A group of soldiers are hoping to raise £10,000 for The Everton Foundation by running a marathon.
The eight, volunteer members of the 156 Transport Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, will take on the Moscow International Marathon of Peace in September.
They are aiming to raise funds for disabled children and adults to take part in competitive organised sports events in Merseyside.
Major Mick Jessermino said: "A group of us decided to do a marathon but we wanted to do one that was not as well known as the likes of London, New York or Berlin; so we decided to go for Moscow as it’s such a fascinating city.
"With some of us having served in Germany for eleven years during the period of the East/West Cold War and, never having had the opportunity to cross the border into the East at the time, we thought it an ideal country to visit and sample the mystery that still is Russia during our marathon exploit.
"We wanted to raise money to support the communities we live and work in, so we got in touch with The Everton Foundation.
"We weren’t aware of just how many great programmes they had, and something which is specifically poignant for us is their sporting work with disabled ex-servicemen.
"More and more disabled ex-servicemen are going to be relying on charities like the Foundation for support and integration back into civilian life, so we wanted to help raise funds for their disability programmes."
The eight soldiers - Major Mick Jessermino, Major Jon Jennings, Captain Rob Peck, The Reverend Captain Tom Carmichael, Captain Graham Dowling, Staff Sergeant Geoff Irvine, Staff Sergeant Karl Davies and Lance Corporal Adam Waddington - are organising a number of fundraising events in the run-up to the marathon.
On April 4 at the Everton home game against West Ham, the group will be running and cycling on treadmill and exercise bikes for three hours continuously outside the Park End.
People who donate can guess how many miles they cover, and the closest guess wins a prize at half-time.
Another challenge at the Liverpool One shopping centre on Saturday August 21 will be to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest on a climbing wall, which the soldiers estimate will take around five hours.
You can make a donation by visiting www.justgiving.com/156runningmoscow.
For more information on The Everton Foundation visit www.evertonfoundation.org.uk
Joe Smith, Elton, Chester around 1 year, 11 months ago