fitness | Twin brothers swimming, cycling and running in Scotland

How much?!?

Blimey!

If you want to watch Hyrox prepare to take out a loan as it costs £7 to watch live. Which seems expensive (because it is expensive) but maybe in comparison to other events it’s actually quite cheap. You are watching ‘professional’ events alongside the amateur categories and, compared to other indoor sports, £7 is reasonable for all day access.

But, compared to watching any running race, it seems wrong to charge anything.

Maybe £7 is fine, maybe it’s a rip-off? I don’t know, I just know that it felt wrong to me to charge to watch a bunch of men run indoors around the Scottish Exhibition Centre when you could watch the same men run outdoors around the SEC during the Men’s 10K for free.

Saying that, what we the experience like to watch Hyrox?

Very straightforward is the simple answer. Hyrox – more details here – is very well organised and all of the events are set up so that spectators can stand at barriers next to where their ‘athlete’ is performing. If you’re following someone around, you’ll easily find a good spot to watch them at every station. Except for station 5, which is station 6 and station 6 which is station 5. The two stations are swapped around so if you’re following someone from station 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5, like I was, then you’ll stand at station 6, thinking it’s 5, only to realise that there’s no ‘athlete’ to see.

I’m sure there must be a good logistical reason why the two stations are swapped around, but it did make it confusing to follow where Iain TwinBikeRun was going to next.

I have TwinBikeChild with me and she enjoyed the music and watching the running track. It was busy but not so much as too intimidate her. But with 90 minutes of moving around, it was a lot for a five year old to follow and she was getting cranky towards the end. Top tip, follow someone faster than IainTwinBikeRun!

Overall, spectating at Hyrox is simple, straightforward and well worth £7, if you think it’s fair they charge a fee in the first place! Otherwise its simple, straightforward and a complete rip-off.

Nurseries should hand out Hazmat suits when children start.

TwinBikeChild started nursery a month ago and I’ve been ill ever since. After twice getting a throat infection in three weeks I’ve lost more weight than a Circus strongman with amnesia. TwinBikeChild, on the other hand, just gets a runny nose every time she picks up a new bug. Children have a defence system so strong even Donald Trump wouldn’t leak it.

As I’m ill I’ve had to miss a couple of races with the Alloa Half Marathon being the main casualty, which was a pity as it gave me no chance to find out if they’d doubled their toilet count for the 5,000 starters by bringing a second toilet to the start. See last year’s report. Hopefully, next year, they’ll have doubled it again and have four portaloos.

While I missed the race I did end up in Alloa for a children’s party which only made me wish I’d raced instead as the after-party entertainment was a mobile zoo.

“A mobile zoo,” you say, “that sounds delightful!”

And it does. Who wouldn’t get excited about the inevitable cuteness overload of a dozen or so four year olds being shown age appropriate animals like puppy dogs, rabbits or little pet lambs?

“Why would you rather have ran 13 miles with a razor blade in your throat and a cough with more hacks than a 80s slasher horror film?” You might ask me.

“Because,” I’d say, “the first animal was a cockroach.”

AAAAAARGGHHHH!!

“And”, I’d say, “the second animal was a box of meal worms.”

It wasn’s a mobile zoo, it was pest extermination.

EEEEEKKKKKK!!!

A collection of scaly scary creepy crawlies which only ended when the ‘zookeeper’ brought out a mouse and then a bright yellow snake. And all I could hope was that it not an extermination it’s just all been lunch for the snake

TwinBikeChild, of course, loved it.