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Sep 6, 2006

"Darkness brings home fathers, with their real, unspeakable power. There is more to fathers than meets the eye." --Margaret Atwood

Strongest Dad in the World

Eighty-five times he's pushed the wheelchair of his disabled son, Rick, in marathons. Eight times in addition to pushing the wheelchair for 26.2 miles he's also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming, and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the same day. When technology allowed Rick to type, he said: "Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore." That sentence changed Dick Hoyt's life. Dick (and Rick) qualified and ran the Boston Marathon in 1992, finishing only 35 minutes shy of the world record. Then somebody said, "Dick, why not a triathlon?" To date, they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling Ironmans. Then somebody said, "Dick, why not try this on your own?" "No way," he says.