Brothers hope running 33 marathons in 33 days will raise over €1m for dementia research
Jordan Adams (left) holds an image of his mother Geraldine as he stands with his brother Cian ahead of the start of day eight of a 32-day fundraising run in Ireland. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA
Two brothers taking part in a marathon challenge for dementia research are set to smash a £1m (€1.14m) fundraising target as they travel across Ireland.
Jordan and Cian Adams have been diagnosed with a rare gene which causes frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which means they have a high chance of developing dementia in their 40s.
Their mother Geraldine died at the age of 52 after developing FTD.
Jordan, 30, is running 33 marathons in 33 days to raise funds and awareness of dementia, with support from physio brother Cian, 25.
The so-called FTD Brothers, from Redditch, Worcestershire, England, had set a target of raising £1m before they develop symptoms.
Jordan began by running the London Marathon on April 26 while carrying a 25kg fridge on his back, before travelling to Ireland to run a marathon a day in each of the 32 counties.
The odyssey included competing in the Belfast Marathon on Sunday and will conclude in Dublin on May 28.
On Monday, hundreds came out to support the brothers as they set off for their latest run in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Cian said: “It is really rare but familial frontotemporal dementia runs in our family.
“That accounts for less than 1% of dementias.
“Mum was one of 13 cousins, and eight out of the 13 had dementia in their 40s.
“Myself and my brother Jordan have been tested, and we know that we carry the mutation that causes that FTD.”
Jordan said: “I was 15 when mum was diagnosed. Mum went from being this vivacious, bubbly, life and soul character. She was a beautiful person inside and out.
“We noticed small but significant changes around 2008/09 when mum became more socially withdrawn, she wasn’t herself, and alongside that were the issues with memory and the basic, simple cognitive tasks like driving us to school in the morning became difficult for her.
“My dad went on a journey to get answers, and it took him two years to eventually get the diagnosis.
“She died at the age of 52.
“She was a shell of the human being she had been, and it was incredibly cruel to watch.”
Just two years later, in 2018, Jordan's genetic consultant told him that he is a carrier of the mutation.
"That gives me a 99.9% chance of getting FTD. Since then I have tried to use my diagnosis as a licence to live.
“We don’t have a choice with the cards you get dealt in life, but you have a choice at how you play your hand.
“Five years later Cian was given the diagnosis at the age of 23. Overnight the FTD Brothers were born.”
The brothers have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity over the past eight years, but said their fundraising efforts and recognition have taken off since they began their latest challenge.
Jordan said: “We have come back to the place my mum called home here in Ireland, and we have been received like we could never have expected.
“The Irish people have got behind us so incredibly. I think we are going to need some crowd control by the time we get to Dublin because it is getting a bit crazy.”
Cian said the public reaction has been "absolutely mind-blowing, unbelievable".
“It takes Jordan about 10 minutes to get anywhere because he is like the selfie king now.
“We are grateful to the Irish people for getting behind two English lads.”
The brothers’ “lifetime goal” of raising £1m was surpassed last week, and they are on track to pass £1m during their London Marathon and Irish challenge.
Cian said: “It feels like the whole of Ireland is behind us now and people all over the globe."
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