Jordan Adams completed the 42.195 km at the London Marathon with a detail that did not go unnoticed: a 25 kg refrigerator on his shoulders. An extreme gesture, conceived not as a provocation but as a physical image of the burden of the disease that affects his family. During the race, among over 59 thousand participants, his slow and constant pace also attracted the attention of athletes like Mo Farah, who accompanied him for a stretch.
View this post on Instagram
A family marked by the frontotemporal dementia gene
Behind his feat there is a dramatic genetic story. Jordan and his brother Cian carry a rare gene for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), an aggressive neurodegenerative disease that has already hit their family hard. Mother Geraldine died aged 52, and at least 12 relatives in Ireland have been affected by the same condition. Medical estimates indicate a 99.9% chance that both brothers will develop the disease in the next few years. An awareness that transformed their life into a public mission.
32 marathons in 32 days: the trip to Ireland
After London, Jordan began an even more ambitious project: to run 32 marathons in 32 days across Ireland’s 32 counties, accompanied by his brother Cian on a bicycle. The journey passes through places linked to their family origins and the losses they have suffered. The project, called FTD Brothers, has already raised over £400,000, with the eventual aim of reaching £1 million for Alzheimer’s and dementia research.
View this post on Instagram
A message that goes beyond running
During the Irish stages, the support of the local communities transformed into a collective embrace. Between bagels, coffee and applause, the race becomes a public narrative of pain, but also of resilience. In the silence of the Irish streets and the noise of the marathons, Jordan and Cian are building something that goes beyond sport: a living testimony of what it means to live with a destiny written in the genes, but not yet in courage.
View this post on Instagram
You might also be interested in:
