Fit enough for Hyrox or a marathon? Why that doesn’t necessarily mean your heart is ready

There’s something about turning 40 that makes you do things you wouldn’t usually consider. Like growing a moustache. Learning to bake. Getting into whiskey appreciation. Or the most recent of middle-age tropes: signing up for Hyrox. 

Sure, you may have completed a marathon just last year. So, if Hyrox requires you to run a kilometre followed by a functional workout like sled pushes or burpee broad jumps – then rinse and repeat eight times, you’ve got it. Right? 

The recent death of a Thailand-based fitness coach, while competing at BYD Hyrox Bangkok 2026 on Aug 13, gave the fitness community pause – and questions. Leroy Saunders, 41, had collapsed during the competition on the first day of the four-day event and was conveyed to a hospital where he died. 

This wasn’t Saunders’ first Hyrox event; neither was he a weekend warrior. The South Africa-born coach had participated in previous races, the latest being the Doubles category last year, according to The Nation. Outside the Hyrox arena, he was the owner of a CrossFit gym in Bangkok, and was known in the functional-fitness and combat-sports scenes. Saunders’ family has not shared the cause of his death.

To date, there have been no reported deaths at the previous Hyrox events in Singapore. But what does it mean for you if you’ve signed up for the upcoming AIA Hyrox Singapore scheduled on Nov 26 to 29 at the Singapore Expo? Should you schedule for an ECG – or other heart tests, just to be sure? We find out. 

If you’re training for Hyrox (or a marathon), you’ll know that a good deal of running is involved. More accurately, in Hyrox, 8km of running spread over about 90 minutes, at least according to the official website. Which makes it an endurance race. 

“Cardiac events have