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Thank You Team Hoyt

Dear Team Hoyt'You are my heroes and inspiration. I first read about you both in Runner's World and was very touched. I will never forget your extraordinary story. I have a picture of you both running and Rick raising his arm and below the picture I wrote "qualify for Boston in Philadelphia!" Well, I did not qualify for the marathon in Philadelphia because I never went. Last year the impossible happened. My husband, Scott, found out he had cancer and passed away six weeks later. I stopped running and didn't go to Philly. Yet, every time I passed by my dining room, I would see the picture of Team Hoyt- "qualify for Boston." One day, I saw an ad for a contest sponsored by JetBlue for an entry into the Boston Marathon--JetBlue Airways would pay for roundtrip tickets. I entered the contest and shared my story. On Valentine's Day last year, the day I usually looked forward to with my husband and his special home cooked dinner (he only cooked once a year on Valentine's Day), I came to an empty house yet, there was a message on the answering machine. I played it and the voice said that I was one of five winners of the JetBlue contest to go to Boston and run in the Boston Marathon. I was surprised and then thought to myself, I better start training harder and so I did. After a few weeks, when my application to the marathon was due, I was having second thoughts and wasn't too sure if I wanted to go to Boston. My friends were scolding me, telling me that I needed to do it and could not pass up the opportunity. Well, it wasn't until one night while driving home I noticed an electronic billboard and guess who was on that billboard? Team Hoyt! It was like an omen, confirmation that said it all...the answer I needed. I needed to go to Boston and run the marathon not because it was Boston.... but because what it all stood for....me moving on like you two, no matter how what! So I give you both my gratitude for the inspiration, for having me changing my mind to run Boston this past year - thank you!
Cheers!
E.T.

Story was submitted anonymously