SOLDIERS will tackle the country's biggest half marathon wearing 35lbs of Army kit in memory of a colleague who died from cancer.

Eight members of the Guards Training Company, based at Catterick Garrison, will take part in the Great North Run, from Newcastle to South Shields, on September 30.

They hope to raise at least £2,000 for the North East Promenaders Against Cancer (NEPAC), a Newcastle-based charity which raises money for cancer research and hospices across the UK.

The troops are running in memory of Coldstream Guard Lance Sergeant Adrian Cross, who died in January, aged 28, three months after a bone marrow transplant.

He was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in October 2005 and underwent a transplant the following year after chemotherapy at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle.

Lance Sgt Cross, a former student of Gosforth High School and a Newcastle United fan, was based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, when he was diagnosed, but was planning to move with his wife, Kelly, and daughters, Ellie, five, and two-year-old Maisie, to North Shields.

Following his transplant, he wanted to complete the 13.1-mile Great North Run to raise money for the hospital cancer team, but died 102 days after the operation.

His mother, Sue, is taking part in the race and hopes to raise 1,500 for NEPAC.

"My run will be a tribute to Adrian," she said. "He was such a wonderful son, brother, husband and father and he showed the most tremendous courage during his illness."

She said that NEPAC founder Rosalynde Walker supported the family and gave much of her time to raise funds to help improve life for cancer patients.

Lance Sgt Cross's cousin, Nicola Walker, and her friends will also take part in the run.

NEPAC was launched in 1989 and has raised more than £1m with a series of Last Night of the Proms style concerts. The next event is at Newcastle City Hall on October 13, at 7pm. Tickets are £12 to £25 from the box office, tel 0191-261-2606.

The Catterick Garrison soldiers can be sponsored via the website www.justgiving.com/guardstrainingcompany