Most Inspirational Duo in the Ironman Race

Dick and Rick Hoyt, better known as Team Hoyt, are a father and son duo who race in the Ironman. This is no ordinary father and son team. This team is arguably the most inspirational team to ever race. Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy due to oxygen deprivation at the time of his birth. His parents, Dick and Judy, went against the advice to institutionalize him and
instead let him live his life as any other person would. In 1977, Rick told his dad he wanted to run in a 5-mile benefit run for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. After the race, Rick said, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped." Since then, Team Hoyt have ran in over 1,000 races and have even biked and ran across the United States, completing 3,735 miles in 45 days. If this story has taught us anything, it is that perseverance and determination go a long way. There is no "I can't do it." There is only "Yes, you can!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM

http://www.teamhoyt.com/index.html

Update: 04/24/13

Rick and Dick Hoyt were on mile 25 of the Boston Marathon when they realized something to be wrong. Team Hoyt was expecting last week's Boston Marathon to be their last time competing in the race, but because of the bombing, they will return next year to honor the victims.

Quotes by Robert M. Hensel

The Following Quotes are by Robert M. Hensel:

"Placing one foot in front of the other, I've climbed to higher lengths.
Reaching beyond my own limitations, to show my inner strength.
No obstacle to hard, for this warrior to overcome.
I'm just a man on a mission, to prove my disability hasn't won."

 

"Limitations only go so far."

 

"We, the one's who are challenged, need to be heard. To be seen not as a disability, but as a person who has and will continue to bloom. To be seen not only as a handicap, but as a well intact human being."

 

"Know me for my abilities, not my disability."

"I have a Disability yes thats true, but all that really means is I may have to take a slightly different path than you."
"I don't have a dis-ability, I have a different-ability."

"As a disabled man, let my life be a reflection of the endless amount of ability that exists in each and everyone of us."

"We, the one's who are challenged, need to be heard. To be seen as a disability, but as a person who has, and will continue to bloom. To be seen not only as a handicap, but as a well intact human being."

"My disability has opened my eye's to see my true abilities."

"When everyone else says you can't, determination says,'YES YOU CAN.'"