Jordan Adams checked his watch in a 17th-century Co Antrim garden as a crowd chanted a countdown before the first of his 32 marathons across Ireland.
Squirrels ran the length of enormous copper beech trees as he got into position at Antrim Castle Gardens on Monday morning. Behind him, a maze of manicured hedges stood lined with rows of tulips.
“My main worry right now is that I have no clue of the route – I’m just relying on my watch. Even getting out of this park, it looks amazing,” Adams joked.
The 30-year-old, from Redditch, Worcestershire, arrived in Belfast shortly after midnight after completing the London Marathon with a 25kg fridge on his back.
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By his side is his brother, Cian (25), a physiotherapist who is cycling the route – ending in Dublin – across 32 counties in 32 days.
The siblings carry a rare gene for frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which causes early onset dementia.
Their mother, Geraldine, died from the condition aged 52 and the family has lost 12 relatives living in Ireland to it.
There is a 99.9 per cent chance that Jordan and Cian will develop the aggressive terminal disease in their 40s.
Losing his mother in 2016 “changed everything” for Jordan, a former painter and decorator who wants to raise £1 million (€1.15 million) for Alzheimer’s research.
Jordan figured running the London Marathon with a household appliance on his back would be a good way to draw attention to their fundraising efforts, but he has left the fridge at home for this stretch of the campaign.
Five minutes before setting off, he pointed to his forearm where “Love always” is tattooed; the words are also stitched into the side of his running top.
“‘Love always’ was how my mum used to always sign off cards, that’s her handwriting I have on my arm,” he said. “I hope we’re doing her proud.”
More than £400,000 has been raised to date through endurance challenges by the pair, who call themselves the FTD Brothers.
Following his diagnosis, Jordan said he “had a choice”.
“There’s no cure for this disease so we’re trying to make a difference.”
Behind him in the Co Antrim gardens is his mother-in-law, Helen, the “chef” for their marathons. Peanut butter and jam bagels, a banana and “plenty of coffee” have been “provided by Helen to keep us going”.
Crowds of early morning runners and walkers gathered among the flower beds to support the brothers.
“It’s quite overwhelming at the moment to see all these people come out,” Jordan said. “This [series of marathons] is something we came up with last year but we’ve been working around this for the last eight years to raise awareness.
“It’s taken a hell of a lot of planning from family and friends.”
Among their supporters is Co Antrim runner Barry Williamson, who was wearing his medal from Sunday’s London Marathon.
“You’re an inspiration, mate, honestly,” said Williamson, shaking Jordan’s hand.
The family discovered the FTD gene came from their maternal grandmother’s side. She hailed from Co Leitrim and they also have relatives in Longford.
“So we’re coming back here, there’s Irish relatives that we’ve lost with a form of FTD. We just want to honour their memory and keep them lit,” added Jordan.
Cian strapped on his cycling helmet and joined his brother in thanking those present in the gardens.
He was just nine years old when his mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2011.
Their sister, Kennedy, does not carry the gene, which was the “greatest news”, Cian added.
“FTD has literally devastated our family. So many of our family members, particularly Irish family members, have passed,” he said.
“We feel we haven’t had the opportunity to rekindle our Irish roots so this is a nice way to do it.
“We don’t know how many healthy years we’ve left. To run marathons with your brother, to travel round and have this kind of support – there’s no better way to spend our time.”
