“Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”Those words changed everything.It was 1977 when 15-year-old Rick Hoyt asked his father if they could enter a local charity race. Rick had cerebral palsy—he couldn’t speak without a computer or walk without a wheelchair. But inside, he had the soul of a champion.His father, Dick, had never been a runner. He was just a dad who couldn’t say no to his son’s dream.That first race was five miles. Dick pushed Rick’s wheelchair every single step. They crossed the finish line dead last, exhausted and uncertain.But when Rick typed out those words—”Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped”—Dick knew they’d found something extraordinary.It wasn’t about winning. It was about freedom.Over the next four decades, Team Hoyt became a legend. They conquered more than 1,000 races together. Thirty-two Boston Marathons. Six full Ironman triathlons—where Dick swam pulling Rick in a raft, cycled 112 miles with Rick in a custom seat, then ran a full marathon pushing his chair.Every hill. Every mile. Every moment of doubt—Dick pushed through it all.They weren’t just competing. They were proving something the world needed to see: that love has no limits, that disabilities don’t define us, and that together, we’re capable of the impossible.Through their Hoyt Foundation, they inspired countless families and helped create a more inclusive world for athletes with disabilities.Dick passed away in 2021 at age 80. Rick followed him home in 2023 at age 61.Today, they rest side by side—a father and son who spent a lifetime proving that the strongest muscle in the human body isn’t in your legs.It’s in your heart.And when it beats for someone you love, there’s no finish line you can’t cross together.