Team Hoyt
Inspirational Father & Son Team
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they're not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they're not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
It's a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can't walk or talk.
Rick Hoyt uses a wheelchair. That has not stopped him from living a very full and amazing life. He's competed in the Boston Marathon 27 times and in Ironman Triathlons six times. He, along with his dad, Dick, has formed "Team Hoyt" and they compete around the world doing marathons and triathlons.
The Hoyts have competed in over 1000 athletic events in the last 30 years. Dick, 69, is a retired Lt. Colonel, having served in the military for 37 years. Rick, 47, is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Special Education. They also travel the country doing corporate and community presentations, educating the public about disability awareness and promoting the Team Hoyt motto, "Yes You Can". In late 2010, Dick published their story in his memoir Devoted: The Story of a Father’s Love for His Son.
Together the Hoyts don't only compete athletically; they also go on motivational speaking tours, spreading the Hoyt brand of inspiration to all kinds of audiences, sporting and non-sporting, across the country.
Rick himself is confident that his visibility — and his father's dedication — perform a forceful, valuable purpose in a world that is too often divisive and exclusionary.
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October 2010Devoted: The Story of a Father's Love for His Son
The remarkable story of a father’s devotion to his wheelchair-bound son and how their bond inspired millions of people worldwide. Born a spastic quadraplegic, Rick Hoyt was written off by numerous doctors. They advised his parents, Dick and Judy, to put their firstborn son in an institution. But Rick’s parents refused. Determined to give their son every opportunity that “normal†kids had, they made sure to include Rick in everything they did, especially with their other two sons, Rob and Russ. But home was one thing, the world at large, another. Repeatedly rebuffed by school administrators who resisted their attempts to enroll Rick in school, Rick’s mother worked tirelessly to help pass a landmark bill, Chapter 766, the first special-education reform law in the country. As a result, Rick and other physically disabled kids were able to attend public school in Massachusetts. But how would Rick communicate when he couldn’t talk? To overcome this daunting obstacle, Dick and Judy worked with Dr. William Crochetiere, then chairman of the engineering department at Tufts University, and several enterprising graduate students, including Rick Foulds, to create the Tufts Interactive Communication device (TCI). In the Hoyt household, it became known as the “Hope machine,†as it enabled Rick to create sentences by pressing his head against a metal bar. For the first time ever, Rick was able to communicate. Then one day Rick asked his dad to enter a charity race, but there was a twist. Rick wanted to run too. Dick had never run a race before, but more challenging still, he would have to push his son’s wheelchair at the same time. But once again, the Hoyts were determined to overcome whatever obstacle was put in their way. Now, over one thousand races later, including numerous marathons and triathlons, Dick Hoyt continues to push Rick’s wheelchair. Affectionately known worldwide as Team Hoyt, they are as devoted as ever, continuing to inspire millions and embodying their trademark motto of “Yes, you can.â€
