A bereaved mum and her 77-year-old grandad braved the toughest-ever military obstacle course to raise money for Derian House, the children’s hospice that cared for their family.
Kaytlon Mann, 28, and grandad Robert Mann did not prepare at all for Born Survivor, where they joined 34 other daredevils on Saturday, 14 September in the Ribble Valley.
From epic mud slides and a fire pit jump, to a barbed wire army crawl and an enormous wall, grandad Robert didn’t hesitate when joining his granddaughter in confronting 30 arduous obstacles at the UK’s most authentic military course – despite being the oldest participant there.
Those who took part in Born Survivor raised an impressive £5,700 for Derian House, the charity that cares for 400 babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions from across the North West.
“Derian House was there for us when we needed it, and they still support us now,” said mum Kaytlon, of Bolton.
Kaytlon lost her baby son, James, aged just 20 days old in November 2022, after he was born with life-limiting condition Trisomy 13.
Tragedy continued when Kaytlon’s partner, Jamie, passed away just seven months later in May 2023.
Kaytlon, who is also mum to Lilly, aged one, said: “Me and Jamie had spoken about doing Born Survivor for Derian last year, but Jamie never made it. I decided to do it this year and asked my family if they’d do it with me in memory of my son James, and for my partner Jamie too. I will give anything a go to raise funds for the amazing Derian House.”
Kaytlon and grandad Robert took part in Born Survivor alongside Kaytlon’s two sisters, her best friend, and her cousin.
“Born Survivor was more mentally challenging than physically,” continued Kaytlon.
“The obstacles were difficult but there wasn’t one we didn’t like – we all had a great time. My favourite was the torpedo, a huge slide into water, I’d do that again!
“Grandad was the ringleader of us all – he had us running for most of it despite telling us he was only going to walk it. He was also responsible for us doing obstacles that we probably would have walked away from if he wasn’t there. There were a few that we looked at and thought, we can’t do that. And then grandad would say I’m doing it! So we had to do it otherwise grandad would have put us to shame.
“Grandad was very satisfied with himself. I rang him the day after to see how he felt. I was aching all over. So I said to him, how are you feeling? And he said great, nothing more than usual.
“We didn’t do any training, not one single bit,” continued Kaytlon.
“We thought, if we can go and do that with no training and spend a couple of days in pain, then it’s nothing compared to what some families go through. And we’d have raised money for Derian House to help support Derian’s children and the families. By not training, it made it more of a real challenge – for us it definitely was.”
Kaytlon’s team completed Born Survivor in just under three hours and raised £1,375 for Derian House.
Kaytlon’s grandad Robert Mann, a retired carpet manufacturer, said: “When I told Kaytlon I wanted to do Born Survivor with them, they all said oh you can’t do that! But the chance came up and I went for it. I didn’t know what to expect. At the start, I saw all these young people and gym goers and I thought I’ve got no chance with this lot.
“I’ve never been in a gym. I used to walk and cycle, but because I enjoyed it – not for fitness. Some of the obstacles I came to and I thought no, I can’t do that. But then I ended up doing them anyway. Or Kaytlon would tell me I shouldn’t do one of them, which made me want to do it even more. The most difficult was the waterboarding, because they hit you with freezing cold water cannons, but the rest were fine. I enjoyed it all, it was a great experience and all for a fantastic cause.”
Donate to Kaytlon and Robert’s Born Survivor efforts on JustGiving.
Kerry Salmon, Community Fundraiser at Derian House, said: “Kaytlon and her team were so determined to finish the obstacle course – they have definitely proven they have what it takes to be a Born Survivor! Robert became grandad to so many people that day, everybody was cheering him on. He was amazing.
“Thank you to every single person who took part in this year’s event. Every penny raised will mean the world to our families – well done everyone.
“It will cost £6million to run services at Derian House in 2024, and so we rely heavily on all of our kind-hearted supporters who help us to continue to do what we do.”
Derian House, based in Chorley, Lancashire, cares for more than 400 babies, children, young people and their families from across the North West.
