The Dynamic Duo
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Dick Hoyt and his son Rick raced dozens of marathons together — father pushing his son in a wheelchair, son inspiring his father every step of the way. Although Dick died two years ago, and Rick has retired from racing, Team Hoyt soldiers on, continuing their legacy.
This year, 27 people will run to raise at least $200,000 for the Hoyt Foundation, which helps individuals with disabilities and organizations that serve them. Among them will be recently retired Bruins star Zdeno Chara, who in 2011 fired up his teammates before Game 7 with a video of the Hoyts. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup that night.
The Hoyts’ story is the stuff of legend. It began with a 5-mile road race in 1977, a benefit for the family of an injured lacrosse player. Dick pushed Rick, a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, using a wheelchair that maneuvered like a shopping cart with a bum wheel. They finished second to last, recalls Rick’s younger brother, Russ. But when they got home, Rick delivered a message through his computer: Dad, when I am running, it feels like my disability disappears.
That was it. There was no turning back.
They ordered a custom-made wheelchair, ran more races, and Rick eventually suggested Boston. Organizers rebuffed them in the late 1970s — twice — and then they were told they’d need to earn a qualifying time. A blazing fast performance at the Marine Corps Marathon got them in, and they had a lifetime membership to Club Boston. They wouldn’t be denied here again.
Rick and Dick officially completed 32 Boston Marathons, starting in 1980, and the Hoyt Foundation eventually became an official charity. This year, the BAA is letting the foundation, now led by Russ, designate two “duos” to run in Rick and Dick’s honor. Three of Dick’s grandsons are running, and the foundation is again giving out grants this spring to families who have children with disabilities, to help them do something they’re passionate about.
Then there’s the debut of the
Dick Hoyt Memorial “Yes You Can” Run Together race, on May 27.
It’s in Hopkinton, where a bronze statue of the dynamic duo stands. And of course, the race is 5 miles long, in honor of the adventure that started it all. “The motto, ‘Yes You Can,’ is something that came out of what Dad and Rick said,” Russ says. “Whatever it is that people find difficult, [they can] just give themselves that answer, ‘Yes, you can’ — that’s pretty much our message.”