Raising Awareness of FAD: Luke Runs Yorkshire Marathon for Rare Form of Dementia

Luke is running the Altra Yorkshire Marathon in October for Alzheimer's Research UK after his family was deeply affected by a rare form of the disease.

Luke was only 11 years old when his dad died at the age of 45 from a very rare form of dementia called Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD).

FAD is caused by a genetic mutation where, if inherited, it will almost certainly mean that you will go on to develop FAD in your lifetime. Any child of a parent diagnosed with the disease has a 50% chance of inheriting the same mutant gene, and therefore the disease. Symptoms typically develop earlier in life, when someone is in there 30s or 40s, and get worse over time.

While Luke took a genetic test in 2018, revealing that he doesn't carry the disease, his sister was not so fortunate.

"She continues to suffer to this day from the terrible disease. She is 42 years old."

The Yorkshire Marathon will be Luke's first ever marathon, and he will be raising awareness and funds for FAD into, not only helping to fund research into finding a cure, but also to support the network around those who are affected by it."

"Alzheimer's Research UK do incredible work into trying to tackle this disease, and ultimately finding a cure. The charity also funds a number of research projects specifically looking into FAD..."

"...Unfortunately, during the last couple of years for us as a family, it's been made clear that there is still some understanding and education needed to be done within the care system about rare dementia cases, specifically where the symptoms effect a person much younger than is typically known."

Luke has found running a great outlet for his mental health, and a source of positivity through the family's difficult times.

"I'm looking forward to the atmosphere of the day and, whilst I would love to run the marathon in sub 4 hours, I'll be happy enough just making it to the end!"

You can support Luke and his sister by visiting his JustGiving page, seen below, and help fund more research and support for those with Familial Alzheimer's Disease.