Dave McGillivray to Push Rick Hoyt of Team Hoyt for Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 10K on July 3 at Gillette Stadium

Renowned race director will fill in for Dick Hoyt, who has completed more than 1,000 endurance events while pushing his son in a specialized wheelchair

BOSTON (June 29, 2015) -- Dave McGillivray, the race director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, will push Rick Hoyt of Team Hoyt in the upcoming Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 10K at Gillette Stadium on July 3.

McGillivray is filling in for Rick’s father, Dick, who cannot make the event. Dick and his son, while seated in a specialized wheelchair, have completed more than 1,000 road races, marathons and triathlons together since 1977.

“I am honored that Dave accepted our invitation to push Rick in the Harvard Finish at the 50 10K,” Dick Hoyt said. “I know Rick is very excited to be doing this race event with Dave, who is a great friend and supporter of Rick and me. I know they will have a lot of fun together.”

The moving story of Team Hoyt has inspired millions, including McGillivray, who on Friday will be just the second person besides Dick to complete a race while pushing Rick, who was born a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy.

“Kiddingly, I always thought Dick Hoyt had it easy, thinking he had a unique advantage since he had his “secret weapon” and inspiration, Rick, right in front of him every step of the way,” McGillivray said. 

“Now I am about to eat my words as I am sure pushing Rick won’t be easy.  I won’t be setting a 10K personal best but it sure will be a thrill of a lifetime.”

McGillivray has known and been associated with the Hoyts for almost 30 years.

“I always wondered what it would be like to push Rick in a race myself and now I am about to find out,” he added.

“I think I will purposely run my slowest 10K ever because I want this experience to last as long as possible. I am truly honored to be only the second person besides Dick to ever push Rick in a race. Rick and I have a lot of catching up to do so we’ll have a fun time out there. And then to finish at the 50-yard line in Gillette Stadium with him, well, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 10K begins at Patriot Place and will take runners through Foxborough before returning to finish inside Gillette Stadium at midfield. The 10K begins at 7 p.m. on Friday (July 3).

McGillivray is fulfilling a birthday “gift” from Dick and Rick at his 60^th birthday celebration last August. The Hoyts gave him a gift certificate redeemable for a run with Rick in the upcoming year.

McGillivray actually had an opportunity to relieve Dick and push Rick for a few miles earlier this spring at the Run for the Troops 5K in Andover, Mass.

“It was a blast, I was cracking jokes to Rick the whole way,” McGillivray said.

In 2014, Dick, 75, completed his 32^nd and final Boston Marathon while pushing Rick, 53, and in 2015 served as the Grand Marshall while Rick was pushed through the marathon by their friend Bryan Lyons, a Billerica, Mass. dentist. (McGillivray completed his 43^rd consecutive Boston Marathon in the evening after directing the race)

McGillivray has known and been associated with the Hoyts for almost 30 years.

McGillivray, president of DMSE Sports, also directs the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50.

In addition, when McGillivray turns 61 later this summer, he will reach a milestone by running his age in miles for the 50^th consecutive year – a tradition he began at age 12. Dick and Rick Hoyt ran with him during his 60-mile birthday run last year.

Dick and Rick Hoyt established The Hoyt Foundation, Inc. in 1989 as a platform to educate society about the inclusion of people with disabilities in family and community activities. Among the organizations The Hoyt Foundation supports are Easter Seals of Massachusetts and the Communication Enhancement Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, where patients use special communications devices such as those used by Rick Hoyt.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit http://www.teamhoyt.com/The-Hoyt-Foundation.html.

Team Hoyt began in 1977 when Rick asked his father if they could run in a race together to benefit a lacrosse player at his school who had become paralyzed. He wanted to prove that life went on no matter the disability. Dick Hoyt was not a runner and was 36 years old. After their first race Rick said, "Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped."

After their initial five mile run, Dick began running every day with a bag of cement in the wheelchair because Rick was at school and studying, unable to train with him.

The Hoyts have competed together in endurance events ever since, even biking and running across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.

McGillivray is credited with encouraging the Hoyts to become involved in triathlons, Dick Hoyt said, and helped convince officials at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii to allow the father-son team to compete. In 1989, they were the first duo to compete in and complete the event.

McGillivray first gained national prominence with his 1978 cross country run - from Medford, Oregon to Medford, Mass. - that took 80 days and raised almost $150,000 for the Jimmy Fund – the first money any runner ever raised for a cancer charity, according to Runner’s World. He has completed a number of similar feats of endurance since his groundbreaking cross country trek, including a second cross-country run in 2004 from San Francisco to Boston as part of TREK USA, a relay team event that raised more than $300,000 for five children’s charities.

In addition to managing road races throughout the U.S. with his team at DMSE Sports, McGillivray is a motivational speaker who has logged more than 1,900 appearances in his career.

McGillivray, who now lives in North Andover, Mass., grew up in Medford where his small stature meant he was often the last pick for sports teams, fueling his motivation to overcome obstacles and achieve his goals. His story is chronicled in his 2006 book The Last Pick.

He is a pioneer in what is now one of the most important aspects of the endurance sports industry – combining athletics with philanthropy.

Nearly every DMSE Sports event combines fitness and fundraising, giving back to the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Lazarus House and many others charities and non-profit organizations in New England and across the country. He along with all the events he has directed have helped raised more than $100 million for charity over the years.

DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. In addition to the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, DMSE manages more than 25 major road races per year, including the TD Beach to Beacon in Maine, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the Finish at the 50 at Patriot Place, Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, Va., the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wis., the Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race and the Across the Bay 10K in Annapolis, Maryland, among others. For more info, visit www.dmsesports.com.

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Photo by Capstone Photography (top photo)