The Father Who Ran a Thousand Races for His Son

The Father Who Ran a Thousand Races for His Son In 1962, doctors told the Hoyts their son would never walk or talk. They said, put him in an institution. His parents said no. They took Rick home and raised him like his brothers. Rick couldn't speak, but he was bright. With a special computer, he finally learned to type his words. At fifteen, Rick asked to run a charity race. Dick wasn't a runner. He pushed him anyway. That night, Rick typed: Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped. So they never stopped. Marathons. Then triathlons. Dick swam pulling Rick in a boat, and biked with Rick in a seat at the front. Together they finished more than a thousand races. Including thirty-two Boston Marathons. People called them Team Hoyt. And they made the world look differently at people with disabilities. Rick once said the one thing he'd want: for his father to sit in the chair, and he'd push him for once. Today, a statue of them stands near the start of the Boston Marathon. Love doesn't stop at the finish line. Comment TEAM HOYT.