Kennedy's Deadly Hobby

Summary

Kennedy Saves the World

Episode: "Kennedy's Deadly Hobby"
Date: September 29, 2025
Host: Kennedy | Guest: Jimmy Failla

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Overview:

This episode offers a candid, humorous, and harrowing look into Kennedy’s latest half Ironman adventure, exploring the limits of personal endurance, the psychology behind people’s thirst for extreme challenges, and what pushes individuals to face situations with genuine peril—sometimes even involving alligators. With trademark banter, the conversation also touches on the less dramatic but still relatable challenges of daily life, while reflecting on the thrill of pushing one's own boundaries.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Kennedy’s Latest Half Ironman: The Ordeal

• Kennedy recounts her 12th half Ironman, describing it as the toughest race she's ever attempted.
• She details the cascade of unexpected obstacles: difficult terrain, oppressive heat and humidity, unreliable road conditions, and even participant panics.
• The mental battle of confronting failure and pushing through severe physical distress is front and center.

Memorable Quote:

"This is the first time where during the bike, I was like... there’s no way I can run a half marathon after this."
— Kennedy [00:33]

• Swim Segment Chaos:
  • Kennedy gets tangled with a panicking swimmer who grabs onto her, risking both their safety.
  • She shares a lifeguard technique: "When someone grabs onto you like that, swim to the bottom... they'll let go."
  • She ultimately helps the woman find safety with a kayak.

"She’s like, ‘I’m not letting go of you,' and I’m like, ‘I’m letting go of you.'"
— Kennedy [03:06]

• Bike Segment Dangers:

  • Multiple athletes had flat tires, two crashed, and one nearly got hit by high-speed traffic.
  • The advertised “four hills” turned out to be many more, with endless climbs and a draining headwind.
  • Kennedy suffered from electrolyte depletion, severe headache, and nausea but kept pushing.

• Run Segment Survival:

  • Frequent, well-stocked aid stations proved critical.
  • Kennedy describes splitting the run mentally into small segments to cope, leveraging aid station snacks (and lots of Coke!).
  • Contrary to the "flattest run" claims, the first half was hilly and brutal.

2. Why Do People Endure This?

• The conversation explores the psychology behind endurance sports and voluntary peril:
  • Jimmy Failla questions Kennedy on the motivation: “Is it like a personal battle against yourself?” [07:17]
  • For Kennedy, it’s about proving something to herself, avoiding personal disappointment, and building on a history of overcoming pain (torn hip, broken foot, bronchitis during past races).

"I knew I would be so sad and so mad at myself, like, if ... I've never not finished a race."
— Kennedy [07:37]

3. The Risk Factor: Fun or Foolhardy?

• Discussion turns to the very real dangers of the sport:
  • Open-water swims with panicking participants; stories of fatalities in races Kennedy’s attended (“That’s the fourth race I've done where someone has died — but this is over 30 years.” [09:47])
  • Wildlife hazards: Alligators in the river!

"There are alligators in the river."
— Kennedy [10:43]

"Why did you do that if you knew there were alligators in the water? … Well, there are enough people around you kicking that they're not going to go after all of us."
— Kennedy [11:12]

• With dark humor about self-preservation:

"So I threw the lady who grabbed onto me, I threw her the alligator back down. Just kept going."
— Jimmy Failla [11:14]

4. The Emotional Aftermath and Strange Motivators

• Kennedy describes the euphoric high after finishing—and the odd things that keep her motivated during the ordeal.

  • The promise of rest (“The best thing about finishing a race is not having to do anything this week.” [11:26])
  • Dreams of Dairy Queen treats.

• They joke about the strange personal rituals and coping mechanisms—Kennedy relates motivation to even mundane things, as Jimmy recalls a cab-driving marathon and the "cleaning lady at 19" keeping him moving.

