Running Towards the Inevitable”: The FTD Brothers Turn Time Into Purpose
Ireland, May 2, 2026 — Jordan Adams is spending his 30th birthday the only way that makes sense to him now: running. Not for a medal. Not for a time. But as part of a relentless, deeply personal mission already underway — 33 marathons in 33 consecutive days. This isn’t day one. It’s another step in a journey that began just days ago, immediately after one of the most extraordinary moments of his life. Last weekend, Jordan ran the London Marathon with a 25kg fridge strapped to his back, a powerful and deliberate act to force attention onto a disease that has shaped — and will ultimately define — his future. The very next day, on Monday, April 27, he began the next phase: running a marathon every day across Ireland’s 32 counties. Today, as he turns 30, he is already several marathons in.
A Race Against What’s Coming
Jordan and his younger brother Cian — known as The FTD Brothers — are not just endurance athletes. They are running against something they cannot outrun. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has already taken their mother, Geraldine, who was diagnosed at just 47 and died at 52. Now, both brothers carry the same genetic mutation, giving them a near certainty of developing the disease themselves, likely in their early 40s. It’s a future they’ve already witnessed up close. And one they refuse to accept quietly.
Turning Certainty Into Action
Instead of retreating from that reality, they’ve built a mission around it. Their goal: raise £1 million for dementia research and support, funding both the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and their own FTD Brothers Foundation. The scale of the challenge reflects the urgency of their cause: • 33 marathons in 33 days • One in every county of Ireland • A journey that began just one day after London It is, quite literally, a race against time.
Why Ireland?
This is not just a physical route — it’s a deeply symbolic one. Ireland is where their mother’s roots lie, and where key research into their family’s genetic condition was carried out. It’s also where many of the relatives they’ve lost to FTD lived — part of a devastating pattern that has affected multiple generations. By running every county, Jordan isn’t just covering distance. He’s representing every family living with dementia.
A Birthday Marked by Truth
To mark his 30th birthday, Jordan has also written a powerful poem, “Be Sure to Tell Them.” In it, he lays out — with clarity and courage — what FTD will take from him: his voice, his independence, his identity. But the poem is not about surrender. It’s about legacy. About choosing to live fully while he still can — and ensuring that when the disease eventually takes hold, his story doesn’t disappear with it.
More Than Miles
This challenge is not about athletic achievement. It’s about visibility. Conversation. Urgency. It’s about forcing the world to look at a disease that often goes unseen until it’s too late. And it’s about making sure that when Jordan Adams can no longer tell his story himself… Someone else will.
