Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Father and his son with cerebral palsy riding in Dolphins Cancer Challenge.
DAVIE — Jim Sayih and his 24-year-old son Michael will ride in their fourth Dolphins Cancer Challenge together Saturday.
Jim rides the 100-mile course while towing Michael, who has cerebral palsy, in a stroller behind his bike.
They’ve been participating together in rides, duathlons and triathlons for almost two decades. They’ve done so many, Jim doesn’t even count.
“Ninety percent of them, he picks,” Jim said of Michael.
They’ve been traveling around the nation doing events since Michael was 5.
“We probably average nine or 10 events a year,” said Jim, a retired Miami police lieutenant.
But the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, inspired by the death of former Dolphins great Jim Mandich, is special.
Jim, a single dad who owns 911 CrossFit gym in Cooper City, didn’t have anyone close to him afflicted with cancer during his initial ride. Since then, three people have been stricken, including his father, who died from cancer in September.
“I really hate this cancer disease,” Jim said. “I’ve watched so many people that I like and love and respect, even through my years in police work, I’ve watched people just deteriorate and it just breaks my heart.”
Since its inception in 2010, the challenge has evolved into the Dolphins’ largest charity event, having donated more than $16.5 million to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. All of the funds stay local.
Saturday’s seventh challenge begins at various locations in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties with events of various lengths; including a 100-mile bike ride, a 5K walk/run, a Dolphins Youth Ride and a Youth 5K for teens ages 14-17.
Counting Crows headlines the finish-line celebration concert at Hard Rock Stadium.
Jim and Michael Sayih will cross that finish line together, just as they have numerous times, fulfilling a pledge Jim made to himself years ago.
When Michael was young, Jim frequently included him in the family’s athletic events.
“We used to play football in our backyard, me and my sons,” Jim said, “and I would put him on my back, kind of like a piggy-back ride, and I would be him with legs.”
After one game, Michael said to Jim “what every parent doesn’t want to hear their disabled kid say, but you know they’re thinking it … ‘Dad, I wish I had legs that worked.’
“It just crushes you when you hear something like that,” Jim said.
“I always included him in everything we did even at a very young age, but to hear him say that, I knew at that point there wasn’t going to be really ever anything that I would not include him in.”
As it turns out, Michael has developed into quite a fundraiser and entrepreneur.
“Michael will sit at his computer and he’ll fundraise,” Jim said, noting he hits causes ranging from autism to multiple sclerosis and cancer. “He’ll reach out to friends, ask for 10 bucks, 20 bucks; and before you know he’ll reach $5,000 or thousands.
“He’s relentless in trying to serve others. Here’s somebody that you would think would want others to serve him. And he just goes out and he says, ‘Dad how can we help them?’”
Michael founded Special Compass, a charity that pairs disabled people with runners and other athletes willing to push them in a specially-modified wheelchair during events.
“They go from a walking speed to, now, a jogging speed,” Jim said, “and it’s exhilarating for them because they’re surrounded by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, and they feel like it’s them.”
Jim and Michael feel a similar exhilaration at the challenge, and they’re especially glad there’s a finishline celebration complete with food and drinks at the end of the event.
“Now there’s time to share your story and experience with others that are liked-minded,” Jim said. “It’s just a fun, nice community-connecting experience.”