Manchester's Richard Peers has set himself a marathon fundraising challenge - quite literally.
The 26-year-old is preparing to run six marathons across three continents in three weeks this summer. Mr Peers, who lives in Altrincham, will be raising money for a Russian orphanage charity with links to the Jewish community.
He tells People: "I have decided to take up this challenge to raise awareness for the many thousands of Russian orphans whose lives are deprived of the basic necessities that we often take for granted." He hopes to raise £50,000 for Kostroma Kids, an orphanage regulated by US charity iOrphan.com, after he volunteered at an orphanage in Kostroma, north east Moscow, last year.
The charity works in close partnership with a number of Jewish centres across Russia, notably the Hope Family Commune in St Petersburg, which cares for street children affected by malnutrition and psychological problems. A considerable amount of the proceeds will be going to the Hope Commune. The six marathons are in Kigali (Rwanda), Crimea (Ukraine), Krasnodar (Russia), Moscow (Russia), St Petersburg (Russia) and Tallinn (Estonia). How is the preparation going? "I am running four to seven miles, six times a week, and will push myself further. I have run a few 10km runs before and my general philosophy is that it does not matter how fast or slow I run. My main aim to complete all 26 miles without walking or stopping."
Mr Peers intends to start fundraising with the North Cheshire Jewish Primary School in collaboration with Councillor Karen Barclay. A coach and scout for Burnley FC's Junior Development centre in Cheshire, he says: "I hope the Jewish community will support me with my endeavours to raise as much money as possible for the benefit of the children."
He will complete the runs between August 7 and September 1.
