ATLANTA — Many people forget their New Year's Resolutions after January passes, but one man in Georgia has kept up with his for nearly half a century.
Back in 1973, Richard Westbrook decided to get up and run every single day, and in 2023, he dawned his running shoes and hit the pavement to start his 50th year.
"If ducks can do it," Westbrook said, "I can do it."
Rain or shine, Westbrook hasn't let anything stop him from crossing the finish line, and those wondering if anyone keeps up with daily running can look no further than the Run Everyday website.
Westbrook ranks number 5 in his sex and age group for the site, with nearly 18,000 days tracked.
"When it's really, really cold or really, really windy," Westbrook said. "Cold, like 20 degrees or in the teens. I put on so much clothes, I feel like frosty the snowman."
His wife, Jan Westbrook, jokes saying people find Richard strange, but expresses the resolution turned habit has become part of their life.
"We've had to sometimes reschedule things or change things because he's had to run," she said and joked later, "I told him I was going to shoot him in the foot, but I didn't."
Richard said that being shot in the foot might not stop him, and he's gunning for the top spot on the running streak website.
"I'll go out and have a streak and think, maybe one of those guys missed a day," he said. "Maybe there's eight feet of snow, and they can't run."
And through sickness, injuries and Jan's protests, people can still find Richard running at least once daily. His secret is taking it one step at a time.
"It's got to be broken up into small parts," he said. "Take it day by day."
Aside from Richard's daily running, he's completed a few races as well; one of the first was in 1992 – when he spent 65 days running across the U.S. He's also run across the Peach State three times, and almost every summer, he runs 315 miles from Missouri to Georgia.
Richard said the exercise has helped him run down every obstacle life has thrown at him.
"It surprises you when you look back and think, 'Wow, I did all that,'" he said.