JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – He's a local celebrity at Jacksonville Beach but people aren't stopping to talk with Josiah Pritchard, on his daily walks they want to see his bulldogs Lulu and Darla.
"We get stopped a lot so it does slow me down," said Pritchard.
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He also has another reason for daily walks.
"My dad had a heart attack and stroke about 10 years ago and after that I became more aware of things," said Pritchard.
Pritchard is the Operations Manager at Mayo Clinic. He heads up the hospital's health plan.
"It's just getting yourself moving a little bit raising that expectation that I'm going to move today."
Wednesday is your day. The American Heart Association is urging everyone to take a walk. It's part of National Walking Day. The goal to get people off the couch and on their feet.
"We used to think that people who were sedentary during the week were weekend warriors but we found just the opposite, the more sedentary you are at work the less likely you are to be active on the weekends," said Pritchard.
He explains if you're a beginner, it's not about getting out and running a marathon just doing something. The American Heart Association is also encouraging people to not go at it alone. Grab your furry best friend or any one who will join in your pursuit for a better and healthier you.
"If you can build that camaraderie as you said you're a lot more accountable to people in that group. You're more likely to do something because you're a lot less likely to disappointment someone else than you are to let yourself down."
For more information, visit startwalkingnow.org.