02/08/2026
In the spring of 1977, a 15-year-old boy in Massachusetts changed his father's life with one simple question.
"Dad, can we run in that charity race?"
Rick Hoyt had cerebral palsy. He used a wheelchair and couldn't control the muscles in his body. But his spirit raced far ahead of any limitation. A lacrosse player at his school had been paralyzed in an accident, and Rick wanted to show him that life goes on—no matter your disability.
Dick Hoyt wasn't a runner. He was 36 years old and had never trained for anything like this. But when his son asked, there was only one answer.
Yes.
Five miles. One father. One son in a wheelchair. They finished next to last.
That night, Rick typed something on his computer that his father would never forget:
"Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."
Those nine words became a mission.
Over the next four decades, Dick and Rick—known to the world as Team Hoyt—completed more than 1,100 races together. Thirty-two Boston Marathons. Six Ironman Triathlons. Countless miles that seemed impossible.
For every race, Dick adapted. During triathlons, he swam across open water pulling Rick in a specially designed raft. He cycled for miles with Rick riding in a seat mounted to the front of a custom tandem bike. And he ran marathon after marathon, pushing Rick's racing wheelchair through crowds of cheering strangers who had become believers.
It wasn't easy. Dick trained relentlessly, sometimes pushing a wheelchair filled with a bag of cement when Rick wasn't available. His body endured what most athletes never attempt.
But love made it possible.
They weren't just running races. They were showing the world what could happen when a father refuses to accept limits—and when a son dreams beyond them.
Every finish line was a message: Yes, you can.
In 1989, they founded the Hoyt Foundation to support young people with disabilities and promote inclusion in athletics. Their story touched hearts across the globe.
A bronze statue of Dick pushing Rick now stands near the starting line of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. They were inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame and received ESPN's Jimmy V Perseverance Award.
But for Dick, the numbers were never the point.
"I've always said that I'm just lending Rick my arms and my legs," Dick once told the Boston Globe. "He's the one with the heart."
And Rick saw it the other way.
"He was my motor," Rick said. "I was his heart."
Dick passed away on March 17, 2021. He was 80 years old.
Rick followed on May 22, 2023, at age 61.
They are buried side by side at Massachusetts National Cemetery—a fitting final rest for two hearts that never stopped running together.
Their motto still echoes across finish lines everywhere:
Yes. You. Can.
~Old Photo Club
