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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 aiming to raise funds for disabled children and adults to take part in competitive organised sports events in Merseyside.

Major Mick Jessermino, who will take part as one of the eight, 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.

One such event, 'The Treadmill Challenge' will take place on Sunday 4th April prior to the Everton's Premier League home game against West Ham. The group will be running and cycling on treadmills and exercise bikes for three hours continuously outside the Park End between 12pm and 3.30pm.

We are asking our supporters to help the soldiers raise funds by donating any spare cash or loose change on the day or take part in a guess the distance question. This will be measured in terms of the number of times the group would have travelled around the Goodison Park pitch during this Challenge. The person with the winning answer will receive a framed Everton shirt signed by the current first team squad.

You can also make a donation by visiting www.justgiving.com/156runningmoscow.