Hilltop 10K Road Race
About the Race
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 will be the second annual Hilltop 10K road race! The Annual Hilltop 10K is being held to support the Williams Scholarship Fund.
This year's event promises to be a fun-filled community event with special guest John Young and members from Team Hoyt New England! With the money raised from this event, $500 will be given to the Williams Scholarship Fund and the remaining amount raised will be donated to the Hoyt Foundation!
The Williams Scholarship Fund will be given to a graduating Leicester High School senior having a disability that provides significant challenges to the achievement of his or her life goals. In the event that there is no senior graduating matching this criteria, the scholarship will be awarded to a senior who will be majoring in special education and has been a strong member of the Leicester community.
The Hoyt Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1989. The Hoyt Foundation aspires to build the individual character, self-confidence and self-esteem of America’s disabled young people through inclusion in all facets of daily life; including in family and community activities, especially sports, at home, in schools, and in the workplace. Each year, Team Hoyt’s primary spokespeople, world renowned athletes, Dick and Rick Hoyt, show the world how to do this by speaking before community and professional groups, and by direct participation in many road races, triathlons and other endurance events. The Foundation also provides advice and support to groups and individuals who share this mission.
John was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of disproportionate short-stature. In simple terms, he is a dwarf or little-person (LP). Prior to 2007 John was dealing with some major health issues, and when things started looking better, he decided to try to live a healthier lifestyle. While continuing to swim, he started doing a little bit of cycling. He then watched a video of Dick and Rick Hoyt and through their example of “YES YOU CAN”, he decided to train and then complete his first triathlon. That first race was in 2009. John has now completed more than 30 triathlons, including four ½ Iron races, 7 half-marathons, and 4 marathons. He ran in the 2013 Boston marathon, where he was stopped within ¾ of a mile of the finish line when the tragic events of the bombing occurred.
In 2014, John returned to again attempt the Boston Marathon, but as fate would have it, John had caught a flu bug two days prior to race day, and at mile 10, he had to pull out of the race. He did return to Natick two weeks later, to run the final 16 miles of the course alone to show his son how important it is to finish whatever you start. John’s initial entry into Boston back in 2013 was an “Invitational Entry” and in order to run again, he was told he needed to complete a marathon in less than 6 hours to qualify in the “Mobility Impaired” division. So, on November 2nd, John returned to run the New York City marathon for a second time. He had the race of his life, finishing the race 40 minutes faster than the previous year, in a time of 5:57:42, earning his qualification to run Boston again in 2015.
Here is link to his blog. http://teamcompmightyjy.blogspot.com/
Throughout over 1100 races occurring over the past 30 years, Dick and Rick Hoyt have touched the lives of many around the world. Hailing from New England, it is only fitting that this duo has inspired the creation of Team Hoyt New England.
With a goal of ensuring that athlete riders across the New England states have an opportunity to roll with the wind much like Rick Hoyt continues to do, Team Hoyt New England aims to pair these amazing athlete riders with teammates from across New England. The goal is to not only carry-on the legacy of the Hoyts, but to also ensure that no single person is ever left on the sidelines.
To learn more about the Hoyt Foundation or Team Hoyt New England you can visit their websites at http://www.teamhoyt.com/The-Hoyt-Foundation.html or http://www.teamhoytnewengland.com/index.html
