Brothers who lost two grandparents a year apart to dementia running 10k every day in January in their honour

Two brothers who are running 10 kilometres every day in January after losing two of their grandparents to dementia just one year apart from each other are so determined to finish the challenge they “literally sleep in (their) running kit” and think their grandparents would be “so proud” of them.

Joseph Griffiths, 22, a personal trainer, and Ben Griffiths, 27, a solicitor, who are from Pembrokeshire, Wales, and now live together in Battersea, London, lost their grandfather on their mother’s side, Brynmor Griffiths, in 2021.

Brynmor was diagnosed with dementia in 2014 after having a stroke, and the family found it incredibly difficult as they could barely visit him in his final stage of life due to the pandemic.

In 2021, the brothers’ grandmother on their father’s side, Poppy Griffiths, was diagnosed with the same condition and her “symptoms came on extremely quickly” – within a week, she could no longer recognise her family.

The following year, Poppy sadly died, but the brothers soon decided to set themselves a challenge – to run 10k a day in January – after having a few pints at Christmas while reminiscing about good times with their grandparents and looking back on how helpful Dementia UK was to them and their family.

The pair, who are regular gym goers but saw their challenge as something that would push them out of their comfort zones, have managed to surpass their target of £1,000 and have already decided which boozer they will be paying a visit to on January 31 to celebrate.

Ben told PA Real Life: “So one morning, we could be out running at six o’clock in the morning, or we could be running at 10 o’clock at night, and then we literally sleep in our running kit, and then we’re back out the following morning so we can both work around our work schedules.”

In 2014, their grandfather Brynmor Griffiths was diagnosed with dementia after having a stroke.

Ben explained: “He was very slow in developing (dementia) – his symptoms were just initial forgetfulness that got progressively worse.

“It led to things like incontinence in the middle stage, and in the late stages were things like, no recognition of family, not knowing where he was.

“And then he started to lose bodily functions like losing muscle, losing the ability to swallow and speak, and things like that.”

Brynmor experienced these symptoms throughout the pandemic, which made things even more difficult for the family.

Joseph said: “When we went in to see him on Christmas Day, we literally were only allowed to see him through the window, and we couldn’t see him in the room.

“He didn’t know it was us at all, and I think for mum especially that was very hard for her to deal with… we didn’t know if it might be the last time we spoke to him and then soon after, he did actually pass away.”

In 2021, the same year their grandfather died at the age of 83, their grandmother Poppy Griffiths was also diagnosed with dementia.

Ben said: “I think she got diagnosed with dementia, probably a year-and-a-half before she died… her symptoms came on extremely quickly.

“I remember one week, she knew exactly who we were, then the next time we saw her, she barely recognised our faces… she almost went back to childhood.

“She had a doll, which she looked after.”

In 2022, their grandmother died at the age of 96.

Ben explained what it was like losing two grandparents so close together, saying: “Seeing your parents not be recognised by their parents can have quite a significant effect.

“It’s almost like they’ve lost their own mum and dad and closed that chapter in their life before it’s even happened.

“And I think that’s the difficulty with dementia – it’s almost like they have died before they’ve actually gone just because they don’t recognise you, and you’ve struggled to get a response.”

Looking back on their experiences, the brothers think it changed their outlook on life.

Ben said: “I think it’s made me appreciate time with family… it makes me really want to go out and see the world and just do things because I’ve come to appreciate just how short it is going to be.”

Over Christmas 2023, the brothers decided to set themselves a challenge to help raise awareness about dementia and give back to Dementia UK, which supported the family throughout their grandparents’ lives, and continued to do so after they died.

Ben explained: “We’d probably had a couple of pints when we signed up to this!

“Over Christmas, we were looking back, talking about Nan and Grandad, and how Dementia UK were really good to us when dealing with the issue.

“And we thought, ‘How can we raise awareness? And what can we do to raise as much money as possible?’

“So we thought, right, let’s set ourselves a challenge.”

Since January 1, the brothers have run 10k a day, and have set themselves the challenge to do so until the end of the month.

But running so much every day has taken its toll on the brothers.

Ben said: “I saw a physio last night actually – I’m developing a type of tendinitis on my right foot.

“He said it’s just overuse… he’s given me some tape and he said to take ibuprofen and even walk the remainder of the challenge.

“And I said I want to get through it and I want to finish the challenge whatever it takes.

“He just said once you finish, take some time off because you will need it.”

Joseph added: “I’ve had some shin splints as well on my left leg so I bought some compression guards.

“You can sort of deal with shin splints, because when it gets sore just take a little bit of rest and then go again but I will definitely be taking a rest after this.”

The pair have also been vlogging their journey on Instagram, under the handles @itsbengriff and @joeyygriff, and on TikTok, under @josephgriffiths_ and @itsbengriff, managing to raise more than £1,000 for Dementia UK so far.

Ben said: “The first few weeks, we were actually quite shocked at how quick the donations came in… we had a lot of friends and family, and people in the local running club, sharing our stories.

“We’ve even had donations from strangers, which have been amazing.”

On how they plan to celebrate their final run, Ben said: “We’ve planned what pub we’re going to at the end!

“We’ve been joined by a few people on the runs… so perhaps on the last one, we’re going to see if everyone will come back and do one big one as a team.”

On what their grandparents would think of the mission, Joseph said: “I think if they were alive, they’d probably try to join us!

“I think they would be delighted – I know, our grandparents, who were the husband or wife, to the grandparents that had dementia would just be so grateful, especially Dementia UK were amazing.

“They showed us methods of dealing with the symptoms and sort of how to cope with it as a family and our grandparents were super grateful for that.

“So I just think they’d be really proud, and they’d want us to keep going – they probably want us to do something else after as well to be honest!”

To donate to the fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/page/benjaminandjoseph10kadayfordementia-1703958631659?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fbenjaminandjoseph10kadayfordementia-1703958631659&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share