Inspiration on a Legendary Level – About the Interview with Team Hoyt

This is a story about a couple of regular guys, a father and a son.  This is also a story about inspiration.  If there is a Webster’s definition of inspiration there is a footnote next to the word and Dick and Rick Hoyt are the footnote.  They have overcome more obstacles than probably any two person team on plant earth.  Maybe the Guinness Book of World Records will have to be updated.  These guys have run around the world probably over 3 full times and still counting and they are not lost.  Rick is the person who started this whole thing.  They don’t take “no” for an answer.

I’ve been trying to land this interview for over 6 months now and the reason it took me this long to get the interview is because Team Hoyt is always on the move, they are very busy people and they know how to manage their time.  As of April 2007 Dick and Rick Hoyt have run in over 950 marathons and triathlons since 1981.  Their favorite is the Boston Marathon which unfortunately in 2007 is the first race that they did not compete in, in 26 years because of an operation that the Rick Hoyt was recovering from.  But this is not holding them back, they will be back running in Florida later this year.

This is a very special story, Rick Hoyt was born a quadriplegic and the doctors told Dick that they should put him away.  Now Rick is 45 years old graduated from Boston University and lives alone.  They have run and biked across the United States of America over 3,700 miles.

Rick came home from a basket ball game and was inspired to assist a lacrosse player who was paralyzed in an automobile accident and required help with his medical bills.  Rick wanted to do something about it.  Rick asked his dad to run in a charity road race in Springfield 10K race to help the guy who was paralyzed and let him know that life goes on.  The wheel chair they had was not suited to a road race.  No one wanted to do anything with them, nobody with talk to them, nobody wanted them to be in the race in the first place. They finished the race and they were not in last place.  As a matter of fact they have NEVER finished in last place despite the fact that they have different circumstances.

This race was a monumental event since Rick said that since because of this event he felt that when he was running that his disability totally disappeared.  This was a powerful message to Dick.  The bad news for Dick was that the current wheel chair was a painful so they had to get a special wheel chair designed.  They had a specialized wheel chair designed so that they could run in a race.  Other people who had disabled children were upset with Dick that he was dragging his kid around in these races looking for “glory.”  But the secret is that these folks directed their feeling towards the wrong person, it was Rick who was dragging Dick around to all of the races.

Team Hoyt is probably going to average 30 triathlons in 2007 alone.  These guys are the Boston Marathon.  These guys are legends now.  They are affecting other countries.  China and Japan have done special stories on them.  If you go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsTyXvxjEY4 they received over 3 million hits in the first 6 weeks the video went up. They are making an impact globally.  They are getting e-mail’s from all over the world.  These guys will deliver the most inspirational story ever in any venue.

Dick and Rick are helping alcoholics, drug addicts and able bodied people, many of which were inspired themselves to get into the best shape of their life.  They are helping everybody, they do not discriminate even though they have had been on the receiving end. They want to make a tour to address the kids in jails and inspire them, give them some inspiration and some hope that they can do something with their lives.  They have a new DVD with music “My Redeemer Lives” and it is being used in churches all around the world. 

Rick has a special letter to his father that will be published in Men’s Health Magazine in 2007 just for Father’s day.  Rick does not view his live as living with a disability, he just needs someone to help him out with things.   He leads a happier and better life than 95% of our population because of his attitude and determination.