Hyrox Training at 61: How a Masters Age-Group Winner Is Building for the Hong Kong World Championships on a Curved Treadmill

Most people who start Hyrox in their sixties are chasing a finish line. Joe Benoit, 61, of Worcester, Massachusetts, went to his first race in Washington, D.C. and won his age group, which earned him an invitation to Hong Kong, host of the 2027 HYROX World Championships. He is training for it in a New England garage on an Aussie Pro Runner , after a lifetime of deciding he did not like treadmills. We asked him how a 61 year old finds himself in a place to rep the USA, what his training week looks like, and why a curved, self-powered deck is the machine he picked for the build. His answers, in his own words, run through this piece.

A Lifetime of Starting Lines

Hyrox is a young sport, and most of the athletes on its podiums arrived from CrossFit boxes and running clubs within the last few years. Joe's route was longer. When we asked how a 61 year old ends up qualifying for a World Championship, he started at age seven:

I've been an athlete my whole life. I started at 7 playing hockey and continued through college. In my 40's I started OCR and worked my way to the top ranking of 26th in the Spartan series. After a decade of that I started my ultra marathon phase, mostly the mountain series. I had reasonable success here then started longer runs of 50 to 100 miles.

After many years of this I got bored to some extent and then found Hyrox. After 6 months of dedicated training, including sleep and nutrition, I went to my first race in Washington D.C. and was fortunate enough to win my age group and earn my invitation to Hong Kong.

Read that progression as a training history rather than a list of hobbies. Hockey builds repeat sprint ability and the kind of leg drive that comes from skating against resistance. Obstacle racing adds grip, carries and the ability to run hard between strength efforts, which is a close cousin of the Hyrox format. Mountain ultras and 100 milers build an aerobic base most people never touch, and the patience to manage effort over hours. By the time Joe found Hyrox, the engine, the legs and the pacing were already there. What the sport asked for was a different kind of speed, and he gave it six months of dedicated work.

The phrase that matters most in that second quote is "including sleep and nutrition." For an athlete in his sixties, the training is the easy part to write down. Recovering from it is the part that decides whether the training lands. Treating sleep and food as part of the program, not a footnote to it, is how a first race turns into an age-group win, and it is the first thing any masters athlete reading this should take from Joe's story.

Hard Days Hard, Easy Days Easy: A Masters Training Week

Hyrox rewards a strange combination. Eight one kilometer runs demand a runner's engine. Eight stations in between, including a loaded sled push and a sled pull, demand strength and the ability to go back to running on legs that have just done something heavy. Training for both at once is where most athletes over 50 get hurt, because the obvious answer, train everything hard all the time, does not survive contact with a 61 year old body. Joe's answer is older than Hyrox and still the best one going:

I train every day, keeping the hard workouts hard and the easy workouts easy. This includes weights as well as Peloton and of course Hyrox race simulations. My running is about 20 to 25 miles per week at this point.

"Hard workouts hard, easy workouts easy" is the entire philosophy of masters endurance training in one sentence. Daily training at 61 only works if the easy days are truly easy, because that is where the recovery and the aerobic base are built. The hard days only mean something if they are run at the intensity the race will demand, which is why race simulations sit at the center of his week: run, station, run, station, with no pretending about the pace between them. Weights hold the strength that the sled stations and the carries draw on. Twenty to 25 miles of running a week is enough volume to keep the engine sharp without turning every week into an ultra block.

This is also where a self-powered curved treadmill earns its place in a masters program. On an easy day the belt moves at whatever pace Joe produces on that step, with no motor setting a speed he then has to match. If the legs say slow, the belt is slow. On a hard day the same deck becomes the sled station and the sprint lane, so a full race simulation happens in one footprint without walking across a gym floor between efforts. The machine does not decide which kind of day it is. The athlete does.

Why a Lifelong Treadmill Skeptic Bought a Curved Manual One

Plenty of runners share Joe's instinct about treadmills: something feels off about them, and they would rather be outside. When we asked why he ended up buying one anyway, he named the exact thing that had always bothered him, and the exact thing that fixed it:

I was never a big treadmill fan. Motorized does a lot of the work for you. When I researched "curved manual" treadmills I was sold. Particularly because of the sled sims that can be done. Sprinting and the ability to start and stop immediately.

"Motorized does a lot of the work for you" is the objection, and it is a fair one. On a motorized belt the motor pulls the surface underneath you at a fixed speed, so part of the work of moving forward is done by the machine. A self-powered curved deck flips that relationship. The belt only moves because the runner drives it: each foot strike on the front of the curve pushes the slats back, the belt comes around, and the pace is whatever the body is producing on that step. Ease off and the belt slows with you. Drive and it comes up to meet you. Nothing is pulling you along.

