Cardiff Hyrox competition brings extreme fitness craze to Wales
"Age doesn't have to be a barrier," said Prof Peter Herbert, 80, from Carmarthen. "Vitality is something we can choose to nurture every day."As the Hyrox craze descends on the capital, roads in the town centre are expected to be busy until after the final on Sunday. Competitors - either professional or everyday fitness enthusiasts - perform eight runs and eight workouts, including 1km on a standing ski machine, 50m sled push and 80m burpee jumps.Economist Dylan Jones Evans previously said "tens of thousands" could visit the Welsh capital to take part in the event."What we saw with Hyrox when they went to Glasgow recently was 40,000 people going to the city who wouldn't have gone to Glasgow," he said.
Prof Herbert, from University of Wales Trinity Saint David, is a world-renowned fitness expert, academic, and life-long athlete. Undeterred by a knee replacement, he is aiming to be the oldest known competitor to complete the full event.
"If I'm able to complete this challenge, I hope it sends a clear message," he said. "Through a commitment to a healthy lifestyle and staying physically active, it's absolutely possible to have the energy, strength, and resilience to enjoy activities that many believe are out of reach after 50. "Whether it's surfing, mountain biking, rowing, swimming, or anything else that brings you joy, age doesn't have to be a barrier."
What is Hyrox?
Founded in 2017 as an indoor discipline, athletes take part in eight legs, each a 1km run, followed by a fitness exercise.The exercises competitors are put through include 1km on a standing ski machine, 50m sled push, 50m sled pull, 80m burpee jumps, 1km indoor rowing, carrying a kettlebell 200m, 100m lunges carrying a sandbag, and finally 100 throws and catches of a medicine ball off a wall.
World championships are held every year, with contestants taking part in singles and doubles races. The 2024 world championships in France featured a new relay event by nationality.The sport is closely related to CrossFit, but has different, simpler exercises and prioritises endurance over raw strength.Its popularity is primarily put down to two things: accessibility and visibility. Hyrox has been designed with the intention of going viral, whether by giving contestants patches instead of medals to wear on their gym bags, or by pushing "training club Tuesdays", getting people to tag gyms that offer classes.The top athletes in the sport are doing the event in under an hour. But Hyrox competitor and former Wales rugby player Laura Payne said the race could be geared to all abilities, with some using lower weights, walking the sprints and taking up to three hours to finish."It's quite open and inclusive," said the co-owner of Penarth gym Arth Strength.
"If you've not done much fitness you could get by if you did it with a pair," Ms Payne, who has done Hyrox events in Birmingham and London, added."There is 8km of running but spread out a little bit and some of the stations can be made harder or easier." According to Ms Payne, it is a mass participation event like a half marathon, but "less boring" because running is not the only event. The training is mainly around endurance, with hour-long sessions, she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Experts warn that progress in cancer survival rates is ‘slowing'
Progress in cancer survival rates across the UK has "slowed down", experts have warned, as a new study reveals the disparity in outcomes between the most and least deadly forms of the disease is wider than ever before. Researchers are now calling for a national cancer plan, deeming it "essential" to "bring cancer survival trends back towards the best in the world". The comprehensive study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by Cancer Research UK, meticulously analysed long-term trends in the cancer survival index (CSI) for adults across England and Wales. Covering the period from 1971 to 2018, the research utilised records from the National Disease Registration Service for England and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, estimating net survival for up to 10 years after diagnosis for approximately 10.8 million people. In 2018, the CSI for all cancers combined a decade after diagnosis stood at 49.8 per cent – a figure hailed as "remarkable" by researchers, surpassing the one-year CSI for those diagnosed in 1971/72. However, the study highlighted a concerning trend: the "speed of improvement in survival has slowed down". Between 2000/01 and 2005/06, the 10-year CSI saw a 4 per cent rise, from 41.2 per cent to 45.2 per cent. Yet, in the subsequent period from 2010/11 to 2015/16, this increase dwindled to just 1.4 per cent, reaching 49.3 per cent. Significant disparities in survival rates were also identified across different cancer types. For instance, 10-year survival for testicular cancer was 97 per cent, starkly contrasting with just 4.3 per cent for pancreatic cancer. While screening programmes have bolstered survival rates for breast, bowel, and cervical cancers, progress for other types, including stomach, lung, and brain cancer, has seen only marginal increases over the past five decades. Writing in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, the researchers concluded that this slowdown for individual cancers implied a "system-wide challenge". Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, commented: "Thanks to research, most patients today are far more likely to survive their cancer than at any point in the past. But the reality is that this progress is slowing – and for some cancers, it never got going in the first place." Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at LSHTM, underscored the urgency: "Since I began my career in cancer research, I've seen substantial increases in survival for most types of cancer. Our understanding of cancer biology has expanded, effective screening programmes have been introduced, and new treatments have been developed. Allowing this trend to stall will have devastating consequences." He added: "This study was only possible because of data on millions of patients from cancer registries in England and Wales. It's vital that the Government provides the political and financial support to ensure we maintain this crucial data. Without these, the Government will be flying blind on cancer control. The National Cancer Plan is a chance to improve NHS cancer pathways and reap the benefits of new research – the Government must take it." Cancer Research UK is advocating for the national cancer plan to address unacceptable delays by slashing waiting times for diagnosis and treatment. They also call for improved early diagnosis, boosted participation in existing screening programmes, and a commitment to fully rolling out lung cancer screening in England by 2029. The Government launched a call for evidence in February to help shape a national cancer plan, aiming to outline actions to transform disease treatment and reduce deaths. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated: "We are prioritising cancer care as we turn around more than a decade of neglect of our NHS. We're already seeing progress, with 95,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve survival rates further and address the variation between different cancer types."
