- Bryan Lyons, who took over the honor of pushing Rick Hoyt in the Boston Marathon in 2015, died suddenly on May 31.
- The family dentist had been running the race for and with Team Hoyt since 2009.
The Boston Marathon community lost a celebrated figure on Sunday. Bryan Lyons, who took over pushing Rick Hoyt’s racing chair for Team Hoyt in 2015, died suddenly in his sleep on May 31. He was 50.
“Received some horrible news yesterday that Bryan Lyons passed away in his sleep—taken from his friends and family too soon,” Dick Hoyt, Rick’s father, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. “We have tons of pictures and memories of great times together over so many years. Rick is going to be devastated when he hears the news. Bryan gave so much support to Rick and myself, Team Hoyt New England, and the Hoyt Foundation Boston Marathon charity team. My sympathy to his parents John and Pat, his sister Beth, and his brothers John and Mark. Rest in Peace, Bryan.”
Team Hoyt has been a legendary part of the Boston Marathon and other races around the country for nearly three decades. In 1981, Dick first pushed Rick, a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, through the Boston Marathon; the duo completed over 1,000 races together—including six Ironman triathlons.
Lyons, a dentist who had run the Boston Marathon as a member of the Hoyt Foundation Boston Marathon team since 2009, was tapped as Rick’s replacement starting with the 2015 race. The two raced together until 2019, when Rick sat out the race due to health issues. Lyons ran the race on his own and gave his medal to Rick at the end. The 2020 Boston Marathon was canceled because of the coronavirus.
The Hoyt Foundation is a nonprofit set up by the Hoyt family that helps integrate individuals with disabilities into everyday activities so they may live fruitful and productive lives.
Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray announced on Tuesday that Lyons had reached out to McGillivray weeks ago about DMSE, McGillivray’s race management company, hosting a virtual run across the country. This would be similar to McGillvray’s 1978 run from Medford, Oregon, to Medford, Massachusetts.
DMSE ended up setting up the event, and McGillivray sent an email to Lyons early Monday morning to tell him it was happening. Unfortunately, Lyons would never see it.
The race, now called Medford 2 Medford, is still scheduled to take place, and McGillivray said on Facebook that the race will honor Lyons.
“I pledge that we will do something very special for Bryan during these next few months while conducting this special event across America that was HIS idea,” McGillivray wrote on Facebook. “We will carry his message and his goodwill. We will miss Bryan but we will all make sure he is never, ever forgotten. God bless you, my friend, our friend, Rick’s friend and guardian angel.”
Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