The second half of his answer is the Hyrox half. "Sprinting and the ability to start and stop immediately" is the difference between a treadmill you run on and a treadmill you can race on. There is no speed to dial up, no button to press, no ramp from zero to pace. A sprint starts the instant Joe leans and drives, and it ends the instant he eases off, which is how the sport actually runs: a hard effort, a station, and back on the run with no transition button. And "the sled sims that can be done" is the feature that closes the deal for any Hyrox athlete, because it means the hardest station to train at home now lives on the same deck as the running.

Sled Push and Sled Pull Without a Sled

Ask any Hyrox athlete which stations they struggle to train at home and the sleds come up first. A real sled needs a lane of turf or a long stretch of floor, plates, and a space most garages do not have. Joe's plan for his machine starts there:

My new mill will be used for all its purposes. Sled work, both push and pull. Sprinting. Living in New England, outdoor running is not always an option over the winter, so general running as well. There is no doubt this tread will be a huge asset and make me stronger!

"Both push and pull" is the detail that matters. Here is how both patterns live on the Aussie Pro Runner.

The push comes from the magnetic resistance dial. It runs seven marked levels. At level 1 the belt spins free and the machine is a pure running surface. Turn the dial up and the belt picks up drag, step by step, until at the top of the range the deck stops behaving like a treadmill. Driving the belt forward now takes the same low, leaning, full-body effort as pushing a loaded sled: hands on the front handles, hips low, long powerful strides, both feet finding the ground on every step. The magnets never touch the flywheel, so there is no friction surface to wear out, and the dial holds its position at whatever level you choose for the whole effort. In max resistance the machine feels most similar to a running sled, the kind of sled built for driving rather than grinding under a stack of plates, which is the pattern the Hyrox push station actually rewards.

The pull is simpler than people expect. Athletes turn around on the deck and walk backward against the resistance, which loads the quads, the hips and the posture of the pull station without a rope or a strap. For a masters athlete that backward walk doubles as some of the most knee-friendly strength work on the machine, because it is heavy, slow and controlled.

Then there is the transition, which is the part of Hyrox that no single piece of equipment used to train. The sport is not a sled push and it is not a run. It is a sled push followed by a run on legs that have just pushed a sled. On the Aussie Pro Runner that sequence is a dial turn: level 7 for the push effort, back toward level 1, and run. For session ideas built around that run-to-station rhythm, our guide to curved treadmill workouts for Hyrox and hybrid athletes lays out full sessions.

Sprinting, Base Mileage and a Worcester Winter

The last piece of Joe's plan is the least glamorous and probably the most important for his build: general running. A January long run outdoors in Worcester is a coin flip, and a World Championship in June does not wait for the ice to melt. Twenty to 25 miles a week has to happen somewhere.

This is where the curved deck does something a motorized belt cannot. Because the runner sets the pace with every step, there is no difference in intent between an easy indoor run and an easy outdoor one. The slow days stay slow. The sprint days are maximal from the first stride, because there is no acceleration phase on a motor. And the running surface itself, a slatted rubber belt over a curved deck, has a forgiving quality underfoot that runners coming off frozen pavement notice on the first mile. For an athlete logging daily sessions at 61, that matters as much as any feature on the console.

Joe's own prediction for the winter is one sentence long: "There is no doubt this tread will be a huge asset and make me stronger!" We will be following the build to find out.

What Joe Would Tell Another Masters Athlete

We ended with the question every athlete over 50 who reads this is really asking: is this worth it for someone like me? Joe spent years in sales before he spent them on start lines, and his answer sounds like it:

If asked by a fellow athlete looking to make a final decision, the answer is easy. Whenever you want to become stronger and/or faster or are looking for general cardiovascular health, this mill will more than help you to achieve those goals. It is multi-functional and built for years of training. Get one!

Two phrases in that answer are worth pulling out. "Multi-functional" is the whole argument for a curved treadmill with sled mode in a home gym: one footprint covers the running, the sprinting and both sled stations, which is otherwise three pieces of equipment and a lane to push them down. "Built for years of training" is the masters athlete's version of a spec sheet. A 61 year old is not buying a machine for one race cycle. He is buying the thing he plans to be training on at 65 and 70, and the welded steel frame, sealed bearings and a magnetic resistance system with nothing to wear out are what that phrase means in practice.

What This Means for Other Masters and Hyrox Athletes Training at Home

Joe's story is specific, but the lessons in it are not. For any athlete over 50 building toward a Hyrox race, or any Hyrox athlete trying to train the whole sport at home, a few things carry over directly.

First, polarize the week. Hard days at race intensity, easy days truly easy, and recovery treated as part of the program. A self-powered deck supports that discipline because it never pushes the pace on an easy day and never limits it on a hard one.

Second, train the transition, not just the stations. The Hyrox sled push is hard. The run after the sled push is where races are won and lost. A machine that goes from sled push to run with a turn of the dial lets you rehearse that moment every week instead of only on race day.

