Rick van Beek has been taking part in marathons and triathlons with his teenage daughter, Maddy, for almost 10 years.
Maddy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy two months after her birth. Initially, Rick felt saddened by her health condition, but soon discovered that it was the best gift his family could ever receive.
A few years ago, they ran their first race together. "'She functions like a 3-month-old," Rick told the Midland Daily News, "and one of the very few things that we know she enjoys is being outside, being in the water, feeling the breeze in her hair and in her face."
To date, Rick has participated in over 70 outdoor racing events. This year, he and Maddy are planning something even more exciting.
They will be donating all raised funds to Make-A-Wish Michigan, and, as always, to helping out ambitious, fun-loving kids with special needs.
Click here to visit Team Maddy's Facebook page and find out how you can help out!
Scroll on to read this touching, inspiring dad-daughter story, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
[H/T: Daily Mail]
For years, Rick van Beek, a father of three from Byron Center, MI, has been taking part in competitive triathlons and marathons.
But he doesn’t go alone. He loves to bring his teenage daughter, Madison, along with him for the ride.
Madison was diagnosed with cerebral palsy two months after she was born.
“Everybody prays that their children are healthy, and for eight years, I still wished that she had been a healthy child,” Rick told Fox17 back in 2012.
“But if she wouldn’t have been like she is, then we wouldn’t be the people that we are today.”
Any doubts that he had were wiped away around eight years ago, when Maddy took part in her first marathon.
What he saw on her face was pure happiness. “I watched my daughter Maddy being pushed in the Grand Rapids Marathon,” he wrote in his blog at the time.
“To see her being so happy and enjoying every bump in the road was more than I could handle.”
Since then, Rick has taken part in over 70 racing events — half-marathons, triathlons, and other outdoor activities — as the leader of “Team Maddy.”
Rick also credits Maddy for getting him back in shape.
Before beginning his training for the triathlons, Rick was seriously out of shape and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.
“Shortly after that day, I gave up smoking two packs a day and chewing a tin [of tobacco] a day to be better, for Maddy,” said Rick.
“It has been a long road, with many bumps, but we are better.”
One particularly memorable race was the Sanford and Sun sprint triathlon back in 2012.
Together, they completed a 0.3-mile swim, a 12.4-mile bike ride, and a 3.1-mile run.
While in the water, Rick swam, and pulled Maddy behind him in her kayak. Then, he biked with Maddy in a cart behind him, and pushed her in a stroller as he ran.
“She functions like about a three-month-old, and one of the very few things that we know she enjoys is being outside, being in the water, feeling the breeze in her hair and in her face,” Rick told the Midland Daily News.
Along the way, Rick has raised money for several charities, and has formed a nonprofit organization called “Team Maddy,” which raises funds to supply equipment and service devices to children with special needs.
Many people have been deeply touched by Rick and Maddy’s journey. Even spectators who are unfamiliar with their story stop in their tracks whenever they race past the sidelines.
The dad-and-daughter team recently announced that they will be racing for a particularly special cause this year.
They will be donating all raised funds from the race to Make-A-Wish Michigan!
“The kids in this program deserve to smile and laugh and enjoy life, the way we do when racing,” wrote Rick.
Visit Team Maddy’s Facebook page to see how you can help out and see how you can join their race!
Rick insists that it’s Maddy, and not he, who inspires hope and happiness in others, and in him.
“[The emotion] drives me, or inspires me to do the things that I do,” he wrote in his blog.
“Call it inspiration, call it motivation, call it whatever you want. I call it LOVE.”
Please SHARE if you were deeply touched and inspired by Rick and Maddy's love!
