Hyrox is a fitness craze that shows no signs of dying out – with 1.3m people expected to compete in an event somewhere in the world this year.

The competition, which is split between running and fitness exercises, has proven particularly popular with young millennials and Generation Z – people in their twenties to early forties.

Its rapidly growing popularity has been attributed to social media.

Fashionable looks are often a non-negotiable for competitors, with many choosing to compete in high-end fitness brands, matching their outfits with their team members.

Allana Falconer, who works in sustainability and started competing in 2023, says she has “fallen in love” with it.

She has competed in 20 different races across six countries and 12 different cities.

“All my holidays revolve around Hyrox or I incorporate events into holidays,” she tells the BBC World Service.

The 29-year-old says the most she has spent so far was £2,000, when she travelled to Chicago for the World Championships last year.

“For competitions abroad, I normally spend approximately £400 per trip for two nights’ stay and travel and £120 for a ticket,” she adds.

As she is racing so much, she says she needs lots of fitness kit too, adding that “I burn through ridiculous amounts of shoes.”

Evgenia Koroleva, the founder of ONE LDN gym, says for anyone that takes fitness competitions seriously, “the costs can be absolutely astronomical”.

She estimates an athlete travelling to compete in a Hyrox competition will spend between “£500 to £1,000” in one weekend, with the ticket alone about £120.

“Hyrox has created this addiction for people who do it because they never really do one race. When they do their first race they then sign up for another one and because the course is the same it creates this level of competition with yourself,” she adds.

The cost of participation is higher than a marathon, and some people have criticised it. “Travelling abroad plus the costs involved to run around a bit and get out of breath is a stretch for me,” said one former participant on Reddit.

Fran Sirl, personal trainer and owner of parkfit, who runs outdoor fitness classes in Richmond Park, says sports like this can feel intimidating and says he reminds his clients you don’t need specialist kit or equipment to get fit.

“I take groups out into the park. Sometimes we start out with a walk, then add lunges and push-ups on a bench.

“Exercise doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. It’s about finding something that makes you want to go back and do it again, whether that’s a high intensity workout or just going for a walk.”

Most athletes the BBC spoke to felt the prices for Hyrox were fair due to the cost of hiring large event spaces, specialist equipment and judging panels.

Evgenia says the fact people are willing to pay so much reflects a wider “cultural shift” in how much people in their 20s and 30s spend on exercise.

“Exercise is non-negotiable and part of their identity,” she adds.

Spending money on fitness is a priority for those born between 1997 and 2012 (Gen Z), according to exercise app Strava.

Its survey suggests that a third of them plan to spend more on fitness this year with almost two thirds saying they would rather spend money on new gym clothes than a date.

“Mara-cations” (marathon vacations) and Hyrox holidays are now so popular that some travel companies are offering bespoke trips abroad for competitions.

In Hyrox, UK competitions often sell out quickly, which is why many of those wanting to take part travel further afield.

Hyrox, which hosted its first competition in 2021, has a near 50/50 gender split.

The race involves doing a one-kilometre run eight times, broken up with exercises such as burpee broad jumps, sled pulls and rowing.

Those taking part can compete on their own or with a partner – either in a mixed or same sex team.

Dr Florence Kinnafick, a senior academic at Loughborough University who specialises in physical activity and mental health, says the different disciplines can mean competing becomes “addictive”.

The “emphasis on competition isn’t attractive to everybody,” she says.

Kinnafick also warns of a risk of overtraining, if people get “obsessed” with improving their time.

But when it comes to the exercises themselves, she says whilst it is a hard event, there’s nothing “particularly technical” making it safe for newcomers.

Jorell Hill, who has competed in 10 races so far, says he has “definitely caught the bug”.

“I did my first one [Hyrox] in December 2024 and since then I haven’t been been on a single holiday abroad that hasn’t been for a half marathon, marathon or Hyrox.”

The 27-year-old, who fits his training around his job as a firefighter, says his life “used to be going out, seeing mates, going to the pub and drinking a lot” but now nearly all his holidays involve “fitness retreats and competitions”.

He has travelled to “six or seven different countries for competitions” and hopes to compete in America and further afield this year.

