Allen completes second Ruck4Rare & pledges $1 million to ACD’s Race for a Cure
CARLSBAD, CA, UNITED STATES, March 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — (March 10, 2026) — Jeff Allen, winner of Beast Games Season 1 and a standout participant in Season 2, may be finished competing on television this time around, but his mission is far from over. Allen has made it clear: he will not give up until a cure is funded for his son Lucas, who lives with Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), a rare and devastating genetic disorder caused by mutations in the SLC6A8 gene.
Allen just completed his second Ruck4Rare challenge (www.ruck4rare.com), raising more than $225,000 for research to cure CTD. During Ruck4Rare, Allen walked a marathon a day across North Carolina for five days, carrying a backpack weighted to represent children affected by CTD: Lucas, Brody, Crosby, Reid, Allison, and Levi. Allen was joined on the trek by fellow Beast Games contestants, including season 2’s winner. Ruck4Rare’s season two culminated at Beast Studios with the presentation of two checks for ACD from MrBeast Lab totaling $15,000. The challenge is once again being documented on Allen’s YouTube channel, with the first episode dropping March 11.
Allen has also pledged $1 million over two years to the Association for Creatine Deficiencies’ (ACD) Race for a Cure, and with matching efforts and additional fundraisers over the past year, his family’s total contributions are nearing $1.5 million.
“Winning Beast Games gave me visibility, but what matters is how I use it,” said Allen, who also serves as vice board chair of the ACD. “Lucas and families like ours can’t afford to wait. Every mile I ruck, every fundraiser, every conversation is about moving a real treatment closer to the kids who need it. I’m committed to seeing this through—no matter how long it takes.”
Since his historic $10 million win in 2025, Allen has used his moment in the spotlight to amplify awareness of CTD and accelerate research toward a treatment. His story has been featured on Good Morning America, in People magazine, and across numerous high-profile podcasts and media platforms. He was also invited to ring the closing bell at Nasdaq—an event he shared with ACD, marking the official launch of the Race for a Cure initiative.
Race for a Cure was established to fast-track promising CTD research by funding projects that are aggressive in scope, demonstrate early positive results, and have the strongest potential to advance to clinical trials. With Allen’s direct involvement and advocacy, the initiative has already catalyzed momentum within the scientific community.
“Jeff’s commitment has fundamentally changed what is possible for our community,” said ACD Executive Director Heidi Wallis. “Race for a Cure is about moving faster, supporting bold science, reducing barriers to clinical trials, and ensuring families affected by CTD see meaningful progress in their lifetimes. Because of Jeff’s leadership and generosity, we are closer than ever to making that vision a reality.”
The research landscape for CTD is showing real promise. ACD-funded projects launching at Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University are demonstrating encouraging early results for potential treatments, and additional drug candidates are preparing to enter clinical trials. However, advancing a treatment through clinical trials requires tens of millions of dollars.
ACD and Allen are united in their commitment to make a treatment for CTD a reality. Together, they are calling on high-impact investors and philanthropic leaders to explore these opportunities and learn how strategic giving can fundamentally change the future—not only for Lucas, but for hundreds of individuals and families worldwide affected by Creatine Transporter Deficiency.
About ACD: The Association for Creatine Deficiencies’ mission is to eliminate the challenges of CCDS. ACD is committed to providing patient, family, and public education to advocate for early intervention through newborn screening, and to promote and fund medical research for treatments and cures for Cerebral Creatine Deficiency Syndromes. Because CCDS mimic symptoms of other medical conditions, patients are often first diagnosed with autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other disorders. Proper diagnosis and early intervention are critical to establishing interventions needed to improve life quality and longevity for the CCDS patient. For more information regarding ACD, please visit creatineinfo.org.
Erin Coller
Association for Creatine Deficiencies
+1 801-893-0543
email us here
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