VIDEO: BOSTON MARATHON LEGEND DICK HOYT DIES AT 80

WCVB

One of the legends of the Boston Marathon, Dick Hoyt, has died at the age of 80, his family confirmed to WCVB.

Hoyt passed away in his sleep Wednesday morning, according to longtime Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray.

For close to 40 years, Dick Hoyt was a fixture of the marathon course, pushing his son, Rick, a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, from 1981 until 2014.

“Because of their commitment to each other, that is how they accomplished some of the athletic feats that someone not pushing someone would be able to do. But my father being able to have my brother with him at every event was just amazing,” said Russ Hoyt.

“They were brought here for a purpose to show the rest of us that you can overcome disabilities. Those who say that it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it,” McGillivray said.

In addition to Boston, the pair competed in more than 1,100 marathons and triathlons.

“The message is: Yes, you can. There isn’t anything you can’t do as long as you make up your mind to do it," Dick Hoyt told WCVB in 2016. "There is no ‘No’ in the Hoyt vocabulary.”

We are tremendously saddened to learn of the passing of Boston Marathon icon Dick Hoyt. Dick personified what it means to be a Boston Marathoner, finishing 32 races with son Rick. We are keeping his many family & friends in our prayers. https://t.co/glau0ryh4R pic.twitter.com/SYmvZfezW7

— B.A.A. (@BAA) March 17, 2021

"We are tremendously saddened to learn of the passing of Boston Marathon icon Dick Hoyt. Dick personified what it means to be a Boston Marathoner, finishing 32 races with son Rick. We are keeping his many family & friends in our prayers," the Boston Athletic Association said in a statement after news of his passing.

Hoyt was a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard for more than 30 years.

Originally planning to retire after the 2013 race, Dick Hoyt returned in 2014 to honor those killed and injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. Team Hoyt was stopped at the 25-mile mark when the explosions halted the event.

A bronze statue of Dick and Rick Hoyt was dedicated near the Marathon's start line in Hopkinton in 2013. Dick Hoyt served as the Grand Marshal of the race in 2015.

He is survived by three sons and several grandchildren.