From CrossFit Games to HYROX: Brittany Weiss’ Comeback Story

Brittany Weiss was a gymnast for 16 years and has done CrossFit since 2013, with several trips to the CrossFit Games on a team. Running, and especially HYROX, was never part of the plan. In fact, she’ll even admit that at one point, she hated it.

Then she had back surgery in March 2025. Running turned out to be the one thing that didn’t hurt, and less than a year later she raced her first HYROX. She recently raced at altitude for the first time in Salt Lake City, with another one on the calendar as HYROX makes its Denver debut in November.

We talked with Brittany about how she got here, how she’s handling altitude prep without moving to the mountains, and what advice she’d give about HYROX for beginners.

A CrossFit Career with a Plan

Brittany’s goals in CrossFit were clear. She wanted to be on a winning team at the The CrossFit Games. And in 2023 she did. After that, she set her sights on qualifying as an individual.

About a year and a half later, a back injury required surgery, and although she knew a comeback in CrossFit was possible, but she was realistic about what it would take. She’d have to rebuild the strength she lost while the athletes she used to compete against kept getting fitter.

“I’m definitely a hard worker, and anything I set my mind to, I’m gonna do anything I can to achieve that,” Brittany said. “But I just started weighing the risk versus reward. I want to be able to grow old and continue fitness.”

Running as Therapy

“After surgery, it was the one thing, surprisingly, that didn’t hurt my back,” Brittany said about running.

For a former gymnast who openly hated running, that’s a funny twist. She’d put her headphones in, start a playlist and go. The long runs became a way to clear her head during a frustrating stretch when it felt like everything was going backwards.

“It was a free form of therapy for me,” she explained.

It also changed how she thought about training.

“Man, I am so blessed to be able to do this. Not everybody can do this,” she said.

She didn’t have a formal running program. Instead, she just did what her body would allow her as she recovered. For coaches training members coming back from an injury, there’s a helpful lesson in Brittany’s story. The movements your members enjoy and can do without pain might be the ones that keep them showing up.

An Invite to HYROX Anaheim

In December 2025, NOCCO invited Brittany to race HYROX Anaheim. She had never participated in the World Series of Fitness before.

“I honestly went into the race and had no idea how many lengths of the sled I had to do, or what the stations were,” she said. “I was so clueless.”

She finished around third in her age group and left with something like a runner’s high.

“I was like, I think I could be really good at this.” The sport made her body feel good instead of beat up, so in January 2026 she went all in.

The community helped too.

“The amount of times I hear people cheering my name and I have no idea who they are, it’s such a cool feeling,” she said. “This sport has one hundred percent changed my life.”

Training for Altitude When You Live Near Sea Level

Salt Lake City was Brittany’s first race at altitude, and she was a little nervous going in. Her doubles partner recently raced the Leadville 100 and felt nauseous even after a lot of HYROX training at altitude. It’s what most people warn you about: heavy breathing and an upset stomach.

​Because of that, Brittany believes athletes who live and train at altitude year-round have a real edge when they race at lower elevations.

“You are probably more fit and more in shape than you actually think you are when you come back down,” she said.

Brittany lives on in California but spent the summer on the East Coast, which meant she couldn’t train at altitude consistently. Instead, she began training in the heat and describes feeling terrible as she got started. Paces that normally put her heart rate around 150 had her sitting closer to 170.

She made sure to point out that she isn’t claiming heat is the same as altitude. For her, the point was getting used to working at a high heart rate when conditions are rough.

“Just training it and knowing what it feels like is definitely gonna benefit you,” she explained.

The other big question is when to arrive at a HYROX race when it’s at altitude. She’s heard two approaches:

• Get there 24 to 48 hours before and race before altitude fully hits you. The downside is spending a full day traveling and racing before you’re settled.
• Get there a week and a half to two weeks early to adjust, if your schedule and budget allow it.

What HYROX Race Week Looks Like

Brittany says she doesn’t have specific HYROX race-day rituals. She just tries to keep everything the same.

Food matters most to her. She brings as much as she can and cooks in her hotel room instead of eating out, and she won’t eat anything new before a race.

“If your stomach is messed up when you’re running, you’re absolutely screwed,” she said.

​For hydration, she adds extra electrolytes and salt to her drinks, especially for altitude races. Other than that, she focuses on sleep, stays off her feet, keeps her nervous system calm and does a shakeout run the day before.

Her taper is a bit different from what a lot of athletes do.

“My volume stays the same, but my intensity comes down a little bit,” she said. Some people cut volume and keep the intensity. She would rather stay in her training block and turn it down a notch.

Brittany’s 3 Tips for Your First HYROX

1. Eat enough. A HYROX can take anywhere from 60 minutes to two hours, and training for one is a lot of stress on your body. “What you’re putting in your body is what you’re gonna get out of your body, always.”
2. Get a coach. This is especially true if you want to improve every race or qualify for World Championships. “Having somebody that knows what they’re talking about in this field is super, super important.”
3. Run your own race. It’s easy to watch a role model or a friend and try to keep up. Brittany’s advice is to focus on what you can control. “Never get too high, never get too low. As long as you’re putting in the work, it always ends up working out.”

Gym Owners, Don’t Sleep on HYROX

You might have a bunch of members that say they hate running. But let Brittany’s story provide evidence that it shouldn’t be a reason to overlook the fitness trend that’s sweeping the world.

Start by doing your research on how to open a HYROX gym. Learn about gyms like The Engine Room, that had 450 leads before even opening its doors, and how to host a HYROX sim that could bring in thousands in additional revenue.

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