Dementia-risk brothers pass home in UK ultra run

Two brothers who carry a rare dementia gene are more than half way through an ultra marathon challenge to run the length of the UK.

Jordan and Cian Adams ran from Stourport to Tewkesbury on Saturday, as part of their 30-miles-a-day journey from John O'Groats to Land's End in 31 days.

After their mother died from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) aged 47, the siblings were inspired to put all their efforts into raising awareness about the condition.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast last week, they said they might only have "15 summers left".

The brothers, from Redditch, have reached day 21 of the challenge, to help raise money for research towards finding a cure for the disease.

Earlier Jordan, 29, told BBC Midlands Today their mum's death in 2016 was a wake-up call for the brothers and older sister Kennedy - and they all got tested for the gene.

Kennedy was not a carrier, but the brothers tested positive, he said.

"It was very tough to contend with, watching mum slowly deteriorate," he explained.

"Me and Cian found out at the age of 24 that we're both carriers of frontotemporal dementia and will start getting symptoms in our 40s.

"Since then, we've dedicated our lives to making a difference and raising vital funds for research that we hope one day will find a cure."

FTD is an uncommon type of dementia that causes problems with behaviour, memory, and language, according to the NHS.

Jordan and Cian, who go by "the FTD brothers" on social media, hope to raise £100,000 with the challenge.

"We've smashed £100,000 already and with gift-aid we hope to hit at least half a million," Jordan said.

Speaking about how far along they've come in the challenge, he added: "Today is the closest we've come to running near our home town in Redditch, and the local support has been a massive lift with 10 days left to go."

The brothers expect to make it to Land’s End on 1 October.

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