A dad and daughter duo have smashed a Hyrox and raised over £2,000 for sufferers of a rare disease, which took the father’s vision and hearing.
Kate and Mark Flanagan defied all odds by completing the intense indoor fitness competition in just 1 hour and 53 minutes.
The 22-year-old started running to make positive steps after her own battle with disordered eating and wanted to raise money for a good cause.
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The rare condition – that roughly affects one in 250,000 people – changed their lives forever, causing the 61-year-old to give up almost everything.
Mark, who was born deaf, didn’t know he had the condition until he was diagnosed at 48 years old.
Following two small car accidents in 2012, the former clothing business owner suspected he had issues with his vision.
After speaking with doctors and a number of tests, Mark was sat down and told he had Usher Syndrome – a genetically inherited condition.
That conversation changed his life forever. He was advised to give up his driving license, which heavily impacted the family business.
Despite owning a number of shops, they made the tough decision to slowly close them down after it became ‘untenable’ to keep them open.
“It was incredibly hard to deal with; it changed all our lives,” Mark, of Northwich, Cheshire, told Need To Know.
“I was driving at least 30,000 miles a year. I managed to get a driver through the Access to Work scheme, but it became untenable to keep them all running.
“We decided to slowly shut all the shops down, and by 2021, I retired completely.”
Kate, who describes her dad as her ‘hero’, entered a half-marathon in 2023 to help raise money for Retina UK.
The incredible charity uses the funds to research conditions like Usher Syndrome to help find a cure – they also help care for families struggling with the diagnosis.
In 2024, the personal trainer got involved with the Hyrox community, where she has now competed in five different competitions.
During this time, Mark, who had never run 1km in his life, decided to make a healthy change.
Despite being severely sight-impaired, the 61-year-old started seeing a personal trainer, which kick-started his own fitness journey.
With Kate’s passion for Hyrox and Mark’s new health goals, the duo decided to enter the mixed doubles competition in Birmingham on 23 Oct.
Following five months of training in his garage gym using just weights, a treadmill and a bike – combined with intense feelings of ‘what have I got myself into’ from Mark, the duo achieved the unthinkable.
The 22-year-old acted as a guide for her father, with staff also helping walk him through the stations, which the pair split equally during the competition.
Kate said: “It was such an emotional day, I nearly welled up halfway through – I was just so proud of him.
“I was really nervous going into it, as for me, I know exactly what my dad needs and how to help him – but others don’t.
“Once we started, those feelings vanished as the staff were incredible and throughout other competitors were cheering us on.
“When I shared it online, I had loads of amazing people reaching out to us, telling me that we’d inspired them to sign up for one.
“Gymshark even reached out and donated £500 to the cause. I was blown away.”
Mark added, “I can’t see or really hear what’s going on, so I essentially put my life in Kate’s hands.
“I couldn’t believe it when we had finished, everyone was congratulating us – it was really nice.”
Following their incredible performance, Mark is now working towards competing in a Hyrox on his own.
The 61-year-old has set his sights on completing the circuit with his daughter guiding him along the way.
Mark said, “The big thing for me now is to just try and continue being an inspiration to others. Always remember if you set out to achieve your goals, nothing is impossible.”
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