Team Hoyt

Team Hoyt is father and son Dick Hoyt (born June 1, 1940) and Rick Hoyt (born January 10, 1962) from Holland, Massachusetts. The Hoyts have competed together in various athletic endeavors, including marathons and Ironman Triathlons. Rick has cerebral palsy. During competition, Dick pulls Rick in a special boat as they swim, carries him in a special seat in the front of a bicycle, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run. Team Hoyt are inductees of the Ironman Hall of Fame and are past recipients of ESPN's Jimmy V Award.

"Dick Hoyt" and "Rick Hoyt" redirect here. For the mystery writer, see Mystery Scene § Richard Hoyt.
Team Hoyt
NationalityAmerican
Known forAthletic events including the Boston Marathon
Dick Hoyt
Full nameRichard Eugene Hoyt Sr.
Born (1940-06-01) June 1, 1940[1]
Rick Hoyt
Full nameRichard Eugene Hoyt Jr.
Born (1962-01-10) January 10, 1962[2]
Holland, Massachusetts
Websitehttp://www.teamhoyt.com

Rick Hoyt's birth and early life

Rick Hoyt was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth after his umbilical cord became twisted around his neck, which caused the blockage of oxygen flow.[3] As a result, his brain cannot properly control his muscles.[4] Many doctors encouraged the Hoyts to institutionalize Rick, informing them that he would be nothing more than a "vegetable."[4] His parents held on to the fact that Rick's eyes would follow them around the room, giving them hope that he would somehow be able to communicate someday.[4] The Hoyts took Rick every week to Children's Hospital in Boston, where they met a doctor who encouraged the Hoyts to treat Rick like any other child. Rick's mother Judy spent hours each day teaching Rick the alphabet with sandpaper letters and posting signs on every object in the house. In a short amount of time, Rick learned the alphabet.[3]

At the age of 11, after some persistence from his parents, Rick was fitted with a computer that enabled him to communicate, and it became clear that Rick was intelligent.[5] With this communication device, Rick was also able to attend public schools for the first time.[6]

Rick went on to graduate from Boston University in 1993 with a degree in special education. He later worked at Boston College in a computer lab helping to develop systems to aid in communication and other tasks for people with disabilities.[7]

Team history
Team Hoyt in the 2008 Boston Marathon, near the halfway point
From left: Dick Hoyt, John Kerry, Bryan Lyons, and Rick Hoyt prior to the 2016 Boston Marathon

Team Hoyt began in 1977 when Rick asked his father if they could run in a race together to benefit a lacrosse player at his school who had become paralyzed. He wanted to prove that life went on no matter your disability.[8] Dick Hoyt, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard, was not a runner and was 36 years old. After their first race Rick said, "Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped." After their initial five mile run, Dick began running every day with a bag of cement in the wheelchair because Rick was at school and studying, unable to train with him.[3] Dick was able to improve his fitness so much that even with pushing his son, he was able to obtain a personal record of a 5K run in 17 minutes.[9]

As of March 2016, the Hoyts had competed in 1,130 endurance events, including 72 marathons and six Ironman Triathlons.[10] They had run the Boston Marathon 32 times. Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles (6,011 km) in 45 days.[10][11] They also competed in triathlons. For the swim portion of the triathlon, Dick uses a rope attached to his body to pull Rick sitting in a boat. For the cycle portion, Rick rides on the front of a specially designed tandem bike.[4][12] For the run portion, Dick pushes Rick in his wheelchair.[6]

In the 2013 Boston Marathon, Team Hoyt had about a mile to go when two bombs exploded near the finish line; they were stopped by officials, along with thousands of other runners still running the race. They were not injured. A bystander with an SUV gave them a ride to the Sheraton hotel, and they were temporarily separated from Rick's wheelchair.[13]

On April 21, 2014, Dick and Rick Hoyt completed the 2014 Boston Marathon, having previously announced that it would be their last together.[14] From 2015 through 2019, Rick Hoyt was pushed in the Boston Marathon by Bryan Lyons, a dentist from Billerica, Massachusetts; Lyons died in June 2020, aged 50.[15]

Honors
Statue of the Hoyts located near the start of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Team Hoyt was inducted to the Ironman Hall of Fame in 2008.[16][17]

On April 8, 2013, a bronze statue in honor of the Hoyts was dedicated near the start of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.[18]

ESPN honored Team Hoyt with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the ESPY Award show on July 17, 2013.[19]

Team Hoyt has been featured on inspirational billboards within the U.S.[20][21]

Racing history
Distance Quantity
Triathlons257
Ironman distances6 (included in triathlons)
Half Ironman7 (included in triathlons)
Duathlons22
Marathons (Boston Marathons)72 (32)
20 miles8
18.6 miles8
Half Marathons97
20 km1
10 miles37
15 km8
Falmouth 7 miles37
11 km2
10 km219
5 miles162
8 km4
7.1 km1
4 miles18
5 km176

Total events (as of March 22, 2016): 1,130[10]

References
  1. "Team Hoyt Dusts Off An Old Friend As They Prepare For Boston". Sports Then and Now. 2010-04-03. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  2. "Dick Hoyt, Race by Race, A Father Lifts His Son" cerebralpalsy.org
  3. Nall, Sam (January 2002). It's Only a Mountain: Dick and Rick Hoyt, Men of Iron. Southern Heritage Press. ISBN 0-941072-51-7.
  4. Hayes, Liz (2007-05-27). "Team Hoyt". Sixty Minutes Australia. Archived from the original on 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  5. Reilly, Rick (2005-06-20). "Strongest Dad in the World". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2010-02-21.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. Henderson, Joe (2008-02-10). "Odds Overcome". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  7. "The Power of a Father's Unconditional Love: Rick and Dick Hoyt". Self Improvement Association. 2009-11-08. Archived from the original on 2010-03-23. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  8. Brant, John (2007-04-09). "Team Hoyt Starts Again". Runner's World. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  9. Lodge, Denise (25 January 2012). "Dick and Rick Hoyt: Still Running Together". Impowerage Magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  10. "Racing History". TeamHoyt.com. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  11. "Hoyts Forced to Miss Marathon". Boston Globe. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  12. Smith, Gary, "The Wheels of Life", Sports Illustrated, 18 April 2011, pp. 56-68.
  13. "Team Hoyt – Rick and Dick Hoyt – stopped 1 mile short of Boston Marathon finish line; inundated with support from public". Mass Live. April 9, 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  14. "Team Hoyt -- father and son Dick and Rick Hoyt -- finish final Boston Marathon". MassLive.com. AP. April 21, 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  15. Ciccotelli, Jenna (June 2, 2020). "Bryan Lyons, who pushed Rick Hoyt in the Boston Marathon since 2015, dies at 50". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  16. Breitrose, Charlie (17 July 2010). "Triathlon duo visits Camp Arrowhead in Natick". MetroWest Daily News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  17. "Hall of Fame". ironman.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  18. "Dad, son honored with statue at Marathon start". Boston Herald. AP. April 9, 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  19. "ESPYS to honor the Hoyts". ESPN.com. June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  20. "See the Father and Son Team who've Run 65 Marathons Billboard". PassItOn.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020. Dad's been behind him for 65 marathons.
  21. Haller, Laurie (April 19, 2010). "Team Hoyt-Pass it on". lauriehaller.org. Retrieved June 3, 2020.

Further reading
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