Ben Court
HYROX doesn’t ease anyone in gently, and Team Ten Thousand clearly had no interest in taking the scenic route either. Over two bruising, breathless weekends in Chicago and Dallas, the brand’s Competition Team rolled through town and left with a pair of victories that looked as decisive as a hammer to a bell.
Ten Thousand’s athletes were everywhere you turned at HYROX Chicago (Nov 14–16) and HYROX Dallas (Nov 21–23), delivering the sort of form that makes rivals nervous and selection committees take notes. In consecutive weekends, Cole Learn and Jack Driscoll took command of the Pro Solo races, each grabbing a win that felt less like luck and more like the natural consequence of months spent in the grinder.
Learn set the tone early in Chicago, clocking a ferocious 54:36 — a time that didn’t just win the race, but broke his own Canadian record and punched his ticket into the HYROX Elite 15 in Melbourne next month. Behind him, teammates Jack Driscoll and Colin Stiefer hustled home in 3rd and 4th, underlining the depth Ten Thousand are building inside this still-growing sport.
If Learn supplied the opening fireworks, Driscoll spent the next 10 days turning the sky into a light show. He notched his first HYROX victory in Dallas with a 56:21 effort that looked as clean as it was controlled. Then he doubled back into Pro Doubles, grabbed 3rd with a 50:12, and locked in his own place in the HYROX Elite 15 Doubles race in Melbourne.
Across Chicago and Dallas, Driscoll ran four times in 10 days — and delivered four straight PRs. You don’t see that often outside of fever dreams and athletes on the brink of something big.
What’s powering this Ten Thousand surge? Part of it is the Competition Team model rolled out earlier this year at HYROX NYC — an approach that allows athletes to apply for a place on the roster and compete under the Ten Thousand banner. It’s equal parts development system, talent scout and rallying point for die-hard, salt-of-the-earth grinders. The brand doubled down in Chicago and Dallas, teaming up with local gyms and community groups to host shakeout runs, assault bike challenges, and whatever else makes lungs burn and friendships form.
Ten Thousand aren’t shy about the road ahead, either. With plans to expand the Competition Team in 2026, the outfit is pushing hard into the centre of the HYROX universe — a space that’s growing fast and rewarding athletes who know how to suffer with purpose.
For now, all eyes shift to Melbourne (Dec 11–14), where Learn and Driscoll will step into the HYROX Elite 15 arena for the first time. Judging by the last two weekends, they’ll arrive battle-hardened, confident, and entirely unwilling to let someone else write the next chapter.
