Team Hoyt Last Race
April 22, 2014 by staff
Team Hoyt Last Race, For those of us who are runners or who follow running, this Monday is not your average Monday: it’s Boston Marathon Monday. And while thousands of runners gather to tackle the epic 26.2 miles, I’d like to draw your attention two runners who will be marking their last Boston together.
I remember the first time I heard about Team Hoyt. It was several years ago, and I was watching coverage of the Hawaii Ironman – some people watch football; some watch baseball; we runners watch races. The coverage was interspersed with profiles of the runners, and that’s where I first saw the story of father-and-son team Dick and Rick Hoyt.
Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and his wife, Judy. As a result of oxygen deprivation, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Told that Rick had no chance of recovery, his parents were advised to institutionalize him as he would be a ‘vegetable’. But they refused. Instead, they brought him home and determined to give him normal childhood experiences.
At age 12, Rick was able to begin communicating with the help of a speech device. One day, he told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile race to help a teenager who had been paralyzed in an accident. There was one big obstacle, though – Dick was not a runner. Nevertheless, he agreed to push his son’s wheelchair for the entire race. After the race, Rick told his dad, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.” With that race and that statement, Team Hoyt was born.
_________________________________________
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST.
Comments