NEED TO KNOW
Kennedy Bingham, who lost her leg and suffered severe injuries in a 2021 accident, completed a HYROX fitness race after months of training
She pushed through physical challenges and intense mental moments to cross the finish line alongside her husband
After sharing her journey on TikTok, her videos reached millions, inspiring others to take on challenges that scare them
For Kennedy Bingham, signing up for HYROX wasn’t just about fitness — it was about proving to herself what she was still capable of.
Years earlier, in 2021, the Idaho local survived a devastating accident in which she was ejected from a car and left upside down on a 30-foot-high power line — an incident that ultimately led to the loss of her leg and permanent damage to her arm.
“I have a brachial plexus injury where… three of [the nerves] were pulled directly from the root of my spine and the other two were stretched,” she tells PEOPLE over Zoom. “And it left my arm completely paralyzed.”
Along with the physical trauma, the injury also brought chronic nerve pain which is something she continues to navigate daily.
“It kind of feels like pins and needles. It feels like stabbing. It feels like it’s on fire,” she says.
Kennedy Bingham and her husband and friends during HYROX
Credit: Kennedy Bingham
Even so, Bingham has continued to push herself physically. Most recently, that determination led her to HYROX: a high-intensity fitness competition that combines running with strength-based challenges.
She chose it for one reason: it scared her.
“I knew it was really scary, and I knew it was gonna push myself more than anything I probably could’ve chose,” she says. “But I knew I could do it.”
After about six months of training, Bingham competed in the November race as part of a relay team alongside her husband — ultimately crossing the finish line with him.
Getting to that moment, however, was its own challenge.
“The training was honestly the worst part,” Bingham says. “I was like, ‘I’m so tired of going to train, running and sled… the same thing every day.’ It got really draining.”
On race day, Bingham took on sled pull and farmer carries, along with completing two kilometers of running, which she found especially difficult with her prosthetic.
“The running was probably the hardest part for me,” she says. “It just gets so sweaty that [the prosthetic] will literally completely fall off. And so that gets really frustrating when you’re trying to hit your goal.”
Even then, unexpected hurdles came up. Wearing her running blade during farmer carries threw off her balance.
“The bounce of it actually threw it off so bad, and it went a lot worse than I thought,” she says. “But I mean, we finished it, and we did it.”
In the end, crossing the finish line alongside her husband made it all worth it.
“Watching him push through those 100 wall balls was crazy and so impressive to me,” she says. “And then obviously running across the finish line together was the best.”
Kennedy Bingham hugging her husband
Credit: Kennedy Bingham
Beyond the physical demands, the race tested her mentally just as much.
“My mind did that literally the entire HYROX race,” she says. “All I could think of was just, ‘Stop, stop, stop.’ ”
Still, she pushed through.
“You are truly so much stronger than you think you are,” she says.
That mindset doesn’t just shape how she competes; it’s also at the core of why she shares her journey online.
Bingham documented her HYROX training and race day on TikTok, where her videos quickly gained traction, reaching millions of viewers and drawing an outpouring of support.
“I’m crying with yall!!! ✨ THIS – this is what life’s about. Our village that ~lifts~ us up!” one user commented.
“You’re freaking incredible👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼,” another wrote.
“I saw you running and you absolutely amazed me!!!!” a third added.
Kennedy Bingham and friends after the fitness event
Credit: Kennedy Bingham
For Bingham, that response reflects exactly why she continues to open up.
“The whole point of sharing it… is to help others be like, ‘Oh, I can go do something really hard,’ ” she says. “Like, I am capable.”
“Just trying to make myself proud of being able to accomplish such a challenging thing that I’ve been so afraid of for so long,” she adds.
And even now, she’s already looking ahead.
“I always like trying new things,” she says, adding that another HYROX is likely, and she’s even considered a marathon even though it still “freaks” her out.
No matter what comes next, her mindset remains the same.
“Choose your hard,” she says. “You do you and go push yourself… go have a good life.”
Read the original article on People
