This one has swirled around by a lot of email forwarding, and I typically ignore these messages, even from friends, but I must thank my friend Jeff (who usually sends bizarre videos of dogs doing odd things) about the “Strongest Dad in the World”, available on YouTube:

Okay, so my complaints on a slow half marathon, and here is Dick Hoyt pushing his son through a 2:40 Boston Marathon, pulling/carrying himn through triathalons…
I was checking out the story (based on a June 2005 story in Sports illustrated) by some Googling, and was worried when a high numbered hit was listed at Snopes, the Urban Legend Reference — but good news, the ruling there was a true story.

There isn’t much more we could say about this story about Dick and Rick Hoyt — a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who regularly participate in grueling athletic endeavors such as marathon races and triathlon competitions, even though (due to complications at birth) Rick cannot walk or talk — than is already covered in the account reproduced above (the text of which is taken from a 2005 Sports Illustrated article about the Hoyts) and the video link included at the end. This is a case where the words and pictures speak for themselves, far above our poor power to add or detract.

Veyr true- and there is a lot more on the Team Hoyt web site. Look at the numbers in the racing history 206 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances; 20 Duathlons; 64 Marathons, 24 straight Boston Marathons… Biked and ran across the USA in 1992-3,735 miles in 45 consecutive days.

I am utterly humbled and totally inspired.

Thanks Jeff for senidng me this one!