Southern Heritage Press

Dick and Rick Hoyt, Men of Iron

By Sam Nall

In Dick Hoyt’s world, the only difference between a hill and a mountain is something called attitude, and along with their courage and determination, the Hoyt family has conquered many mountains the past forty years, literally and figuratively. They were devastated when their first son was born with cerebral palsy, a non-vocal quadriplegic, but they accepted the challenge. Rather than put Rick in an institution and forget him – as was suggested by the doctors – they gave him a life unlike any other.

ESPN, ABC, and NBC brought national attention to Team Hoyt when they conquered the Ironman Hawaii and again when they traversed the Rocky Mountains on a bicycle. Dick, a novice swimmer, tethers himself to a rubber dinghy and tows his adult son 2.4 miles in the Pacific Ocean. He straps him to a seat on the front of a custom-built bicycle and pedals 112 miles. Together, they then complete the Ironman events by running a marathon, 26.2 miles, with Rick seated in a “running chair.” These are tremendous accomplishments, of course, but they represent only a couple of rungs in Team Hoyt’s inspirational ladder.

If you are expecting a simple sports biography, or only a story about a man competing in triathlons and marathons, you are in for a pleasant surprise. This is not what you will find between the covers of this book. Instead, prepare for an emotional saga about the tremendous accomplishments of a handicapped person surrounded by a family motivated by love for one another and for humanity in general.