In heavy boots and a big winter coat, 56-year-old factory worker,James Robertson doesn’t look like much of an athlete. But looks can be deceiving. This Detroit factory worker walks more than 20 miles a day to and from work, a round trip that takes him 8 hours or more. He then has only a few hours to sleep before he wakes up to do it all over again.

He makes this mammoth walk five days a week and he’s done it for ten years.

James began walking a decade ago, when his car broke down and he was unable to afford a new one. He hasn’t missed a single day of work since. He has an unbelievably perfect attendance record, especially considering the extreme weather that he sometimes faces. He’s walked through thunderstorms and blizzards, and has yet to bedeterred.

When asked about how he has the will to make such a long walk, James credits faith, determination, and loyalty to coworkers. He says his boss and coworkers are like family to him. His manager’s wife cooks “phenomenal” dinners for James before he makes his long journey home, arriving around 4 in the morning.

On his route, James passes through dangerous neighborhoods; in these moments he relies on faith to keep going. A few years ago, James was mugged and roughed up pretty badly on his walk. Though he doesn’t like to talk about the incident, he didn’t let it stop him from getting to work.

James says, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way and that’s something I never forget.”

Another of his favorite lines is something his father used to say, “It might be tough, but tough times don’t last — tough people do.”

Ten tough years later, James just might be leaving the tough times behind.

When James’ story first made headlines, it inspired 19-year-old Evan Leedy to create a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a car for James. He began with the goal of raising $5,000 but within a few days, donations skyrocketed and now have passed $300,000. More than 11,000 people donated to the cause in less than four days.

And after ten years of walking, James can now drive to work instead ofhoofing it. Why? A local car dealership donated a brand new car to James.

It goes to show that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And when people are given an opportunity to help someone in need, they step up and do their part.