If you’re not already competing in Hyrox, you may have heard about the high-intensity fitness race recently. 

The company’s global events can draw tens of thousands of athletes, testing their strength and endurance as they cycle through challenges like rowing, sandbag lunges, sled pushes and burpees. If that doesn’t sound hard enough, participants have to run a kilometer before each station. 

Hyrox has helped catapult “hybrid fitness races,” which capitalize on our fitness-obsessed culture and competitive nature, into popular culture. Investors have taken note of the trend: Last week, an L Catterton-led consortium said it would buy a majority stake in Hyrox. The deal could value the company at around $697.5 million, The Journal reported.

Then, over the weekend, the brand found itself in a messy situation: At its Beijing event, the winner lost control of her bowels midrace and completed the challenges while diarrhea was leaking down her legs. Though endurance athletes—from Olympians to amateur runners—are highly susceptible to gastrointestinal issues, the spectacle generated backlash and stirred a debate: Had extreme fitness gone too far? And should the company have stepped in? 

The company did not respond to requests for comment. Hyrox’s co-founder released a statement on Instagram apologizing for not taking action during the race and stating that new rules and procedures were in place to prevent future incidents. The New York Times reported that Hyrox China has offered refunds to affected participants. On Thursday, the athlete issued an apology on Instagram, saying she regrets not stepping off the track. She said she has decided to “retroactively withdraw from the race.”  

Hyrox, which hosted its first competition in Germany in 2018, held over 100 events last season. Other brands have their own flavors of hybrid competitions, like TRX Ignite Games and Spartan’s Deka. Life Time, the publicly traded health-club chain, launched its own version, LT Games, in October 2025. 

Recreational physical activity was a $177 billion market in the U.S. in 2024, according to the data from the Global Wellness Institute released earlier this year. That encompasses fitness, sports and active recreation, and mindful movement, with fitness (gyms and studios, etc.) making up $81.5 billion, and sports and active recreation accounting for $79.5 billion. In an exercise culture driven by fads, can Hyrox hold its spot in the zeitgeist?

Simeon Siegel, a consumer equity research analyst at Guggenheim Securities, told me this week that fitness brands face two major hurdles. He made the point that many of the largest brands in the world make our lives easier. Not fitness, though it can certainly make it better. The second is that people get bored. People inevitably want newness and new approaches, he said. 

Hyrox is banking on things getting more interesting. The company has said it hopes to bring its format to the Olympics.

Read on for top stories of the week, from the Journal and elsewhere. Send me your thoughts on this week’s newsletter and what you’d like to read about in future editions. You can contact me at sara.obrien@wsj.com. If you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply!

The WSJ Wellness newsletter takes you inside the business and culture of wellness—and how it affects you. If you’re not subscribed, sign up here.

• One State’s Battle to Stop People From Taking Unapproved Weight-Loss Drugs. Clinics and medspas, promising people transformational weight loss, have figured out how to procure and sell an experimental drug that hasn’t gotten through the government’s drug approval process, prompting serious safety concerns from authorities. 

• Fourth Measles-Related Death Reported in Pennsylvania. The state has reported nearly 700 cases of measles since the outbreak began earlier this year. There have been 3,294 measles cases reported across the U.S. so far in 2026—the highest level in three decades. 

• Schools Have Had Enough of Energy Drinks and Overcaffeinated Kids. Roughly one in five students in 10th and 12th grade reported drinking energy drinks daily in 2025—a record high, according to a University of Michigan survey of youth substance use.

• Montana’s giving the biotech industry sweeping authority to sell unapproved drugs. (Politico)

• Those viral bodega peptides aren’t actually peptides. (Wired)

• College girls are desperate to join the best sororities. Some are turning to weight-loss drugs to get there. (The Cut)

Wellness gatherings have taken over college campuses—and they’re generating attention of late thanks to some savvy branding: “Wellness darties.” Short for daytime parties, these gatherings have always been a thing in college (at least if you attended a football school with a big fraternity and sorority scene like I did). But these days, the darties are about more than just socializing over booze. They might include running, ab-work, cold plunges and energy drinks.

I’m Sara O’Brien, a reporter covering the intersection of culture, health and wellness. Each week, I’ll take you inside the latest health trends to help you understand where they came from, who’s profiting and whether they’re worth your money. Send me feedback or questions at sara.obrien@wsj.com (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.