• The psychological component is critical:

"If I quit this race, for the rest of the year, I’m gonna be like, I could have continued if I’d just done this and I’d just done that."
— Kennedy [13:11]

• A key lesson from Kennedy’s tour manager (an Army Ranger):

“You cannot believe what your body is capable of. You are capable of so much more than you realize. And that kind of went through my head the whole time.”
— Kennedy [13:55]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | 00:33 | "This is the first time where during the bike, I was like... there’s no way I can run..." | Kennedy | | 03:06 | "She’s like, ‘I’m not letting go of you,' and I’m like, ‘I’m letting go of you.'" | Kennedy | | 04:56 | "They were stocked with Coke, Coca Cola... bananas, oranges, potato chips, pretzels..." | Kennedy | | 07:37 | "I knew I would be so sad and so mad at myself, like, if ... I've never not finished a race"| Kennedy | | 09:47 | "That’s the fourth race I've done where someone has died — but this is over 30 years." | Kennedy | | 10:43 | "There are alligators in the river." | Kennedy | | 11:12 | "Well, there are enough people around you kicking that they're not going to go after us." | Kennedy | | 11:14 | "So I threw the lady who grabbed onto me, I threw her the alligator back down." | Jimmy Failla | | 13:11 | "If I quit this race, for the rest of the year, I’m gonna be like, I could have continued..."| Kennedy | | 13:55 | "You cannot believe what your body is capable of. You are capable of so much more..." | Kennedy |

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:14 – 01:14: Introduction – Kennedy’s near-DNF half Ironman ordeal
• 01:14 – 02:59: The perilous swim; helping a panicking competitor
• 03:10 – 04:24: Dangerous bike course; crashes, flat tires, heat
• 04:56 – 05:41: Reviving during the run; the reality vs the race’s hype
• 06:01 – 07:37: Dehydration, cramps, and enduring with help from others
• 07:37 – 08:35: Why keep going? Personal pride, past injuries
• 09:41 – 10:59: Risks: Past fatalities, wildlife dangers, "deadly hobbies"
• 11:03 – 12:27: Alligator story and survival strategies
• 12:33 – 13:42: Post-race emotions, fear of regret, mental tricks
• 13:42 – 14:16: The Army Ranger mindset—what the human body can really do

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Conclusion

This episode is a vivid, entertaining dive into why people engage in “deadly hobbies” like triathlons and Ironmans, revealing not just the physical peril but the mental calculus, personal pride, and humor underpinning such choices. Kennedy and Jimmy Failla bring a sense of camaraderie and self-deprecation, making the perils feel oddly relatable, and underscore a broader message: we're all capable of more than we think—be it in a race, or just getting through life’s hard days.

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Listen if you enjoy:

• Candid stories of endurance and survival
• Dark humor about life’s craziest challenges
• Reflections on pushing personal boundaries and finding motivation in unlikely places

Transcript

[Kennedy]

Foreign.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World. Who's the big winner?

[Kennedy]

What?

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah, well, I'm alive. That's. That's the important thing today. Jimmy Fayla joins me. It is Monday. I did my 12th half Iron man yesterday, and this is the first race I've ever done where I thought something was horribly wrong. And I was convinced I wasn't going to finish.

[Kennedy]

For real? For real?

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yes, for real, for real. So I've never. I've done a lot of races and, you know, different conditions, hot, cold, different terrain, different states. This is the first time where during the bike, I was like, first of all, I didn't know if I was going to be able to finish the bike. And second of all, I didn't. I was in such bad shape during the bike, I was like, there's no way I can run a half marathon after this.

[Kennedy]

Now, there could have been something in the air yesterday because I didn't do an Ironman, obviously, but I ordered a Hungry man at Fred's Deli, and halfway through, I was like, I don't know if I can finish. But I beared down and got to that finish line, and I feel like you're gonna tell me you did, too. Okay, so it was specifically during the bike. Go ahead.

[Jimmy Fayla]

This race was very chaotic. It started out the swim is fast because you're swimming with the current, so it makes you a lot faster than you actually are. So I'm swimming. We get to the first buoy, which is maybe 50 yards, and it's very common to get kind of tangled up with other swimmers, because with 2,500 people in one race, even if they stagger you out, you're still swimming next to people and people that discombobulated. A lot of times, it's people's first time swimming in open water with other people who are also trying to swim fast.

[Kennedy]

So.

