The Last Miles of Dick Hoyt

On a spring morning in 2023, eighty-two-year-old Dick Hoyt laced up his running shoes for the last time at the Boston Marathon starting line. For over forty years, Dick had pushed his son Rick — born with cerebral palsy — through more than a thousand races, including thirty-two Boston Marathons. He ran with a wheelchair in front of him, arms burning, lungs screaming, mile after mile.

When reporters asked Dick if he ever thought about quitting, he shook his head. "Rick's face when we cross that finish line — that's everything."

Dick Hoyt died later that year. But he finished. Every single race he started, he finished. Not for the medal. Not for the cameras. For love that refused to stop moving forward.

The Apostle Paul, writing from a Roman prison cell, knew his own finish line was close. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He wasn't boasting. He was testifying. Like Dick Hoyt, Paul had spent himself completely for someone he loved — and for the One who first loved him. Even when everyone else deserted him, the Lord stood at his side and gave him strength.