why i race
to overcome adversityRick Hoyt was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. During child birth, Rick's umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck cutting off the supply of oxygen to Rick's brain. He was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Doctors advised Dick and Judy to institutionalize Rick because he was a vegetable. Dick and Judy refused and brought Rick home.
Dick and Judy could tell that Rick could comprehend his surroundings even though the medical doctors continued to insist Rick was a vegetable. In 1972, the Hoyts raised $5,000 through bake sales, a local dinner dance and donations from friends and family. They paid that amount to a group of skilled engineers at Tufts University that built an "interactive computer" for Rick. Rick was able to see the letters of the alphabet and select the ones he wanted by pressing a pad on the headrest of his wheelchair with his head, the only part of his body he can move voluntarily. The first words Rick ever "spoke" were "Go Bruins!" The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup that year and it turned out Rick was a Bruins fan. In the spring of 1977, Rick told his dad that he wanted to compete in a 5 mile road race to help raise money for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Dick, a non-runner pushed Rick for the full 5 miles, and they finished next to last. Later that night, Rick typed "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped." And that is when it all started. To date, Team Hoyt has finished 240 triathlons, 6 Ironman distance triathlons, 92 half marathons, 69 marathons, 32 Falmouth 7.1 milers, have a marathon PR of 2:40:47 and half marathon PR of 1:21:12. They are two of only 27 total members of the Ironman Hall of Fame, carried the Olympic torch in 1996 and in 1992 they ran and rode a bike from Santa Monica, CA to Boston Harbor in 45 consecutive days. |
to honor the fallen72 runners out of 250 people from 35 states have been choosen to run for charity to honor the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.The victims of last year's bombing included 8-year old Martin Richard, 23-year-old Lu Lingzi and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell.
This year's race will be taking place on April 21st, 2014 and many people have high hopes of not letting events from last year stop them this year. Charity runners do not need a certain time to qualify instead the runners who wanted to participate for this charity wrote essays that explained how much the Boston Marathon bombings have effected them in their personal lives. 8-year-old victim Martin Richard's parents chose the 72 runners that will be running for their team.The runners will be raising money for the MR8 Foundation, which invests in education, athletics and community. Many family members of the victims will also be running in the race this year. including 15 marathon spots that were given to Lu Lingzi's family from the Boston University spots that were open. This team will help benefit the Lu Lingzi Scholarship Fund, which gives two graduate students an annual stipend and tuition two years. They have already raised over $1 million. Other teams that wish to benefit the people that were injured in the bombings will be running as well and will make up the 36,000 runners that will be at this year's race. 9,000 of these runners will be participants who did not get to cross the finish line last year. Besides raising money for a great cause and honoring those that we lost during last year's race, many runners want to get back to the marathon to show they are in fact Boston Strong and they will not let anything keep them down. |
to see hard work pay offYou certainly have to be athletically gifted to win the Boston Marathon, but what separates the great from the best in a marathon generally comes down to desire.
Last year's winner, Geoffrey Mutai, certainly has desire. The Boston Globe detailed Mutai's annual training regimen on Friday, and it's something to behold. The 30-year-old Kenyan reportedly runs 110 to 125 miles per week for 45 weeks each year, as well as adding in speed workouts at a 4:50-mile pace. And this isn't just a flat track. Mutai runs in the hills of Kapng’etuny, Kenya, which includes altitudes of 8,200 feet. He describes his regular routine "like the day of the race." He'll also mix things up to keep himself fresh, like "easy" runs for two hours at an eight-minute mile pace. At the Boston Marathon last year, Mutai ran the fastest marathon time ever at 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds, although it wasn't recognized in the record books because the conditions didn't meet specific qualifications. That's a pace of 4 minutes 42 seconds per mile over more than 26 miles. Mutai, who also won the New York City Marathon and broke the course record there last year, is an example of where hard work will get you. He may not be the youngest, or most athletic, or strongest, but his desire has made him one of the top marathon runners in the world. There is something to be said about that in a sports world that marvels at the physically gifted, sometimes ignoring an athlete's pure determination. His training regimen is second-to-none and you get the feeling he's only going to continue breaking records this year. So much of the marathon is about stamina, and it's Mutai's work ethic that allows him to run marathons at an alarming pace. In the Boston Marathon this year, it won't be about the most athletically gifted. It will be about who wants it the most. Mutai has demonstrated his dedication quite emphatically. |