[Jimmy Fayla]

So I kind of get tangled up with this woman, and I'm like, sorry. She grabs onto me and she goes. She's having a full panic attack. And she's like, I gotta get out of here. I gotta get me out of here. And then she goes, I'm not letting go of you. So it can be very dangerous when someone panics like that, because when they grab onto you, you can both sink, of course. So when my daughter was in first grade, her teacher was. Was an LA county lifeguard. And so she said, one of the things they teach you is when someone grabs onto you like that, swim to the bottom, because you know you'll be Safe and they'll let go. Because if someone's holding on to you like that, like, you could both be in trouble pretty quickly. So I grab onto the buoy to have something to keep us on the surface. And I'm fighting her, and she's like, I'm not letting go of you. I'm not letting go of you. She's like, I have to get out of here. So I signaled one of the kayaks to come over, and the guy was really close and. And I was like, hang on to the boat. Catch your breath. You can stay in the race as long as you're not moving. Like, you can hang on to one of the boats or paddle boards as long as you're not moving. And they don't take your number. But as soon as, like, you start going with them, like, you're done for the day. So this woman was like, she thought she was going to die.

[Kennedy]

Well, I'm glad you cleaned up the story from what you told me outside, which is. You punch the hell out of her?

[Jimmy Fayla]

No. But I was like, she's like, I'm not letting go of you. And I'm like, I'm letting go of you.

[Kennedy]

That's heavy.

[Jimmy Fayla]

So then on the bike, I saw. I must have seen 10 people with flat tires because the roads were not in great shape. And then I saw two people crash on the bike. I saw one guy fall over and his foot came out of his biking shoe. And another guy. So oftentimes on a highway, they will, you know, cone off one side of the road for the race. And the other side, if it's a four lane highway, you know, on your side with the two lanes, the other side is traffic. It's fast moving traffic.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, yeah, they're bringing it.

[Jimmy Fayla]

A guy fell into that lane of traffic and came within 2 inches of getting hit.

[Kennedy]

Sheesh.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And then he, he, you know, scrambled, got him on his bike and rode away. I don't know how he rode away. So that was crazy. It was so hot. There were so many hills. I was prepared for the hills, but I was not prepared for the. The hills, the heat, the humidity, and the unrelenting. Like they, they said there are four hills in the race. After four hills, I'm like, great, now I'm gonna put the hammer down and really go for it. Cause now it's gonna be flat for the rest. And then the hills kept coming. I burned through my electrolyte. I got a horrible headache. And then I got super nauseous. And I'm like, this is not good. And I was like, I don't even know if I can finish the bike.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And so I. I just. I was slower than I wanted to be. The winds shifted, and at the end, we were riding into a headwind, and. And I got off the bike, and I saw my sexy teenage boyfriend. And I was like, I don't know if I can finish this race. And he was like, it's okay if you want to stop right now. I was like, let me do one mile of the run and then see how I do so I get my running stuff on. And this race was amazing because they had their aid stations. They had an aid station every mile, and they were stocked with Coke, Coca Cola.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Hey, bananas, oranges, potato chips, pretzels, electrolyte gels, like, everything you could possibly want. Ice. So I just started shoving ice in my jersey and taking salt and electrolytes. And then I felt pretty good. After mile two, I was like, okay. And I just split it into 5Ks. I'm like, I'm gonna do the first 5K, which is three miles, and see how I feel. And then after that, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna try the second one. The first six miles were uphill. I'm like. And they advertised it as a flat, shady run. They're like, it's a flat run. You'll PR on this road. It was hilly the entire first six and a half miles, and then we turned around. And once we turned around and went downhill, I was like, okay, now we can finish the race.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fayla]

It was wild.

[Kennedy]

I mean, hell. And you did finish the race, to be clear. But I guess this is my. A serious question. You enter this race, what. Which obviously is an incredible test of, like, your own discipline and willpower and everything in between. What is the percentage of people that hit the emotional fork in the road you did. And quit the RA race? Like, who finishes it?

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah, Like, I mean, there were a lot of people around me who were walking, and I gave salt. So I have a little, like, capsule of salt. It's called base salt, which is meant for, like, an endurance event, so you can just get electrolyte in you immediately. And I must have given salt to five people, because there were people cramping up, like, bent over. I saw one guy pull over and just barf.

[Kennedy]

Oh, God.

[Jimmy Fayla]

I was like, no. And it happens like, you with the heat alone. And I. You know, it's like I. I wiped off some of the sweat, and I had salt all over my face.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And it was. It was Nuts.

