London Marathon hero who ran with 25kg fridge on his back tears up as he talks about heartbreaking story

It’s no secret that the London Marathon brings out the best in humanity.

Each year, tens of thousands line the streets to cheer on elite athletes and everyday heroes, including talkSPORT’s very own Shebahn Aherne, who push themselves to the limit.

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But for Jordan Adams, a 30-year-old from Redditch who ran the marathon for the fifth time, Sunday’s race meant a whole lot more.

That’s because Adams ran the entire distance with a 25kg fridge strapped to his back.

Why did Jordan Adams run the London Marathon with a fridge on his back?

Adams pulled off the Herculean feat to help raise awareness regarding dementia, a disease which has cruelly taken 12 of his relatives as well as his mother, Geraldine.

Geraldine was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2010 at age 47 and tragically passed away six years later.

Two years after his mother’s passing, Jordan found out he is a carrier of the MAPT mutation, which means there is a ‘99.9 per cent chance’ he will be diagnosed with FTD.

Adams’ younger brother, Cian, who ran the London Marathon but without a fridge, is also a carrier of the same mutation and equally at risk of a FTD diagnosis.

Tragically, it means that the Adams brothers will likely become symptomatic in their early 40s and pass away 10 years after being officially diagnosed with FTD.

It’s why, when explaining the backstory of running with a fridge to Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend on talkSPORT’s Sports Breakfast, the older Adams brother choked up.

“I’m getting emotional about it now because I was trying to hold it in for 26.1 miles yesterday,” Adams said.

“Honestly, it felt like the whole of London was with me and I’ve never experienced anything like that. I probably never will do in my life.”

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Preparing for Sunday’s event was no mean feat, either.

Thanks to Cian, who is a fully qualified physiotherapist, Jordan had a ‘meticulous’ training plan set in place from the start of the year.

Having begun training with a weighted vest, Jordan soon upgraded to the fridge, but that plan went awry when a frame snapped off while on a 28km run.

“My father-in-law, bless him, he’s a fabricator, welded it, bolted it, so it was all one piece,” Adams said.

“It’s awkward, it’s heavy.”

The FTD Brothers’ next absurd physical challenge

Despite the physical toll of the London Marathon on the duo, who have become known as ‘The FTD Brothers’, Sunday’s effort pales in comparison to what is up next.

@ftdbrothers - Instagram

The Adams brothers plan to run 32 marathons in 32 days through Ireland’s 32 counties, beginning in County Antrim on Monday.

Unsurprisingly, the fridge will not make an appearance throughout the Irish counties.

“We’ve been doing endurance challenges since 2018,” Adams said.

“In 2024, we ran the length of the UK. This is something I’ve got experience in. This has been seven, eight years worth of running marathons, doing endurance events, training for them.

“Yeah, look, there’s a huge chance I’m putting my body through risk of injury. There’s a lot of jeopardy involved in that. I’ve got a high risk of getting a stress fracture or something quite severe.”

And even though Adams planned to be ‘taking it steady’ for the first of 32 marathons having woken up a ‘tired man’, he is ‘a tired man with a huge cause on a mission to make dementia visible.’

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“Back in 2023 when my brother got his diagnosis, we set a goal to raise £1million before frontotemporal takes over our lives,” Adams continued.

“As of yesterday, we went over around the half-million pound mark towards that, which is incredible. But what a story it would be if we could raise £1m on this challenge. We’d absolutely love that.

“As a family, it’s been a lot of hard work and sacrifice. I quit my job at the end of 2024 as a painter and decorator alongside my dad and my uncle with no savings behind me to just put on this mission to try and create a legacy for my family, knowing I’ve got the best part of 10 years before FTD starts to strip me of everything that makes me Jordan Adams.

“I want to raise as much money but as much awareness as possible to help families that often feel unsupported, unseen and isolated. We’re bringing hope to as many families that have experienced the devastation of dementia as possible.”

How to donate to the FTD Brothers

The talkSPORT audience has already shown their willingness to get behind the FTD Brothers.

Prior to Jordan’s appearance on the Sports Breakfast, their GoFundMe page sat at £393,000.

But listeners were evidently touched by the family’s heartbreaking story, as the funds raised on the page rose to £443,000 by the time Jordan had wrapped up his interview, with the figure continuing to rise.

If you would like to donate to the FTD Brothers’ GoFundMe page, you can do so by clicking here.