Chris Young, of Cleator Moor, is among those to have been recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.
The 31-year-old has been awarded Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to positive safety culture and to male mental health.
Chris has raised nearly £100,000 for charity and completed a number of marathons for good causes after struggling with his own mental health.
He ran 30 marathons every day for a month to mark his 30th birthday in April last year and raised thousands of pounds for Hospice at Home West Cumbria and Hearts of Gold West Cumbria.
Chris also ran 84 miles to mark World Suicide Prevention Day in September last year which raised more than £11,000 for Carlisle and Eden Mind.
This year, he organised a community marathon to beat ‘Blue Monday’ – the third Monday in January which is said to be the most depressing day of the year – to give people the opportunity to get out and connect with others while running or walking.
Chris Young has raised nearly £100,000 for charity after running a number of marathons (Image: Submitted)
Chris, who works as a health physics monitor at Sellafield, also works alongside the Apprentice Council and has inspired Sellafield apprentices to do positive work in the community.
Chris said: “I’m buzzing. It was a nice, welcome surprise. I didn’t have any idea I had been nominated. I got a letter come through the post a few weeks ago and had no idea what it was.
“It’s predominantly for my work around mental health and in my job because of the engagement I do around mental health and running.
“I would like to thank everybody who has supported me in any way – whether it’s running or a message. For me, the biggest part about it is how much it means to other people.
“It gives them the opportunity to get out the house and gives them an outlet, particularly if they’ve got something going on in their lives. That means as much to me as anything else – being able to help and inspire other people.”