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Royal praise for FTD marathon running brothers

Elliot Ball
BBC Jordan Adams wearing a blue t-shirt and black running shorts runs with a white fridge on his back surrounded by other runners. Mo Farah, wearing a white t-shirt and sunglasses, runs beside him.BBC
Jordan Adams ran the entire London Marathon with a 25kg fridge on his back

Two marathon running brothers, one of whom completed the London Marathon with a fridge on his back, has been praised by the Prince of Wales.

Jordan and Cian Adams, known as The FTD Brothers, received a letter from the prince during their all-Ireland marathon challenge.

After carrying the 25kg fridgeduring the London Marathon, the brothers are now running a full marathon a day for 32 consecutive days across all counties of Ireland.

The brothers have raised more than £1m for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and their non-profit, the FTD Brothers Foundation. The pair lost their mum, Geraldine, to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2016, aged 52, and both have inherited the gene that caused it.

In the letter, Prince William wrote: "Many congratulations on completing the London Marathon, I am incredibly impressed with your inspiring journey and ambitious challenge to undertake 32 consecutive marathons across Ireland."

The brothers also lost 12 Irish relatives to the same condition, including their grandmother and aunt.

Their all-Ireland marathon challenge is dedicated to them, and they received the royal letter of approval on day 14 as they travelled through County Leitrim.

Jordan and Cian are pictured together inside a house. Jordan (on the left) has dark curly hair and is wearing a white t-shirt. Cian (on the right) has short, dark hair and is wearing a dark grey t-shirt and a checkered shirt over the top.
Prince William has said their marathon challenge in Ireland speaks to Jordan (left) and Cian's "remarkable strength"

In his letter, Prince William continued: "Taking on such a demanding challenge, to honour your mother's memory and raise awareness of frontotemporal dementia, speaks to your remarkable strength.

"You are inspiring people far beyond those who stood along the marathon route here in London, and those who will no doubt be cheering you on along the roads of Ireland."

'Incredibly surreal'

Reacting to the letter, Jordan Adams said he could never have imagined the impact that sharing his story could have had.

"To get recognition now from the Royal Family and Prince William is absolutely incredible and feels incredibly surreal. I don't think it'll sink in for a long time.

Cian Adams added "It's an extraordinary thing that we've raised that much awareness that it's reached all corners of the globe and now includes the Royal Family as well.

"It's people in these positions that matter, who are starting to get wind of our story and the importance of putting dementia on the map. Dementia research is still quite far behind other diseases and we don't want that to be the case anymore."

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