The father and son plan to be in Boston for the 2014 running of the Boston Marathon.
Katie Couric, right, host of 'Katie,' is shown here with her guests Dick Hoyt, left, and Rick Hoyt who appear in a segment to air on May 30. HOLLAND -- After 34 years and more than 1,100 events, including 31 Boston Marathons, at a time when most athletes might contemplate hanging up their sneakers, Team Hoyt is still going strong.
Their story never gets old; they attract new followers to their Facebook page and website every day.
Dick and Rick Hoyt will bring their story to national TV again this week with an appearance on “Katie,” the talk show of Katie Couric, which will air on Thursday. The show includes segments on “Amazing Acts of Love.”
“It’s going to be a good show,” said Dick Hoyt in a telephone interview this week. “One of Rick’s answers to her questions brought tears to my eyes; it had everyone in the audience choked up.”
The question involved Rick, now 51, talking about his dad, who will turn 73 on June 1.
Known as Team Hoyt, the Hoyts have been running and competing in triathlons and marathons for more than three decades, inspiring people around the world with their story of perseverance. Their message is a simple: “Yes, you can.”
Rick Hoyt was born a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy; his parents, convinced he had the intellect to accomplish much, worked to ensure Rick lived as normal a life as possible, from attending school to participating in sports.
This isn’t the first time their story has captured the national spotlight, but they were invited to appear on “Katie” soon after this year’s Boston Marathon. Their marathon run on April 15, like so many others, was cut short at about the 25-mile marker because of the bombings at the finish line. President Barack Obama, in his speech at a commemorative service later that week, referred to the Hoyts as being among those who inspire others: “We’ll keep going,” the president said. “We will finish the race. In the words of Dick Hoyt, who’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, in 31 Boston Marathons - ’We can’t let something like this stop us.’ This doesn’t stop us.“
Resilience is something the Hoyt family has been practicing for many years.
“Rick and I have competed for 34 years, 1,100 events,” Dick Hoyt said. “At first, no one wanted anything to do with us; whether it was going to school or to restaurants, we told Rick, ‘Anything you want, you can do. There is no such word as ‘no.’”
“Many people tried to make it difficult for us, but we just went ahead,” Dick Hoyt said. “We’ve been motivating people from all over the world now, saying we’re out there competing. If we can do it, you can do it.”
Dick Hoyt confides that one thing he didn’t want to do was have to drive into New York City to appear on the “Katie” show. The producers agreed to send a limousine to pick him and Rick up and transport them to the studio. Things almost went awry when the limousine service wasn’t able to accommodate Rick’s chair. The limousine driver, however, wound up driving the Hoyts’ van to and from the city.
The situation wasn’t too unlike what the father and son faced as the marathon route shut down after the bombings.
One bystander at the time suggested the two get a cab, but, Dick Hoyt said his son’s running chair wouldn’t fit into a cab. At that point, another spectator came forward, offering his SUV to transport the Hoyts back to their hotel.
Rick’s wheelchair eventually ended up in a different vehicle, and didn’t get returned until the following day.
On the “Katie” show, the Hoyts share their marathon experience, Dick Hoyt said. Because Rick communicates via computer with a system that can take some time to process, he was given Couric’s questions ahead of time, his father said.
“In the second one, he talks about me. He did an awesome job,” Dick Hoyt said.
In the weeks since the marathon, the Hoyts have been going about doing what they do to help raise funds and awareness. Just a week ago, they had more than 100 people at their home and participated in a 5K road race to benefit the Holland Elementary School, Dick Hoyt said.
“It’s been a very powerful experience for us. Now people everywhere are helping motivate us to keep going,” he said.
The Hoyts already have events scheduled in the coming months, including a trip to Hawaii in October where they will be parade marshals for the Iron Man competition. Next spring’s marathon is also on their agenda as are other competitive races. Now, though, it’s less about competing and more about inspiring others, Dick Hoyt said.
“We still enjoy it. We’re not as fast as we used to be, but people seem to enjoy seeing us,” said Dick Hoyt. “People say it all the time to us; they’re no longer at the marathon looking for Joan Benoit or Johnny Kelly. It’s, ‘Where are the Hoyts.’”
The “Katie” show airs at 4 p.m. on WGGB-TV40.