Born near Parkes, New South Wales, Westcott was an avid runner as a teenager, winning the 5000 m state championships.

Westcott’s talent for the sport developed around the age of 10 after a terrifying incident whilst collecting eggs from the family chook pen.

Westcott revealed late in his career he often used flashbacks of the incident to improve his performances at big events.

[citation needed] Westcott came fourth in the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon with a time of 2:15:32.

For his 40th birthday in 2015, his family allowed him to enter the Berlin Marathon where he finished in an Olympic qualifying time.