HYROX Anaheim, CA

Getting to the Anaheim Convention Center

The race is at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802, in the Anaheim Resort district across Katella Avenue from the Disneyland Resort. Officially it is “Centr HYROX Anaheim”; HYROX has raced here since 2023, and this season the event returns expanded to four days, Thursday through Sunday.

Fly into John Wayne (SNA) if you can: it is the closest airport, a short drive down the 55 and the 5, versus a much longer and less predictable run from LAX. Long Beach (LGB) is a good third option. Arriving by rail, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink stop at ARTIC, Anaheim’s intermodal station by Angel Stadium; from there it is a short taxi or rideshare, or the OCTA 50 bus along Katella.

This is a car-friendly venue in a car-friendly county, but the Katella/Harbor corridor can jam whenever Disneyland is busy, and early December is a busy time for the parks. Leave a bigger buffer than the map suggests.

Parking

The convention center’s own car parks surround the building and charge a flat per-entry event rate with no in-and-out privileges — leave and you pay again. The venue publishes the current rate and policies on its own site; other organizers’ recent event pages have quoted $25 per standard vehicle and $50 for oversized vehicles, so budget around that and confirm on the official HYROX page in race week.

• Payment is on entry; have a card ready.
• Accessible parking is first-come, first-served in the venue car parks; arrive early for it.
• Staying at one of the hotels on the convention-center block? Walk. The savings and the traffic both argue for it.

Where to stay

The Anaheim Resort district is dense with hotels within walking distance of the convention center. The Hilton Anaheim and the Anaheim Marriott are on the convention-center block itself, and The Westin Anaheim Resort is across the street (the hotel puts it at about 500 steps from the building). Dozens more line Harbor Boulevard and Katella, from budget to resort.

Two warnings. Early December is a busy season for the Disneyland Resort, so check rates and availability early and book as soon as your race day is confirmed rather than waiting for your individual start time, which only arrives about three days out. And most resort-district hotels charge daily parking fees on top; if you are driving, price the parking into the comparison.

Check-in and race-day flow

Your individual start time is published about three days before the event and cannot be changed, so plan travel around your division’s window rather than a specific hour until then.

• Bring government-issued photo ID (the rulebook requires it, together with your registration confirmation). Nobody can check in on your behalf.
• Two different 90-minute rules: the check-in desk for your division opens 90 minutes before that division’s first wave, but you can only check in from 90 minutes before your own assigned start time. Arrive inside your window, not before.
• Want to get in earlier to watch or settle your nerves? Go via the Spectator Check-In desk with your athlete ticket and ID.
• Aid stations run before, during, and after the race, and the Thunderdome viewing area overlooks the floor if you want to study the course before your wave.
• Wear the wristband from check-in if you want race photos — the official photographer’s selfie search only finds you with it visible.
• Age-group ceremonies happen after every athlete in a division has finished. If you podium on a weekday, go to the Help Desk with ID for free access to the ceremony and your flag; anyone coming with you needs a spectator ticket.

Weekend schedule (provisional)

Four days, and the published schedule is provisional; treat it as the shape of the weekend and check the official page for your final wave. Every time below is a start-wave window, not a finish: add your own race time (and the ceremony, if you are in contention) before booking anything for afterwards.

• Thursday, Dec 3 — Men and Adaptive Men 8:00–9:30, Doubles Men 10:00–12:00, Doubles Women 12:30–15:30, Women and Adaptive Women 15:40–18:00, Doubles Mixed 18:30–20:30.
• Friday, Dec 4 — Men and Adaptive Men 8:00–8:50, Pro Men 9:30–10:50, Pro Women 11:20–12:10, Doubles Men 12:40–13:40, Doubles Mixed 14:10–15:10, Doubles Women 15:40–17:00, Women and Adaptive Women 17:10–18:20, Men’s Relay 18:50–19:10, Mixed Relay 19:30–19:50, Women’s Relay 20:10–20:30.
• Saturday, Dec 5 — Men and Adaptive Men 8:00–12:30, Doubles Mixed 13:00–17:30, Pro Doubles Women 18:00–18:50, Pro Doubles Men 19:20–20:30.
• Sunday, Dec 6 — Doubles Women 8:00–11:50, Women and Adaptive Women 12:20–15:30, Doubles Men 16:00–19:30.

Tickets, changes, and spectators

Spectator tickets are sold separately from athlete entries. Athlete tickets are locked at purchase unless you bought a Flex add-on, and every Flex deadline falls at 7:59 AM in the event’s time zone: Lite Flex allows one name change until 7:59 AM the day before your race day; full Flex adds the same name change plus a refund window (100% until 7:59 AM 31 days before your race day, 50% until 7:59 AM 7 days before), and refunds exclude the Flex and service fees. Changes go through your HYROX account. No event transfers or division changes exist this season, and Flex cannot be added after the fact.

What to bring

• Government-issued photo ID and your ticket on your phone.
• Running shoes with grip you have already trained in — expect a hard indoor floor with turf strips at the sleds and lunges, the usual HYROX layout.
• A light layer for the wait before your wave; the hall is cooler than you expect standing still.
• A bottle and the race nutrition you have practiced with — with a caveat: most convention centers formally bar outside food and drink in their house rules, and HYROX has not published a venue-specific exception. Eat your pre-race meal before you enter, rely on the aid stations inside, and check the athlete guide in race week for what is allowed through athlete check-in.
• Optional: gloves for the sled pull and farmers carry, a spare shirt for the finish-line photo.

Weather

Early December in Anaheim is the easiest weather on the fall calendar: mild, mostly dry Southern California days and cool evenings, with the occasional rainy spell. The race is indoors; the weather only matters for your shakeout run, which you can usually do in shorts — check the forecast the week of.