Rick Hatcher may just be Canberra Times Fun Run's biggest fan. So much so, he hasn't missed a single race since the event began in 1976.
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The 2014 Canberra Times Fun Run, presented by Westpac, on September 7 will be the 39th race for the 66 year old.
Mr Hatcher, from Evans Head, did not always consider himself a runner and only took up the sport as a way of keep "a bit of fat off".
But what started as a way of keeping fit soon blossomed into a love affair with fitness for Mr Hatcher and he eventually progressed to running marathons.
Even after nearly four decades of pounding the pavement, Mr Hatcher's enthusiasm for keeping fit shows no sign of waning.
"I've got what you call buggered legs from running too long for too many miles from when I was in training for marathons but I run and walk one day a week, I do about 11.5 kilometres and the other six days a week, I ride my push bike 20 odd kilometres," he said. "I also go for a swim. I love it."
Mr Hatcher will do the 10-kilometre course of this year's Canberra Times Fun Run and insists it won't be his last.
"There's a guy called Jim White and he's done, I think, it's two less Canberra Times Fun Runs than me so he's one of the reasons, I can't afford to stop otherwise he'd catch up to me," he said.
And his advice for people who might be contemplating putting on their running shoes to take part in their first fun run?
"I suppose I'd just encourage them not to try and overexert themselves to start with. Start slowly. If it's their first go, don't go and try and do faster than anyone's ever gone before," he said.
"Keep a record of the time you do and next year, try and go a little bit faster and a little bit faster the following year. Also get into regular races."
Registrations are now open for the event's 14-kilometre, 10-kilometre and 5-kilometre courses.
Register at canberratimesfunrun.com.au.
