South Jordan residents Sarah Makoni and Kim Binks are personal trainers at F45 in Daybreak. Part of being a personal trainer is to inspire others to push past their physical limits and be their best selves. Part of that inspiration means leading by example. Makoni and Binks were invited to participate in the HYROX World Championship competition in Manchester, England in May of 2023 after placing second overall in the HYROX competition in Los Angeles, California in early December of 2022.

According to the HYROX website, “HYROX is a global fitness race for Every Body. Participants from all around the world compete in the exact same format. The race starts with a 1 km run, followed by one functional movement, which repeats eight times, taking place in large indoor venues, creating a unique stadium like atmosphere for all participants.”

Competitors can race individually or on a team. The specific divisions are as follows: open, individual pro, doubles and relay teams.

Binks, upon learning of the race from a member of F45, was ready to sign on, having not only her professional background of approximately 15 years of personal training to help guide her but also some Spartan race experience as well. 

“I’ve always loved working out and going to the gym as long as I can remember,” Binks said. 

Makoni admitted she was not looking to start any type of competitive training following the birth of her second child in May 2022, especially when the training consisted of running 0.62 miles in between functional strength training sets repeated eight times. 

“I certainly was not in a position to compete,” Makoni said. “[However] Kim and I both are of the mindset that if we are going to race, we’re going to podium, we’re going to be the best.”

Despite not feeling like the “‘best,”’ Binks persuaded Makoni to join her team, and the two began training in August 2022 for the December 2022 race in Los Angeles, California. Makoni and Binks placed second overall in their age category of 30-39, and fifth overall in the women’s category.

Two days after the race in Los Angeles, the ladies got an email inviting them to compete in World’s in Manchester in May. They were given only 48 hours to respond to the invitation, otherwise they would lose their spot.

As if competing at World’s wasn’t enough to fill their minds, Binks is a mother of seven, and Makoni is a mother of two, which is enough to keep anyone busy. However, thanks to the support of their communities: family, friends and F45, the team decided to go for it.

Beth Laberge has been a member of the F45 community in Daybreak since September of 2022. She has witnessed first-hand how Binks and Makoni have been able to inspire others and balance their own training schedules.

“I watched these ladies train extra workouts. I enthusiastically listened to their stories about miles they were logging running, and extra workout nights and weekends with fellow competitors,” Laberge said. “I admired their hard work and dedication, knowing they were both young moms made it more inspiring.”

After taking some time off for the holidays, and after Binks experienced an injury that prevented her from running, the team has once again resumed their training in anticipation for the World’s competition.

“[Sarah] is really good at pushing me in a way that I loved to be pushed,” Binks said. “I knew if I had her as a partner, she would push me and help me.”

Because HYROX is the same race format no matter where you train or compete, the ladies know what to expect. The competition is always indoors, so weather is not a factor they need to calculate into their training. Makoni said that at World’s, the amount of weight increases.

According to the website, “The HYROX World Championships of fitness racing 2023 are the pinnacle of HYROX. Out of 90,.000 athletes from all over the world, only 2,000 qualify to participate in the ultimate HYROX showdown and to represent their country.”

Both women have made sacrifices to get to this point of preparing to compete against those other 2,000 participants. Whether it’s the financial sacrifice to be able to afford plane tickets to England and back, or time spent away from family with mid-day training sessions on Saturdays, both Makoni and Binks have made this a priority.

“I think there is a lot of value to your children seeing you do things like this and accomplish big things,” Makoni said. “We’re moms first but we have cool and exciting things happening in our lives.”