoes. This model uses a carbon element for propulsive turnover on the run and a midfoot strap for lockdown, but we found it’s surprisingly pliable and wearable in the deep squat position you’ll need for wall balls. It’s a nice balance between the dramatic feel and shape of high-level running shoes and the more stable training kicks. Given the choice, this would be our go-to for a super shoe on the Hyrox course at the moment.Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men's Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.