SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Team Hoyt San Diego duo has broken the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon pushing a wheelchair.
Team Hoyt is a non-profit that enables those with special needs to take part in endurance races with the help of specialized racing wheelchairs.
“The idea was to run our hearts out, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Sean McQuaid.
“Team Riley” (McQuaid and Riley Pathman) competed in the Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday in Duluth, Minnesota, when they broke the world record together.
They beat the previous record by about 14 minutes: running 26.2 miles with McQuaid pushing Riley’s wheelchair from behind in just 2 hours, 35 minutes and 26 seconds.
“You could feel that emotion, the buzz. Riley looking at everybody and getting all the cheers. He is the heart of the run,” said McQuaid.
Riley’s dad, Jim Pathman, ran behind them for this race, but the two have raced together as a father and son team since Riley was four. Jim says Riley has now completed 30 marathons total.
“What we found over the years is we’d be running at a marathon, and we’d see people in a wheelchair on the side. We’d stop and talk to them, and they’d say, 'hey, we didn’t know that was possible…let’s go do it,'” said Jim.
Jim says inspiring others to go further and to do more than they thought possible is what Team Hoyt is all about.
“For us, that's what it's about. Opening other people's eyes…because when it opened our eyes…it changed our lives,” said Jim.
The Hoyt Foundation was started by Dick and his son Rick Hoyt who also raced in a wheelchair. Rick passed away last month. Team Hoyt San Diego says this race was in his honor.
You can learn more about Team Hoyt San Diego by clicking this link.
