Mixture of emotions

Today is just one of those days. After posting all about my excitement regarding boy bands I came across my cousin's blog that had this video and story...

There is a christian element to it as well as a familial love element to it...I couldn't help but watch it with tears streaming down my face and fall in love with this video...and this story...

THE STORY OF TEAM HOYT:
A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me? The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together.

Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever.The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island.

Watch the video as Father and son complete the race together.


Follow-up story:
The real life story of Team Hoyt: Father (Dick Hoyt) and son (Rick Hoyt) have joined many marathons, triathlons and other athletic competitions. But, what makes them really different from others is that Rick suffers from cerebral palsy - a condition involving permanent tightening of the muscles caused by damage to the brain during the time of birth. Rick was disabled at birth by a loss of oxygen to his brain because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

Here are some of proud achievements of Team Hoyt:

216 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances
20 Duathlons
65 Marathons, 25 Boston Marathons
They have also biked and ran across the USA in 1992 with a total of 3,735 miles in 45 consecutive days.

This year, 2008, Dick Hoyt and Rick Hoyt are going to be 68 and 48 years old. Finally, after so many years, Team Hoyt managed to raise public attitudes toward the physically and mentally challenged. Their best time, 2 hours 40 minutes in 1992 is merely 35 minutes from the world record. I mean, world record hold by someone who does not have to pull another man, cycle another man and push another man.

When Rick was asked about the thing he really wants to give his dad - “The thing I’d most like…is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.”