On Sunday, August 29th, 2021 at 8:45am, starting at the Wolf Swamp Fields you are invited to come take part in a great community event to celebrate and honor the legend Dick Hoyt. The event will have a 5K run, 2 mile walk, and a virtual event. All funds raised will benefit the Hoyt Foundation and the eleven Team Hoyt Chapters that Dick and Rick created around the United States and Canada.

Registration is open online but also available the morning of the event beginning at 7:45am. Cost to register for the run/walk is $25 per person until August 15th and will guarantee an event t-shirt. August 16th till race day is $30 a person with remaining shirts being given away at a first come-first get. Virtual registration is $25 (+ $5 shipping) and open until race day. Virtual registration includes a race t-shirt that will be mailed out following the event.

Awards will be offered to the top 3 overall male and female finishers. Age group awards will be given to the top three finishers in both male and female age groups, 18 and under, 19-29, 30-49, 50+ and top three Team Hoyt duos.

Dick Hoyt, the legacy of the father-son duo began in Westfield in 1977 after Rick Hoyt (son), a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, told his father he wanted to participate in a five-mile run to benefit a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident.

Most people thought they would run down to the end of the street and turn back. But they didn’t. They ran the entire five miles and came in second-to-last place. In fact, the duo never came in last place throughout their entire athletic careers. When Rick got home that night, he spelled out on his computer: ‘Dad, when I’m running, I feel like I’m not even handicapped.’

The team made history as the first duo to complete the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in 1989. Using an inflatable boat attached to a bungee pulled by Dick, a bike with a seat on the handlebars for Rick, and a custom-made jogger for Rick to sit in, the Hoyts finished the grueling 140.6-mile triathlon in 14:26:04, changing the face of sporting events and redefining what is possible.

In all, the Hoyts chalked up more than 1,200 distance races, and the Team Hoyt foundation they formed delivers their message of “yes you can” to the disabled as well as to the community at large. Across the region, those familiar with the Hoyts and their story know the devotion of father and son to their message of positivity!

Unfortunately on March 17th, 2021, Dick Hoyt passed away peacefully. This is a great community event for every one of all abilities to come out and honor a legend that has both paved the way for so many and inspired millions of people all around the world.