Sturbridge 7-27-07 (Page 1) - Stonebridge Press and Villager ...

18 STURBRIDGE VILLAGER • Friday, October 31, 2008
Photos courtesy of Team Hoyt
Rick Hoyt and his dad, Dick, above in Hawaii for the 2005 Ironman Triathlon, and racing in the 1987 Marine
Corps Marathon, are aiming toward their 1,000th event. They are now at 989.
Hoyts named to the
Ironman Hall of Fame
IRONMAN
continued from page 1
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Hall of Fame,” Dick said.
The Ironman triathlons are the foremost
run-bike-swim competitions in the world.
“Rick is the first disabled person in the
world to ever compete and complete the
Ironman triathlon,” his father boasted.
The Hoyts completed their first Ironman
triathlon in British Columbia in 1987 and
have been competing in the Ironman world
competitions in Kona since 1989.
The two are currently in training for the
Ironman World Championship 70.3 in
Clearwater, Fla. in just a few weeks.
“It’s just amazing what’s happening,” Dick
said. “When Rick and I first started, we never
thought we’d be doing a triathlon.”
The Hoyts’ athletic pursuits began when
Rick was in middle school in Westfield. While
at a basketball game with his gym teacher, he
heard an announcement
about a
Westfield State
College lacrosse player
who was paralyzed
in an auto accident.
Upon returning
home, Rick told his
father, via a communications
computer,
that he wanted to participate
in a charity
road race held in
honor of the young
lacrosse player.
At the end of the
five mile race, in
which Dick pushed
Rick along the route
in his prescription
wheelchair, Rick told
his father that he felt
like “his disability
disappeared,” earning
him the nickname
Freebird ever since,
and shoring a love for
athletic competition.
In the following
years, the Hoyts met
with an engineer who
basically invented a
wheelchair fit for strenuous competition
specifically for Rick, with two wheels in the
back, and one in the front.
As the Hoyts expanded their scope from
road races to marathons, and then to
triathlons, overcoming Rick’s physical handicap
was not the only obstacle the team had to
face.
Dick explained that in 1981, the team decided
to take a shot at a marathon. He and Rick
were not allowed to officially participate in
the Boston Marathon because they had not
previously clocked a qualifying time in an
established marathon.
They were also turned down by the portion
of the marathon that is specifically for disabled
people.
“They said no you can’t run with us
because you’re different than everybody
else,” Dick said.
Not to be defeated, the two arrived on race
day and ran the entire marathon behind the
crowd, but not coming in last place. Albeit
close a few times, the Hoyts have never come
in last place.
After running a qualifying time in the U.S.
Marine Corps Peoples’ Marathon, the two
returned to Boston in 1983 as official
entrants, and have been ever since. In 1996, at
the 100th running of the Boston Marathon,
the Hoyts were honored as Centennial
Heroes.
Dick also explained that — mixed in with
letters from people from all over the world
thanking him and his son for the inspiration
to get in shape, kick substance abuse problems,
and even come back from the verge of
suicide — are also letters from parents of
other disabled people, criticizing him for
parading Rick through these competitions.
“What they didn’t realize,” he said, “was that
he was dragging me to these races.”
Following the Clearwater event, which will
be the Hoyts’ last event for 2008, the two will
continue their training in pursuit of yet
another goal they have set for themselves.
“This coming April will be our 27th Boston
Marathon,” Dick said. “And hopefully it’s
going to be our 1,000th event, that’s what
we’re shooting for.”
News staff writer Christopher Tanguay
may be reached at (508) 909-4132, or by e-mail at
ctanguay@stonebridgepress.com.