Who is Deano the Dementiasaurus?
Deano the Dementiasaurus is a friendly green dinosaur who runs races all over the country to raise awareness of dementia and money for dementia research. Over the last 10 years, Deano has run half marathons in Cardiff, Swansea, Newcastle, Blackpool, Liverpool, and Manchester. He’s even run some of them together with his mam, Helen! Recently, Deano’s efforts have taken on a more personal meaning as Helen was herself diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As Deano spent time caring for his mam, he learned more about this disease – both the devastating impact it can have on the affected individual and their loved ones, but also the wonderful community that exists to support those with dementia to continue living fulfilling and active lives. Sadly, Helen passed away in summer 2026, but Deano continues to run races to honour her memory and to help find a cure so that others needn't go through the experience as Helen.
Before becoming an avid runner, Deano the Dementiasaurus was just a normal dinosaur working in a primary school in Wales. However, like with most things, Deano eventually seemed old and was left, abandoned and unwanted, at the back of a stock cupboard. That was until he was discovered during an end-of-term clear out. Given a new lease of life, Deano realised that he didn't want to just be a normal dinosaur any more. He wanted to be a dementiasaurus! What's more, he had a sudden urge, as dementiasauri often do, to start running. Since that day, Deano the Dementiasaurus has been running races with one mission: to drive dementia to extinction!
