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Yes, I have been thinking of trying to train for a marathon again.  But, I admit, I am scared.  I wonder and worry if I can do it.  So, to get a little grounding and a little inspiration, I watched one of my favorite videos of Team Hoyt.  If they do not inspire you to believe that you can, I am not sure what will.

Have you heard of Dick and Rick Hoyt?  Dick Hoyt is Rick's father.  Rick has Cerebral Palsy.  Rick, who cannot walk on his own, asked his father to run in a race with him.  Now, several years later, Dick and Rick have raced together in many races, including IRONMAN triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).  During the race, Dick pulls Rick in a boat while swimming, and pushes him while pedalling a bike, and pushes him while running mile after mile.  Did you read the distances????  Now, I am not sure about you, but I question whether I could do that by myself.  Yet, Dick, a 66 year old man in one of his last IronMan triathlons, was doing it while pushing and pulling his son.  AMAZING.

So, if you want to be inspired  . . . . and want to cry . . . watch the video.  Please.

But, that is not why I am writing this post.  I have seen this video a bunch of times.  I cry every time too!  But, what struck me this time was Dick Hoyt's (and his wife's) yes to life.  Yes to a life that they knew would be hard.  Yes to their son when the doctors told them to put him in a home.  In another video I watched, Dick mentions that they did everything with Rick that they did with their other children.  They did not treat him different because of his disability. They gave him all the love and experiences that they could give him because he was their son.

These parents are a testament to the sanctity of life.  The beauty and worth in every life.  And, now, that life, their amazing son Rick Hoyt, is inspiring millions of others to believe that they, too, can.
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  1. Amen! I think they raced in the Half Marathon I did this year. They certainly turn lemons into lemonade, what a great example for all of us healthy and able-bodied people. How about we run a marathon together? I keep thinking about it too, but then I talk myself out of it.

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  2. Oy. I know I've seen that before, too. But it gets me every time!! Good luck deciding about the marathon!

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