Suffering from cerebral palsy from birth, eight-year-old Thomas Smits can't walk or talk. But thanks to his dad, he can run. Richard "Rick" Armand Smits runs with his son Thomas in a stroller, much like famous running duo Dick and Rick Hoyt.
In early November, they took part in the Discovery Bay 10-kilometre Fun Run, where the local community cheered them both along.
Smits, a pilot with Cathay Pacific, has long planned to run an official Hong Kong half-marathon distance race with Thomas, but so far his plans have been thwarted by race organisers who've turned him away. Undeterred, Thomas and Rick ran their own private half-marathon on a cool day in January around the roads of Disneyland - the furthest they've travelled together yet.
If the enduring bond between the Hoyts is anything to go by, it's most certainly just the beginning for this Hong Kong father-son duo.
to improve my health, and as a means of getting out with Thomas. I don't think my return to running was as a result of a mid-life crisis, but I had put on some extra weight compared to my more active earlier years as a triathlete.