Marathon icons

Dick and Rick Hoyt, aka Team Hoyt, were household names when you talk about the Boston Marathon. They ran it together 32 times spread out over four decades. The duo also ran in other races, including triathlons, 5ks, and Iron Man races. They competed in more than a thousand races.

Team Hoyt made a huge mark in such a way that a statue of them was erected near the Boston Marathon’s starting line. But all that greatness of racing together ended when Dick died last March 2021.

A father’s love

What made this father-son tandem so special that it touched people’s hearts? It’s simple. Theirs is a story of how a parent’s love can endure anything for their child.

Rick was born with cerebral palsy, which left him paralyzed at birth. The disability meant that he could not talk or walk. Instead of taking him to a special needs clinic or institution, the family decided they would raise them like any other kid.

They exposed Rick to sports, sent him to school, and communicated with him through a computer. He asked his father one day if they could participate in a charity run, and although Dick wasn’t 100% fit, he agreed.

Rick recalled that moment and said he was excited to go back home to his computer so he could tell his father one thing. He said: “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like my disability disappears.”

That was a compelling message for Dick, so he promised he would train so he could take Rick to races.

Four decades of unconditional love

Four decades, the number of years the two raced together since that charity run. Dick admitted that when they raced all those years, he felt more fit and healthy than when he was 18. He even tugged Rick along with an inflatable boat during a triathlon!

His love and dedication for his son to ensure he lived as normal of a life as possible captured the hearts of many. People were touched by how this father pushed his son in all those training and races, no matter the circumstance. If that’s not unconditional love, I don’t know what is.

In honor of Dick Hoyt

Dick died at the age of 80. He was remembered as a great athlete and an even greater father. He shared that Rick made him the father he wanted to be, and he fulfilled that because he had a great son.

On the other hand, Rick beautifully described the lesson he learned racing with his father all those years.

“Running in Boston Marathon together with my father for 32 years, I learned about trust. I learned to rely on him to endure physically for long hours so we could compete together. He was my motor. I was his heart,” he told WBZ-TV’s Steve Burton in an interview after his father’s death.

He also added that his father always taught him to never give up on his dreams.

In honor of Dick Hoyt, may we all be reminded how great love could endure, that we go through all lengths no matter how difficult for the people we love.

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Source: ABC News YouTube Channel, ABC News, CBS Boston YouTube Channel