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Speed of improvement in cancer survival rates ‘slowing', say experts
Progress in cancer survival rates in the UK has 'slowed down', experts have warned. The news comes as a study suggests survival between the most and least deadly types of the disease is wider than ever before. A national cancer plan was 'essential' to 'bring cancer survival trends back towards the best in the world', researchers said. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and funded by Cancer Research UK, analysed long-term trends in the cancer survival index (CSI) for adults across England and Wales from 1971 to 2018. Using records from the National Disease Registration Service for England and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, experts estimated net survival for up to 10 years after diagnosis for around 10.8 million people. They found that in 2018, the CSI for all cancers combined a decade after diagnosis was 49.8%, higher than the CSI at one year for those diagnosed in 1971/72. Researchers hailed the figure as 'remarkable', but warned that the 'speed of improvement in survival has slowed down'. In the five years from 2000/01 to 2005/06, the 10-year CSI rose by 4%, from 41.2% to 45.2%. But between 2010/11 and 2015/16, the rise was 1.4%, from 47.9% to 49.3%. There were also major gaps in survival when it came to different cancer types. For example, 10-year survival for testicular cancer was 97%, compared with 4.3% for pancreatic cancer. Screening programmes had bolstered survival rates for cancers in the breast, bowel and cervix, according to Cancer Research UK. But survival for other types, such as stomach, lung and brain cancer, had increased by only a small amount in the past 50 years. Writing in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, researchers warned this slowdown for individual cancers implied a 'system-wide challenge'. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'Thanks to research, most patients today are far more likely to survive their cancer than at any point in the past. 'But the reality is that this progress is slowing – and for some cancers, it never got going in the first place.' The Government launched a call for evidence to help shape a national cancer plan in February. The blueprint aims to outline actions to transform how the disease is treated in a bid to reduce deaths. Ms Mitchell said: 'The upcoming National Cancer Plan for England must include commitments to spot more cancers earlier, as well as backing research into new treatments so that each patient, regardless of their diagnosis, can hope for more moments with the people they love.' Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at LSHTM, said: 'Since I began my career in cancer research, I've seen substantial increases in survival for most types of cancer. 'Our understanding of cancer biology has expanded, effective screening programmes have been introduced, and new treatments have been developed. Allowing this trend to stall will have devastating consequences. 'This study was only possible because of data on millions of patients from cancer registries in England and Wales. 'It's vital that the Government provides the political and financial support to ensure we maintain this crucial data. Without these, the Government will be flying blind on cancer control. 'The National Cancer Plan is a chance to improve NHS cancer pathways and reap the benefits of new research – the Government must take it.' Cancer Research UK is calling for the national cancer plan to slash waiting times for diagnosis and treatment, saying some patients face unacceptable delays. The plan should also improve early diagnosis of cancer, with plans to boost participation in existing screening programmes and a commitment to rolling out lung cancer screening fully in England by 2029. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We are prioritising cancer care as we turn around more than a decade of neglect of our NHS. 'We're already seeing progress, with 95,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. 'The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve survival rates further and address the variation between different cancer types.'
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Increase in cancer survival rates has slowed, worried experts warn
Progress in cancer survival rates has slowed down, experts said, and the gap is wider than ever before between those surviving the deadliest cancers and those living through the least deadly. Research led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK looked at the Cancer Survival Index for adults in England and Wales from 1971 to 2018. The researchers found that 49.8 per cent of cancer patients survived to a decade after diagnosis, a rate higher than the one-year survival rate in 1971 and 1972. The team, writing in the journal Lancet Regional Health, Europe, hailed the improvement as 'remarkable', but also noted that the 'speed of improvement in survival has slowed down'. Between 2000-01 and 2005-06, the ten-year survival rate rose from 41.2 per cent to 45.2. However between 2010-11 and 2015-16, the improvement in survival rates was from 47.9 to 49.3 per cent. The difference between the survival rates of different types of cancers remained large: 97 per cent of testicular cancer patients survived for ten years, but only 4.3 per cent of pancreatic cancer patients made it to a decade after diagnosis. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'Thanks to research, most patients today are far more likely to survive their cancer than at any point in the past. But the reality is that this progress is slowing and for some cancers, it never got going in the first place.' According to the charity, screening programmes have improved survival rates for cancers in the breast, bowel and cervix. For other types such as stomach, lung and brain cancer, they had increased by only a fraction in the past 50 years. The government has launched a call for evidence to shape a national cancer plan in February. It will aim to outline changes in treatment to reduce deaths. Mitchell added: 'The upcoming national cancer plan for England must include commitments to spot more cancers earlier, as well as backing research into new treatments so that each patient, regardless of their diagnosis, can hope for more moments with the people they love.' Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: 'Since I began my career in cancer research I've seen substantial increases in survival for most types of cancer. 'Our understanding of cancer biology has expanded, effective screening programmes have been introduced, and new treatments have been developed. Allowing this trend to stall will have devastating consequences.' The study was conducted using data from about 10.8 million people, available through records from the National Disease Registration Service and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'We are prioritising cancer care as we turn around more than a decade of neglect of our NHS. 'We're already seeing progress, with 95,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. 'The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will improve survival rates further and address the variation between different cancer types.'
