All Their Road Running

Yesterday, Rick Hoyt died.   He was sixty-one years old.  Twenty-six months ago, his father Dick Hoyt died.  Dick Hoyt was eighty years old.   

This dynamic father/son combination began competing in races in 1977 when Rick asked his dad, then 36 years old and not a runner, if they could run in a 5K race that was a fundraiser for a classmate who had been paralyzed.  

Rick was born profoundly handicapped as a consequence of his umbilical cord becoming twisted around his neck.  Rather than institutionalize him, the Hoyts raised Rick in their home.  

Dick Hoyt always said that following that first race, Rick told his dad he loved running with him because when they ran, Rick did not feel disabled.   From that neighborhood 5K they forged not just the most dynamic of duos but, more importantly, an extraordinary force for good in the form of The Hoyt Foundation.   

Long may they run.

-AK