Jorell, who moved to London just over a year ago, has made most of his friends through fitness.

“Instead of spending money on going out clothes, I’m just buying new fitness kit,” he says.

Tens of thousands of children in England have spent more than a year waiting for NHS community care such as hearing services, speech and language therapy and disability support, the BBC has found.

The analysis shows a quarter of the 300,000 children on waiting lists have been waiting more than 12 months.

NHS leaders and doctors say the delays are “catastrophic”, harming not only their health but also development – and are calling for the same priority to be given to tackling these long waits as has been given to the hospital backlog.

The government says the long waits are unacceptable, but under its 10-year plan greater investment in community services will improve access to care.

Tiya Currie’s six-year-old son, Arun, struggled to get the support he needs.

He has had difficulties with his speech since he was just a toddler. But when Tiya, 46, from London, tried to get help she faced “waiting list after waiting list”, she said.

“I was completely in the dark and I was tearing my hair out. That was really stressful.”

After two years of waiting, Tiya and her husband felt they had no choice but to use £4,000 of their savings to pay privately for speech therapy and a formal diagnosis, which revealed Arun had developmental language disorder (DLD).

DLD is a diagnosis given to children who have significant, ongoing difficulties understanding or using spoken language.

Tiya said: “It absolutely crushes me that there are so many people out there who need access to speech and language therapists, but aren’t getting it due to long waiting lists and it not being affordable.”

Arun’s progress has improved significantly with speech therapy and proper school support, but Tiya said the need for better early intervention and resources for children is key.

“I know how stretched NHS services are, but children should be prioritised because they’re still developing and they need that support now, not in years’ time,” she said.

The community waits for under 18s have got worse over the last three years.

Since the start of 2023, there has been a six-fold rise in children waiting more than a year, with more than 77,500 in England now in that position.

Year-long waits for adults in the community are not common, with just 1% waiting that long compared with 26% of children.

While the figures cover only England, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) says longer-than-usual waits are also being reported elsewhere in the UK.

Many of the children facing long waits have complex needs, such as learning and physical disabilities. Some of the young children waiting will include those needing autism or ADHD assessments. For older children, mental health services tend to take the lead.

Elliot Howard-Jones, chair of the Robinson Group, which represents specialist community NHS services, said he was really worried about how the delays were affecting children.

“Getting this support is fundamental to their development journey – that’s why waits are so harmful.”

To illustrate the point, he gave the example of a child who struggles with hearing, which leads to them becoming disruptive and disengaged.

“For an adult, waiting is annoying, painful and difficult. But for a child, waiting means your peer group moves on while you don’t. You fall behind and never catch up.”

Howard-Jones said there needed to be greater focus and investment in community services, similar to what has already been happening for hospital treatments – tackling that backlog was at the heart of Labour’s manifesto and NHS trusts are get extra money for making progress.

His warnings have been echoed by other senior NHS leaders.

Richard Kirby, chair of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers’ community network, said demand was outstripping capacity.

“Without more help, children will continue to wait longer and fall further behind – that is a situation none of us should accept.”

And Dr Ronny Cheung, from the RCPCH, added: “Chronic underinvestment and a lack of focus on children’s health and services have meant that staff are unable to meet increasing demand.

“Long waits are unacceptable for any patient, but for children and young people the waits can be catastrophic.

“Many treatments need to be given by a specific age or developmental stage to prevent long-lasting complications, and for many children these long waits mean we miss crucial chances to intervene in time.”

Kate Lawson, head of policy at disability charity Sense, said there were many “heartbreaking stories” of families battling to access essential care and therapies, with significant numbers having to resort to paying privately.

“It’s essential that the government addresses this issue to give every child the best start in life,” she added.

The Department of Health and Social Care agreed the waits were unacceptable.

It said it was taking “firm action” by introducing a new target to get community health services to work towards seeing patients within 18 weeks – the same as hospitals are expected to do.

And a spokeswoman added under the government’s 10-year NHS plan there would be greater investment in community services.

“Our vision for neighbourhood health will bring care closer to babies, children and young people, with more staff, better digital tools and services working together so children get the right support in the right place,” she said.