[Kennedy]

That's crazy.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And that was just from seven and a half hours of sweating.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fayla]

But it was, you know, I. I ran the whole way, very slowly. I walked through the aid stations, and that was a deal I made with myself. Like, I'm gonna keep running no matter what. And there were a lot of people run. Walking. A lot of people just walking. Cramped up like it was. The heat does something to you.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fayla]

That you cannot prepare for, especially if there is humidity in a place that you have not trained.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. That's the challenge. Because. Especially, like, with the run, I'm just thinking about, like, your calves and, like, how you kind of. Sometimes in the heat, it just makes you feel heavier than you are.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

And you kind of get, like a shin splint in a weird way. And now you just. It's when your feet are slapping the pavement. You don't know. That's, like, the worst feeling in the world. But I can't imagine doing that because you have the luxury of. Of quitting. It's not like, you know anyone's going to get mad at you. So what keeps you focused? Is it like a personal battle against yourself?

[Jimmy Fayla]

You know what it was? I knew I would be so sad and so mad at myself, like, if.

[Kennedy]

This was the year.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah. Because I've never not finished a race. And I. In 2022, I did a race where I tore my hip on the bike completely and then ran a half marathon on a completely torn hip.

[Kennedy]

Wow.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And I finished that race, and I was ready to PR in that race. Like I was between the swim and the bike. Like I was.

[Kennedy]

You're gonna break records. A personal record. It was happening.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And then once I got on the run, I was like, oh, it's torn. Like, it is torn completely. And then when I. The one time I did the New York City Marathon, I ran the last three miles on a broken foot. So it's like, I know what I've already been through. I raced. I raced my first half Ironman with bronchitis and then got pneumonia afterwards.

[Kennedy]

So I think the real question everyone at home has right now is, what are you running from? Exactly. What are you trying to.

[Jimmy Fayla]

But it's like. It's so much in this. It's like, why am I doing this? Yeah, why am I doing this? Don't go anywhere more. Kennedy Saves the World right after this.

[Kennedy]

Hey, I'm Trey Gowdy, host of the Trey Gowdy Podcast. I hope you will join me every Tuesday and Thursday as we navigate life together and hopefully find ourselves A little bit better on the other side. Listen and follow now@fox newspodcast.com it's again, there are a lot of situations in life that you have lived through that I have not. Like, you know, when you talk about. I know you've been on safaris and seen lions and stuff. Okay. I very rarely put myself in a position to, like, die on vacation. I was in. I was. I was in Colorado, and the guy was like, yeah, if you're gonna go out early, you should bring, like, hairspray because the mountain lions are still feeding. I'm like, how about I just don't go? Because if the only thing standing between me and a mountain l is a can of hairspray, like, whose idea of a vacation is this? But I'm trying to figure out what's inherent to people like you who pursue something like an ironman that does have potentially perilous consequences. And I think there's something about riding those rails that you probably like, that's your own vice.

[Jimmy Fayla]

The last race I did before this, a guy died on the swim.

[Kennedy]

That's crazy.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And he happened to know the tour manager. They had worked together before.

[Kennedy]

That is bananas.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah. And so it's like, I'm finishing the swim, and I see the ambulance. I'm like, God, I hope someone's okay. That's the fourth race I've done where someone has died. Like, but this is. This is over 30 years.

[Kennedy]

But the point is, like, I don't have a crazy social calendar, but it's crowded enough that if people die at a certain party, I don't RSVP yes to the next year's events.

[Jimmy Fayla]

So on Friday, there was a group swim in this river when we were swimming, and.

[Kennedy]

Is that what we're calling. Is that what we're calling orgies in 2023? Look at him.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Who was. Who was in the swim with his triathlon club. His dad was on the shore, you know, taking pictures of him and all his friends. And a kid across river was like, sir. He's like, sir, because there are alligators in the river.

[Kennedy]

No. What's wrong with you people? Like, that's crazy. It's like, I expect to hear these stories from Bill Millusian. Like, I was covering the border. Stuff went wrong in the water. Why am I hearing it from you? We got to get to the bottom of this.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah. So. So my.

[Kennedy]

It's as big as Other half was.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Like, why did you do that if you knew there were alligators in the water? I'm like, well, there Are enough people around you like kicking that they're not going to go after all of us.

