Jordan Adams’ 32 County Challenge Enters Final Stretch After Raising £1.35 Million

When Run Republic first covered Jordan Adams and his brother Cian Adams back on April 29th, the scale of the challenge already sounded borderline unbelievable.

Thirty two marathons. Thirty two consecutive days. Thirty two counties across Ireland.

Now, with just ten days remaining, the challenge has become one of the most talked about endurance stories in Ireland this year.

The brothers, known online as The FTD Brothers, have now helped raise just under £1.35 million through a combination of Jordan’s heavily publicised London Marathon effort carrying a 25kg fridge and the ongoing 32 county Irish marathon challenge that has taken over roads, towns, running clubs, and social media feeds throughout May.

And somehow, the momentum still appears to be growing.

From Endurance Challenge To National Movement

What may have initially looked like another ambitious fundraising challenge has turned into something much bigger than that.

Across Ireland, local running clubs, GAA clubs, football teams, community groups, schools, and ordinary runners have continued turning out in huge numbers to join sections of the route. In many towns, what began as one runner arriving for another marathon has started resembling a rolling community event.

There is also an emotional weight behind the challenge that has clearly resonated with people.

The Adams brothers both carry the inherited gene linked to frontotemporal dementia, the same disease that claimed their mother Geraldine at just 52 years of age after years of decline. Multiple members of their wider family have also died from the condition.

Jordan has spoken openly throughout the challenge about wanting to use his healthy years to make as much impact as possible.

Ireland has responded in extraordinary fashion.

Social media clips from the challenge have spread constantly online throughout May, while local media outlets across the country have followed the brothers from county to county. At times it has genuinely felt as though the entire country has rallied behind them.

The Physical Toll Is Starting To Show

Of course, thirty two consecutive marathons was never going to be smooth.

By the halfway point of the challenge, Jordan admitted the physical and emotional exhaustion was beginning to hit hard. Day after day of marathon running combined with travelling, media appearances, crowds, interviews, and recovery on limited rest has clearly taken a heavy toll.

Speaking to The Journal earlier this month, Adams said: “It’s a privilege to be having these kinds of problems in terms of being tired, but the days are very long now because of the amount of press and the way it’s taken off.”

At this stage, the challenge no longer looks remotely comfortable.

There have been taped legs, tired faces, heavy strides, and the sort of fatigue that cannot really be hidden anymore. Yet every morning, regardless of how battered he looks, Jordan continues turning up for another 26.2 miles.

The final stretch of the route now brings the brothers through the south east and Midlands before the emotional finish in Dublin on May 28th.

Remaining Route Schedule

May 19th – Tipperary Town, County Tipperary
May 20th – Waterford City, County Waterford
May 21st – Kilkenny City, County Kilkenny
May 22nd – Wexford Town, County Wexford
May 23rd – Wicklow Town, County Wicklow
May 24th – Carlow Town, County Carlow
May 25th – Portlaoise, County Laois
May 26th – Tullamore, County Offaly
May 27th – Kildare Town, County Kildare
May 28th – Dublin City Finish

Support Continues To Pour In

Supporters are still being encouraged to come out and run sections alongside the brothers during the closing days of the challenge.

And in truth, that communal element has become one of the defining images of the entire month.

This has not felt like a polished corporate campaign or a carefully stage managed sporting event. It has felt far more raw and human than that. One exhausted runner dragging himself across Ireland while complete strangers step in beside him for a few miles to help carry the atmosphere.

There is also something uniquely Irish about the entire thing.

People hearing about it in a local radio interview that morning, showing up in a rain jacket an hour later, jogging two miles, handing over a tenner, taking a selfie, then heading off for a chicken fillet roll afterwards.

Not every sporting story needs elite times or finish line tape.

Sometimes simply getting up again the next morning is the achievement.

Follow And Support The Challenge

Those wishing to support the campaign, donate, or join sections of the remaining route can do so through the following links:

🌐 The FTD Brothers Official Website
📸 Instagram @theftdbrothers
❤️ GoFundMe Fundraiser
📸 The FTD Brothers Foundation Instagram