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A departure today – someone who wasn’t a vet (although his father was) and certainly never could have been – Richard Hoyt, aged 61, died Tuesday of respiratory complications. You may not know of him by name, although in some sports circles Team Hoyt was legendary.<\/p>\n
Rick was born with cerebral palsy and was paralyzed. In 1977, he begged his father, Dick Hoyt, an Air Guard\u00a0 Lieutenant Colonel, to push his wheelchair through a charity 5K run. Dick continued to\u00a0 – for 39 years.<\/p>\n
\nAs a quadriplegic, doctors advised his parents he\u2019d be better served living in an institution. They refused.\u00a0 Rick graduated with a degree from Boston University in 1993.<\/p>\n
Progressing to be lieutenant colonel of the Air National Guard, Dick only found endurance sports through Rick\u2019s insistence, when his teenage son persuaded dad to take him on a five-mile run to fundraise for a lacrosse player who\u2019d been paralysed in an accident.<\/p>\n
On completing that first event, Rick is quoted as saying: \u201cDad, when I\u2019m running, it feels like I\u2019m not disabled.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Triathlon.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
They would go on to complete over 1,100 events, and even bike\/ran 3735 miles\u00a0 across the US in 45 days together. From Wikipedia, a partial list of races:<\/p>\n
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- 257 Triathlons<\/li>\n
- 72 marathons (including 32 Boston Marathons)<\/li>\n
- 97 half marathons<\/li>\n
- 219 10Ks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Some serious endurance athleticism, especially given that the father took it up at the tender young age of 36.\u00a0\u00a0 Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n
One of their last Bostons was 2013, the year it was bombed – their last together was the year after, when the “Boston Strong” marathon was run.<\/p>\n
Rick would continue, with the late Bryan Lyons, also from Massachusetts, a loyal friend and fundraiser, pushing for the next five years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Dick Hoyt died in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a competitive son of a gun. As late as 2019, I\u2019d have conversations with him about his desire to do Kona \u2018one more time.\u2019 He knew his body wasn\u2019t up to it, but the heart and desire was there. He\u2019d talk about finishing 1,200 races, always jokingly acknowledging that Rick finished each one ahead of him.\u201d\u00a0 Triathlon.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, Rick passed on this week. The last of a team who inspired physically challenged athletes for over four decades. I hope Rick is discovering the joy of really running on your own, and I’m willing to bet Dick will pace him all the way.<\/p>\n
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