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17,300 Sets Record For Weekend

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 11, 2008

TAMPA - With about 1,400 runners in Sunday's marathon and more than 2,500 in the half marathon, combined with the crowd from Saturday's 15k and 5k races, the Gasparilla weekend attracted 17,300. Since the marathon and half marathon were coupled on the same weekend as the 15k and 5k four years ago, that is a record turnout. Due to the 2009 Super Bowl, next year's events are Feb. 28-March 1.

TEAM HOYT FINISHES: Dick and Rick Hoyt - a k a Team Hoyt - are a father and son team from Massachusetts that has competed in marathons and triathlons all across the world. Dick pushes and pulls his son, who is in a wheelchair, through all competitions.

Sunday, they participated in their first Gasparilla race - the half marathon.

"We've been running for 27 years now, and this is our 960{+t}{+h} event," Dick said. "When we first started racing, when I was in my 50s, we would do 50 races a year. We once did three triathlons in one week."

Now 67, Dick and his son have downsized their events to about 23 annually. But that hasn't slowed the message he and his son still try to convey.

"We now travel all over the United States for speaking engagements, so it makes it hard to train," Dick said. "But now, instead us inspiring people, they are now inspiring us. People tell us we're going to the Ironman Triathlon because of you guys, we're competing because of you guys."
Team Hoyt will compete in its 26{+t}{+h} Boston Marathon on April 20. "We got to get to at least 1,000 events - we've got 40 more to go," said Dick. "But that's just a goal, my other goal is to push Rick in a marathon when I'm 70."

BIG WEIGHT LOSER FINISHES STRONG: Dave Dawes of Wesley Chapel, who went from 300 to 150 pounds through diet and exercise, finished the marathon in 3:26.59. That was a personal best for Dawes by nearly 7 1/2 minutes, but nearly 12 minutes short of the Boston Marathon qualifying time. He said he was adversely affected by the headwind heading north on Bayshore Boulevard for the final miles.

"In some ways, the wind today was harder than the heat in Chicago Marathon," Dawes said. "I felt like I was barely moving at times."

Bill Ward, Jeffrey Jones

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