Marathon Man Chris raises £30,000 for charities through his love of running

Colleagues at our Bedminster store in Bristol affectionately call Chris Copeland the Marathon Man because of his love of running and willingness to go the extra mile to help them at work.

Sixty-two-year-old Chris, who has epilepsy, has raised more than £30,000 for charities over the years and has received letters from the Queen and Prince Charles thanking him for his fundraising.

Chris, who's lived in Bristol all his life, has raised money for a number of charities including Breast Cancer Now, MacMillan Cancer Support, the Bristol Children's Hospital and the Epilepsy Society.

He said: "I love running. I've done 48 marathons and half-marathons since 2006. I did the London Marathon in 3 hours 37 minutes; that's my fastest time. My favourite one is the Great North Run though which I've only done once.

"I've raised money for all different charities, about £30,000 over the years. I am proud of myself. I get sponsored from friends, colleagues and customers – they're always very generous."

Chris, who's worked at the store's warehouse for 32 years, said: "I send letters to the Royal Family telling them how I got on with my running and I always get a reply. They know about my fundraising."

Julie Ryan, Asda Bedminster's community champion, said: "Chris is always raising money and is always trying to do stuff for other people through his running. He loves running – he even runs to work and runs home!

"He must have started when the store first opened – he's like the fabric of the building really.

"He's just lovely and an amazing colleague. I can't say any more than that. Colleagues here think he's just great. He's really positive and got lots of energy and will do anything anyone asks him to do. At Christmas he always dresses up as the Nutcracker."

Chris recently received an award from the store for all the hard work that he does.

Store manager Stuart Goldspink said: "Chris is a real character; he's got a heart of gold. He's done a lot of work for charity and has raised thousands and thousands of pounds. We are all proud of him – he's just amazing.

"He's got so many letters from the Queen and Prince Charles. He's just an all-round passionate colleague, who will do anything for anybody. He is always striving to be everybody's friend and everybody's support. He's such a great asset to the store."