More than 300 people competed in the sixth annual The Hammy event in Kent on Saturday.
The CrossFit and 5k event was founded in 2012 after Kent native and Army Specialist Adam Hamilton died during a tour in Afghanistan.
Hamilton, a graduate of Kent Roosevelt High School, died of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device (IED) during a night mission in Haji Ruf, Afghanistan. He was just 22 years old.
"I just couldn't believe it. It was just like, please tell me no. And that replays in my mind all the time," Adam's father, Scott, said.
While Hamilton may be gone, his legacy lives on each year at The Hammy.
The Hammy is a CrossFit workout created in honor of Hamilton's strength and sacrifice.
"It doesn't matter. You don't have to be a superior athlete, you don't have to be a tri-athlete you just have to be out here and give effort," CrossFit Cadre owner Jason Welch said. "It's always been about Adam and his sacrifice and all the service men and women that sacrifice all the time."
"To watch this grow each and every year is a challenge but it's rewarding," Hamilton's father said. "When I talk to Adam I let him know how difficult this is but I tell him I'll do it for the rest of my life because he deserves it."
The money raised at the event goes to the Adam S. Hamilton Memorial Academic & Athletic Scholarship Fund. Each year, two $10,000 scholarships are awarded to worthy Roosevelt High School seniors who have shown leadership in the classroom, on the playing fields and in the community.
"When I give those scholarships out, it makes me smile and I know this is Adam," Scott said.
