My Favorite Marathoners

I've seen many elite runners in the Boston Marathon, from Joan Benoit Samuelson to Johnny Kelley, but the greatest and most inspirational marathoners I've ever seen are the Hoyts. They'll be back in the race tomorrow & my friend Nancy and I will make our annual pilgrimage to watch. I remember watching them run the first year, when Dick was much younger and Rick was still at Boston University; now Dick is 68 and his wheelchair-bound son Rick is 47.The Boston Globe has two video clips on the father-son team.

Get Well Soon, Rick Hoyt

I just found yesterday that I won't be in town for the Boston Marathon (an annual event for me since my first, 1976) and today I learned another fixture will be missing.

When you go to the Marathon, there are certain notable points. The wheelchair leaders, the men's leader, the women's leader, and the Hoyts. Used to be Johnny Kelley, the 1935 and 1945 winner who finished 58 Bostons, was in that list of notables, but he stopped running in 1992 and sadly died three years ago at age 97.

Metrowest News (Framingham, MA): Team Hoyt to miss this year's Boston Marathon due to Rick's surgery

Cellulitis sounds like a fairly benign condition, but to someone in a wheelchair with multiple medical issues nothing is minor. Get well soon Rick & I hope we'll both be back next year.

A Little Good News

$87,000 was raised for Dick & Rick Hoyt:

A boost for uplifting pair

HOPKINTON -- Dick and Rick Hoyt, the father-and-son Boston Marathon running team who had fallen on hard times, enjoyed a reversal of fortune last night.

About 150 friends and supporters presented the pair with a check for $87,000. Some of the money will go toward a specially equipped van for Rick Hoyt, 43, who is quadriplegic and needs the van to transport his equipment. The rest will go into a trust fund that will pay for his future care. The Hopkinton Athletic Association coordinated the fund raising and last night’s reception at Hopkinton High School.

"We will never forget this evening," said Dick Hoyt, his eyes wet with tears. Rick, who is unable to speak, used a computer-simulated voice to tell his friends, "Thanks to you, I have the nicest van that I have ever had."

The Hoyts, with Dick pushing Rick in a wheelchair, will run the Marathon for the 25th time in April. The pair have participated in more than 1,000 athletic events, including grueling triathlons.

A story in the Daily News last month told of the Hoyt’s recent misfortunes. Rick’s van failed, and a fallen tree damaged Dick Hoyt’s home in Holland.The elder Hoyt, who has always been his son’s lifeline, has begun to worry about Rick’s welfare once he is gone.

Once the story ran, it spread to concerned friends across the country. Contributions poured in from individuals and businesses in New England, Florida, the Carolinas, California and other states.

According to Tim Kilduff of the HAA, about 400 people and companies made donations, including one Boston executive who donated $50,000.

Previous post: Charity Begins at Home

Charity Begins At Home

If you've been to the Boston Marathon in the last 25 years, you know who Dick and Rick Hoyt are. Rick Hoyt was born with cerebral palsy. They entered the Marathon in 1981 as a team, and Dick Hoyt ran pushing his son in a wheelchair. Honest to god, you get choked up every year watching them go by. It's an amazing thing to watch a father push his son's wheelchair for 26.2 miles. And he's back doing it again, at the age of 65, despite heart surgery in 2003.

They've hit a rough patch, and need a new van. I'm sending a check today. This is as about as good a cause as you can imagine.

Hoyts face a new challenge: Marathoning father and son need a van and a little bit of good luck

To contribute to the Hoyts’ van fund, send a tax-deductible check to the Hopkinton Athletic Association, P.O. Box 820, Hopkinton, MA 01748. Checks should be made out to the HAA, and specify the "Hoyts Fund" in the memo line of the check.