HEALTHY KIDS · JANUARY 2019
GOOD DADS HAVE THIS
ONE THING IN COMMON
S
everal years ago, the story of a
father and son swept the nation
and touched our hearts–the story
of team hoyt, a father-son duo
who ran triathlons, marathons
and even ran across the country. What was
so amazing about this duo? One of them
was in a wheelchair. I asked dick, “were you or rick ever so
exhausted in a race that you thought of
quitting?”
At birth, rick hoyt was diagnosed as a
spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy–a
dire diagnosis for most, but rick’s parents
refused to let it slow down their son. In
1977, rick told his father, dick, that he
wanted to participate in a five-mile benefit
run in their community. They trained
together and dick pushed his son across the
finish line that day. Dick hoyt’s life as a father can be
summarized in two words: love and
tenacity. Love for his son brought out
dick’s tenacity, which changed both their
lives for the better. It wasn’t
just running marathons; it
was refusing to give up on
his son when doctors and
schools told him his case
was hopeless, when race
authorities (at first)
refused to let
him participate.
That was the beginning of team hoyt. Since
then, this father-son duo have competed
in over 1,000 races, including running
3,735 miles across the country in 45 days.
His answer was immediate. “Never. Not
once.” The rewards, he told me, were too
high: “no man can be closer to another
person than i am with rick.”
Dick never took no for an answer. He fought
for his son, and fights for him in every race
he runs. What has allowed dick to fight for
his son and what allows fathers everywhere
to stick with their kids even when things get
hard is perseverance.
Perseverance is a characteristic i’ve noted
in all strong fathers. It is one of the best
traits a man can have; it is what makes you
win; what allows you to finish the race; and
why your family can rely on you through
thick and thin.
Every father can be as close to his son as
dick is to rick, because every dad is capable
of that same love and tenacity. As dick said,
“it’s easy. Just take your kid to a movie
or throw a ball with him.” He’s absolutely
right. With perseverance, getting closer to
your kids is easy. All you have to do is stay
engaged and stick with it.
To learn more about team hoyt, visit
teamhoyt.Com
And that’s only a part of the story.
By Lisbeth Splawn
Rick’s parents were told by doctors
and school administrators that
their son would never be able to
learn or communicate. Rick and
his parents proved them wrong.
Even though schools wouldn’t
take rick, his parents taught him
letters and numbers, they read
to him constantly and had tufts
university design a computer
that allowed rick to tap out
words. Today, rick is a graduate
of boston university and
though he is in a wheelchair,
he lived there as a student
independently.
For my BOOK HERO: BEING
THE STRONG FATHER
YOUR CHILDREN NEED, i got
to sit down with dick hoyt and
talk to him about how he was
able to parent rick so well
and beat the odds that
nobody thought he
could beat.
Rick and Dick “The TeamHoyt”
12 HEALTHY MAGAZINE