His Best Season Yet - Kenneth Seet on Qualifying for HYROX World Championships and Achieving a Sub 3:05 Marathon: Athlete's Voice [Ep 6]
- Hana Basir
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
How Hybrid Athlete, Kenneth Seet surpassed his own expectations at HYROX and at the TCS Sydney Marathon 2025 while juggling training, family, and work
From qualifying for the HYROX World Championships to achieving his long-time dream of breaking the sub 3:05 at a Marathon, it’s safe to say that 2025 has been the year for hybrid athlete Kenneth Seet. In the latest episode of Athlete’s Voice, the father of one dove deep into his recent achievements and the sacrifices he’s had to make to reach them.
Taking on HYROX on the world stage
Kenneth Seet and his Men’s Doubles Partner Lim Jia Jun made headlines when they clinched the top spot at the AIA HYROX Asian Open Championships with an impressive timing of 57:50. Now, the duo are set to compete at the HYROX World Championships in Stockholm in June 2026.
“To be honest, I never expected myself to qualify, given how high the standards are at HYROX—which is continuously rising. To be able to fulfill that dream is something that’s a success factor for me this year."
“I just hope to make myself, my family and Singapore proud in Stockholm.”
Before he struck gold in the Men’s Doubles, Kenneth once called himself the “First Loser” having heartbreakingly come in fourth twice in his age group, most recently at HYROX Incheon in May.
“After two fourth placings, I just thought maybe I won’t be on the podium for singles,” shared Kenneth.
“It was during my Sydney Marathon preparations when I decided to pair up with Jia Jun to try doubles. I wanted to lighten the load because marathon and HYROX training together is really tough. We did that and surprisingly, we won! Booked our tickets to Stockholm.”
It was the first time Kenneth and Jia Jun had ever participated in the doubles category, though with their teamwork and chemistry, anyone would have thought otherwise. The duo entered the race with the goal of a sub 60, but never did they expect to achieve their goal with a generous amount of change.
“Doubles is a lot of tactics and communication. We have to play to each other’s strengths during the race so we had to strategise prior to the race."
“I’m a stronger runner and he's stronger at the stations so we had to find a balance that would allow us to be the most efficient on the circuit.”
Breaking barriers at the Sydney Marathon
With his main focus of the year being performing at the Sydney Marathon in its first year as an Abbot World Marathon Major, Kenneth admitted that training for HYROX was secondary—putting faith in his fitness.
“Sydney Marathon was always my main goal. I think I didn’t even taper my training runs on HYROX week. I did a 30km long run two days before HYROX. My goal was to smash my personal best and I did by about seven seconds so I was lucky,” shared Kenneth.
Having completed the notoriously hilly course with a negative split, Kenneth was caught by surprise by his own perseverance.
“I did the first half of the marathon in 1:35 and the second in 1:30. It was a huge negative split which shocked me because the last 5km was horribly hilly. Surprisingly, I had a fair bit left in the tank and fully sent it to the finish line,” he laughed.
The key to constantly improving and shaving off those precious seconds? Consistency.
“Those who know me well would know that I’m up between 4-5am for a run or a workout in the gym. It’s a huge part of my life,” he shared candidly.
“My improvement hasn’t been sudden. It was controlled and progressive. Thankfully over the past two years, I haven’t had any major injuries so I’ve been able to stay consistent.”
Balancing HYROX, marathon training and family duties
As a Hybrid Athlete, it can be tough managing your time, self-expectations and training. As someone who has been at it for years, Kenneth emphasised on the need for a clear goal for the year.
“Let’s say, this year in November, HYROX is a week before the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM). It’s good to focus on one. If your ‘A’ race is SCSM, then HYROX has to be your ‘B’ race, and you’ll have to do more running to focus on your ‘A’ race,” shared Kenneth.
“At the same time, you can of course do some station work on the side for your HYROX preparations. It’s difficult to focus on both at the same time and do very well in both. There are, of course, some athletes who can do both really well! In my opinion though, it’s good to focus on one.”
Balancing a full-time job, a demanding training schedule, and international travel for races is no small feat—but Kenneth manages it all with remarkable discipline, even with a toddler at home.
It was after his son was born that Kenneth realised it was time to shift his priorities. No matter how busy life gets, nothing takes precedence over the time he cherishes with his family.
“I realised I need to be a responsible guy now,” he laughed.
“I was just reading a book about fitness and it said ‘Don’t let your hobby control you. Your responsibilities are the most important things in life.’ That’s why I have to make certain sacrifices like waking up really early, missing events on weekends and nights so I can send my kid to classes or play with him.”
With the couple opting against a helper, the two split their time to take care of their son and each other, along with their jobs and hobbies. How they do it is a question that Kenneth gets asked often.
“Make time. If it matters to you, make time.”
“Fitness and health matter to me because they help my mental health and make me sharper at work. I’m performance driven, so I want to do it to the best of my abilities, so I make time for it. For me, I have to wake up early, as that’s the only time for me. After 7am, I have to get my son ready for school and then get to work.”
What’s next?
Speaking to his coach, the two came to the conclusion that 2025 has been Kenneth’s best season yet as an athlete—coming from pure grit and hard work. Currently nursing an injury, Kenneth shared that while he has ticked off all his boxes this year, he’d still be happy to achieve good results at HYROX in November and SCSM full marathon.
“Next year, that’s when I’ll rewrite everything on a fresh page and rewrite my goals. The first half of the year will be to focus on the HYROX World Championships. We won’t even smell the podium, but we want a performance we’ll be proud of!”
“Towards the second half, I want to do a marathon and the next progression, after doing a sub 3:05, is a sub 3 hour marathon. Those are my two goals for 2026.”