[Kennedy]

So you're just. It's like a Russian.

[Jimmy Fayla]

So I threw the lady who grabbed onto me, I threw her the alligator back down. Just kept going.

[Kennedy]

There you go. Sometimes Kennedy has to save herself before she can save the world. Yeah. Love that so much.

[Jimmy Fayla]

But the best thing about finishing a race is not having to do anything this week.

[Kennedy]

Oh, that's true.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Because you're like, yeah, I just did an ironman.

[Jimmy Fayla]

I'm not half iron man. It's not like a full.

[Kennedy]

It's not like it's plenty. It's. There's alligators, there's dead people, there's folks drowning in the water.

[Jimmy Fayla]

But truly like once I got to mile three, I was like, oh, I want to kiss that metal.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, you do.

[Jimmy Fayla]

I was like, I want to kiss that metal. And I would. And that's like they're. It's always the weirdest things that keep you going.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I'll say.

[Jimmy Fayla]

You know, it was like, yeah. No, I was like, all I want is Dairy Queen. Like I want to finish this race and get a peanut buster parfait.

[Kennedy]

No, that whole. Exactly like the things that keep you going matters. Like even when I was like a cab driver because it's like a 12 hour shift. You have to put the girl back home during the war. You know what I mean? Even now, where it would appear we're so successful, if I didn't have the cleaning lady at 19, I don't know what would keep me more. Wait, is it still on? I didn't know. This is awkward.

[Jimmy Fayla]

She's a nice Albanian grandma.

[Kennedy]

Say you wanna. I'm not even gonna take that joke.

[Jimmy Fayla]

I've tagged enough teeth right out.

[Kennedy]

Oh God.

[Jimmy Fayla]

How was your weekend?

[Kennedy]

Fine. Lincoln won his homecoming game 38, 7. Cover the spread. We're all happy. The failures were not at an iron man yesterday. We watched a lot of football because Lincoln's a Steelers fan. They start over in. In Ireland yesterday. Yeah, 9am football, which lays itself out for a really aggressive day of sports watching. If you're going to stick with it through the Cowboys Packer game last night, I want that. By the way, it was a tie 40 to 40 because I. After the 10 minute overtime, nobody wanted.

[Jimmy Fayla]

At halftime, I stopped watching.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, you were well within your rights. Most of the Cowboys did. It was weird. And that's how the packers got back in it and everything else. But it was a good weekend and I'm happy to be here And I. And I do not have that to share.

[Jimmy Fayla]

I'm. I'm. I'm just so happy that is your medal. Because, like, that was the other thing. I was like, if I quit this race for the rest of the year, I'm gonna be like, I could have continued if I just done this and I just done that. I could have kept going. And so I was like, screw it. Like, I'm just gonna put my head down and I'm gonna put one foot in front of the other, and I'm gonna try and, like, bring my temperature down emotionally and physically. Like, literally try and cool off my body, and then I should be able to keep going.

[Kennedy]

And.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And because our tour manager is an army Ranger, when he went through Ranger school, he lost £40 in two months. He was £123 when he finished.

[Kennedy]

For real?

[Jimmy Fayla]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

That's crazy.

[Jimmy Fayla]

He told me the one thing he took away from that was, you cannot believe what your body is capable of. You are capable of so much more than you realize. And that kind of went through my head the whole time.

[Kennedy]

But that kind of weight loss has been. And that's. I didn't lose that much when I had monkeypox. Like, that's. Stop it. Stop it.

[Jimmy Fayla]

Bath House Ozempic, as they call it.

[Kennedy]

Clinically.

[Jimmy Fayla]

And with that, we leave you. This has been Kennedy Saves the World along with Jimmy Faith. I'm Kennedy. Listen ad free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts and Amazon Prime. Members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon music app. Oh, go ahead and leave me a review while you're there. I'd love to hear what you have to say. You've been listening to Kennedy Saves the World on the Fox News podcast network.

[Kennedy]

It's the Will Kane Show. Watch it live at noon Eastern Monday through Thursday on fox news.com or on the Fox News YouTube channel. And don't miss a show. Get the podcast five days a week at fox newspodcasts.com or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.