Third, solve the winter. For athletes in the Northeast, the Midwest or anywhere a long run outdoors is seasonal, a curved manual treadmill is the difference between a base that holds through February and one that restarts in April.

Fourth, buy for the decade, not the season. A masters athlete's equipment has to survive daily use for years and go easy on the joints while doing it. Low-impact slats, a user-controlled pace with no minimum speed, and a resistance system with no friction surface are the features that age well.

The Numbers Behind the Machine

For the athletes reading with a tape measure: the Aussie Pro Runner is 79 inches long with a 63 by 19 inch slatted running surface, which leaves room for a full sprint stride and the wide stance of a sled push. The frame weighs 340 pounds, which is why it stays planted under both, and it is rated for athletes up to 350 pounds. Seven magnetic resistance levels run from free-spinning to sled push, and the dial holds its position at every level. The console is battery powered and shows speed, distance, time, calories and watts, with heart rate via the included chest strap, and the machine requires no electrical hookup of any kind. Warranty is 5 years on the frame, 3 years on parts and 1 year on labor, and every machine ships with the Functional Resistance Gear Pack included.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you train for Hyrox on a curved manual treadmill?

Yes. Hyrox alternates eight one kilometer runs with eight stations, two of which are the sled push and the sled pull. A self-powered curved treadmill with magnetic resistance covers the running and both sled patterns on one deck: run at any pace on the low settings, push against the resistance at the top of the dial, and walk backward against it for the pull. The run-to-station transition, the part of the sport that is hardest to rehearse at home, becomes a turn of the dial.

How do you simulate the Hyrox sled push on the Aussie Pro Runner?

Turn the magnetic resistance dial toward the top of its seven levels, take the front handles, drop the hips and drive the belt with long, leaning strides. At the higher settings the deck stops behaving like a treadmill and takes the same low, full-body push as a loaded sled, at walking speed, with both feet on the ground every step. Pair it with a run at low resistance to rehearse the station-to-run transition.

Can you do the Hyrox sled pull on a curved treadmill?

Yes. With resistance engaged, athletes turn around on the deck and walk backward against the belt. The pattern loads the quads, hips and upright posture of the pull station without a rope or a strap, and because it is slow and controlled it is one of the more joint-friendly strength efforts available on the machine.

Is a curved treadmill good for masters athletes over 50?

Joe Benoit is 61 and uses his for sprinting, sled work and winter base mileage ahead of a World Championship. Three things make the format suit older athletes: the runner controls the pace, so there is no minimum motor speed to keep up with on an easy day; the slatted rubber belt over a curved deck is more forgiving underfoot than a flat motorized belt; and the belt stops the moment you stop driving it. Every athlete should train within their own limits and talk to their doctor before starting a new program.

How many resistance levels does the Aussie Pro Runner have, and how heavy does it get?

Seven marked levels on a magnetic dial. Level 1 is a free-spinning running surface and level 7 is a heavy sled push driven with the legs and hips. There is no pound figure per level, because on a curved belt the load you feel comes from your own body weight, lean and stride. In max resistance the machine feels most similar to a running sled, built for driving, rather than a plate-stacked gym sled.

How should a masters athlete structure a Hyrox training week?

Joe's version: train every day, keep the hard workouts hard and the easy workouts easy, lift, run 20 to 25 miles a week, and run regular race simulations at race intensity. Sleep and nutrition are part of the program, not an afterthought. A self-powered curved treadmill fits that split because it never sets the pace on an easy day and lets the hard days include both sprint work and sled stations on one machine.

Is a curved manual treadmill harder than a motorized treadmill?

At the same pace, yes, because the runner does all the work of moving the belt instead of the motor doing part of it. Research on curved treadmills consistently measures a higher energy cost than motorized running at the same speed. For a Hyrox athlete that is the point: the training effect per minute is higher, and there is nowhere to coast.

Can the Aussie Pro Runner replace outdoor running through a winter?

For base mileage and sprint work, yes. Because the runner sets the pace with every step, an easy indoor run carries the same intent as an easy outdoor one, and sprints are maximal from the first stride with no motor ramp. Athletes in New England, the Midwest and other seasonal climates use it to hold a running base through months when outdoor running is unreliable.

How much space does the Aussie Pro Runner need in a home gym?

The unit is 79 inches long with a 63 by 19 inch running surface, and it needs no outlet, so it can sit wherever the floor plan allows rather than where the wall power is. Because sled-style resistance work happens on the same deck, the single footprint replaces what would otherwise be a treadmill plus a sled and a lane to push it down.

What does the Aussie Pro Runner cost, and what is the warranty?

The Aussie Pro Runner retails at $3,195 and carries a 5 year frame, 3 year parts, 1 year labor warranty. Every machine ships with the Functional Resistance Gear Pack included, and the machine is rated for athletes up to 350 pounds.