Ironmen Dick and Rick Hoyt

It is the second time at a church service that a speaker has mentioned father and son Dick and Rick Hoyt, and even though I already knew what it was about, tears were rolling from my eyes anyway, as were many others in the hall today.

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together have competed in 984 events, including 229 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances and 6 Half Ironman. They have also biked and ran across the USA in 1992 – 3,735 miles in 45 consecutive days. That is probably more than what any of us will run in our lifetime.

What makes their story even more amazing, is that Rick suffers from cerebral palsy, and can neither walk nor talk. But didn’t you say they competed together, you ask.

They did. Eighty-five times Dick has pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.

And Rick repaid the favour by saving his Dad’s life. Dick, who had never learned how to swim and had not ridden a bike since he was six, went on to haul his 110-pound son through traithlons and more. Due to all the fitness he was getting, when he suffered a mild heart attack during a race, the doctor told him, “If you hadn’t been in such great shape, you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.”

And don’t think that they come in second to last in all these competitions either. During the 24th Boston Marathon, Dick and Rick finished in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time is two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 — only 35 minutes off the world record.

Take just 6 minutes to watch this video, and you will be so inspired and witness how amazing the power of love can be.

more about "I Can Only Imagine: Dick and Rick Hoyts", posted with vodpod

The official Team Hoyt Website
A wonderful article from Sports Illustrated (I know!)