Holly PhillipsEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
HandoutA 17-year-old known as The Hull Boy has described winning the Pride of Britain Special Recognition award as “a dream come true”.
Marcus, from Malton, North Yorkshire, has taken on multiple challenges to raise money for the charity Mind after struggling with his own mental health.
Known to his large online following as The Hull Boy because of his love of Hull City FC, Marcus became the youngest person to run the entire length of Britain in June, raising more than £160,000.
He said: “I’m so grateful to be able to win it and I never thought it would be possible. It just goes to show things do get better.”
The awards ceremony had been “everything I thought it would be”, he said, adding: “It was beautiful getting to hear the stories of the other winners.”
Marcus was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety and intrusive thoughts.
In an effort to improve his mental health, he began walking short distances before building up distance and speed and jogging longer routes.
In 2024, he started running one mile a day for charity. He was joined on the final leg by Russ Cook – known as the Hardest Geezer – who made global headlines after running the length of Africa.
Marcus raised £8,000 for mental health charity Mind before going on to raise a further £19,590 after running a marathon in London.
In April, he took on his biggest challenge, running from Land’s End to John O’Groats and became the youngest person and first under the age of 18 to run the entire length of Britain.
HandoutThe award was presented to Marcus by singer Anne-Marie, who is an ambassador for Mind, and reality TV personalities Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson.
Marcus told his 37,300 followers on Instagram that he “doesn’t often get star struck” but he was “shaking a bit” when he was on stage with Anne-Marie.
During the ceremony on Monday night, he was seated on a table with the Strictly Come Dancing cast and said his mum had been “in her element”.
Mind raised £50,000 on the night and Marcus was told there will be 20 running and walking groups across the UK called Marcus’ Movers to help people’s mental health.
Completing the London Marathon in April next year is his next goal. After that, Marcus said he would love to run the length of America.
The Pride of Britain award show will be aired on ITV on Thursday at 20:00 BST.