A father’s love

Ah, finally it’s the weekend again! I can’t say it enough – I love weekends!

I’m just not a fan of the rat race. Speaking of races, here’s a video I found on Facebook today. It features the Ironman race, which to many is the toughest triathlon in the world.

Competitors have to swim 2.4-miles, bike 112-miles and a run a marathon (26.2 miles), without any official breaks. This video is not about the race itself, but is a story of one man’s love for his son.

This is the story of Dick Hoyt and his son Rick, who was diagnosed at birth as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. He could not speak or walk. Later, with the use of a specially designed computer, Rick could communicate.

In the spring of 1977, when Rick was 15, he asked to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Dick pushed rick in his wheelchair and they finished the run.

Although they came in next to last, that night Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”

Dick & Rick Hoyt at the Boston Marathon

That was the beginning of an inspiring story. Together, they have completed over 1,000 races, ranging from short races to the marathon and the triathlon. Their 1,000th race was the 2009 Boston Marathon.

I invite you to take a brief journey with Dick Hoyt and Rick, now 49, as they complete the Ironman. Words cannot express the relationship that they have. You’ll have to experience it yourself.

When asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, “The thing I’d most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once.”

All I can say is, “Rick, you have pushed me to a new level, just by being you.”

I appreciate you.