Hi Glow ppl <3 last week I talked about the everyday athlete and how you either know one or you are one. Which brings me to the rise of the everyday athlete’s favorite competition. You’ve heard of the HYROX race? Or DEKA? These hybrid fitness races are experiencing widespread growth and that growth isn’t expected to slow down any time soon.

What started as a small race with a relatively niche community in 2017, is now attracting people across the globe at all fitness levels. One of the best parts of hybrid fitness IMO, is that while difficult, it is still manageable for anybody - with a bit of training and a lot of grit. In a way, it was a counter response to the rise of Crossfit competitions which are much more technical.

These functional fitness competitions are now turning into spectator sports - much like baseball or marathon running (happy NYC Marathon day btw and congratulations to all the runners). Which means if you’re not competing, you may find yourself in the functional fitness fandom which is now an industry in itself.

Just last month, HYROX partnered with Legendz Social Sportsbook so that you can actually place bets on specific outcomes in the HYROX races. I love to talk about how fitness is permeating into mainstream culture and this is one of the best recent examples.

Other evidence of the functional fitness takeover is the rise of boutique fitness concepts that mimic the functional fitness races like Alpha Fit Club and The Yard.

I’m sure that this is just the beginning and we will continue to see new variations of these races and brands attaching themselves to the existing ones or creating their own (another massive trend rn).

Happy first Sunday of November, now here’s this week’s Glow Report. XX, Abby

Technogym and World Athletics announced RUN X, a global treadmill competition designed to make running accessible (without time or weather limits). Launching in 2026, gyms worldwide will host qualifying events where runners compete on connected Technogym treadmills with results tracked through a global leaderboard. The top athletes from each country will advance to regional and then world finals, competing for a $100,000 prize pool.

Oura released new research with UC San Diego examining how key biometrics change during pregnancy, using continuous data from Oura Ring users. The study found that resting heart rate and body temperature gradually increased across trimesters, while heart rate variability and sleep quality declined. Read about it on Oura here.