Hyrox Ottawa draws more than 13,000 participants

More than 13,000 people turned out for Ottawa’s first HYROX race at the Cohere Centre, according to CTV News Ottawa, giving the international fitness-racing series a large debut in the Canadian capital. (cfra.com) The event ran as a multi-day program from May 14 through May 17, with Saturday among the busiest days at the venue on Uplands Drive. HYROX and the venue list Ottawa as a first-time stop for the competition. The race combines repeated one-kilometre runs with functional workout stations, a format that has helped the brand expand across North America and Europe. (hyrox.com) ### What exactly was happening inside the Cohere Centre? HYROX Ottawa was scheduled from May 14 to May 17 at the Cohere Centre, formerly the EY Centre, with doors opening as early as 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, according to the venue listing. The site at 4899 Uplands Drive was booked for the full building, and the venue page said parking was set at C$10 per day. The race format followed the standard HYROX structure: eight one-kilometre runs, each followed by a workout station. (cfra.com) CBC’s Ottawa Morning described the event that way ahead of the weekend, saying nearly 14,000 athletes were expected at the Cohere Centre. ### How many people were competing, and across which divisions? CTV News Ottawa reported that more than 13,000 participants turned out for the inaugural Ottawa race. (eycentre.ca) That figure broadly matches pre-event reporting from CBC, which said nearly 14,000 athletes were expected over the weekend. HYROX’s results and tracking pages show the Ottawa stop spread across a long list of divisions, including men’s and women’s open races, pro races, doubles, mixed doubles, relay events and adaptive divisions. One live results page listed 638 starters in HYROX Men, 760 in HYROX Women, 702 in HYROX Doubles Women and 562 in HYROX Doubles Mixed, with additional starters in pro and adaptive categories. (cbc.ca) ### Why did the event run over several days instead of one? The May 14-17 schedule reflects the size of the field and the way HYROX stages competitors in waves. (cfra.com) HYROX’s Ottawa materials said individual start times would be linked shortly before the event, while independent live-tracking and results pages showed separate time blocks by division across Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s listings, for example, showed men’s, mixed doubles and pro divisions racing at different times, while women’s, relay and additional divisions were spread across other days. (hyresult.com) That staggered setup is typical for HYROX events because every athlete moves through the same sequence of runs and stations on the same indoor course. ### What is HYROX, and why is it drawing this kind of crowd? HYROX describes itself as a fitness-racing series built around a standard course that is repeated at events around the world. (hyrox.com) On its main site, the company said it held more than 80 global races in 2025 involving over 550,000 athletes and 350,000 spectators. Ottawa was marketed as the series’ first appearance in the city. HYROX’s event page said the company expected to welcome local competitors and athletes from across Canada for the capital debut. (hyresult.com) ### What happens after the Ottawa debut? HYROX Ottawa remains scheduled through Sunday, May 17, with relay races and additional divisions listed for the final day on the live results page. HYROX’s event materials direct athletes to start lists, technical briefings and updated world-championship slot information, while results pages continue to post rankings as races finish. (hyrox.com) May 17 is the next concrete milestone for the Ottawa event, and HYROX says race information, start times and results are available through its official event page and affiliated tracking platforms. (hyrox.com) (hyresult.com)