By James Bovington
Horsforth resident James Borrill describes himself as a ‘normal lad covered in tattoos who works hard on building sites’ but he’s also making a name for himself competing at HYROX events in Britain and abroad, the next in Glasgow on 14 March.
HYROX is a way of keeping fit and demonstrating your progress in competition. Participants run a kilometre then work at a fitness station. This is repeated eight times.
The stations include a variety of activities requiring you to push, pull, carry or throw and include such rowing, burpee jumping and sled push and pull. The running is done indoors as a 400-metre loop.
Twenty-nine-year-old Borrill is married and works on new building sites connecting homes to a range of utilities.
He said: “I took up HYROX because I needed to improve my fitness and running and training in the gym works perfectly for me.
“I’ve just returned from my first competition in Turin elated to have been placed 57th overall out of 1687 competitors so in the top 5%. I’ll be competing as a solo competitor in Glasgow on 14th March and later in Berlin. I’ve also got 50k and 100k races planned.”
Borrill trains in Leeds and Brighouse, attending Jetts Gym in Rothwell before work as they offer 24-hour access and then attend Fitness Lab in Brighouse for my HYROX specific work.
He said: “I normally train on my own but sometimes with people from my Tuesday running club.
“You make friends like I’ve done with a lad called Jamie Ward who I met at a five in the morning session and we’ve become good mates. He encourages me daily to keep working to achieve the HYROX top three finish flag and he says that I ‘undoubtedly’ will.
“It’s uplifting spending time with people who share your ambition. Competing is everything as I love working towards a goal and proving to myself that I can achieve. Anyone can do HYROX. Just purchase your ticket. You can do solo, same sex doubles or mixed doubles. Weight doesn’t matter it’s structured in age categories like 24-29.
“I’m two years into my fitness journey and two years sober. I couldn’t run 5k without stopping several times. HYROX has changed my mind set and improved my life helping me to believe I can achieve in other areas. It’s a cliché but if I can do it, then anyone can.”
- James Borrill is happy for people potentially interested in HYROX to follow and/or message him on Instagram @soberfitbozza. General information about HYROX including how to find a conveniently located training centre can be found here.
