Through a wooded area just south of Lake Hartwell, my dad pushed me and my eighty-pound bike up and down steep hills while my sister rode along on her mountain bike. My sister and I had grins on our faces, excited about this unexpected adventure. Not ten minutes into the exploration run, I felt droplets dripping down my neck. I glanced at my mirror which framed Dad, sweat-flopped and beet-red. It was a hot day, and we didn’t bring any water. 

Later, I asked Dad why he ran for the whole hour we spent figuring out how to get back to our tent. He said, “Because you guys were having fun.”

It’s small moments like this that leave big impressions on kids. KPF dads are acutely aware of this and, although a race day looks different for each, the common thread for KPF dads is to make sure all the athletes have fun.

During races, it takes a village. Just come to one. You’ll find KPF’s village of dads stepping up, lending a hand, from helping with equipment and setup, to transferring athletes into chairs and bikes, to pushing chairs and sidling to perform on-course equipment fixes. Oh, and then there’s packing everything up after a long day. But the work that these dads do take place way before the start line. It is done within households of in-chair athletes and volunteers – in small moments – and grows from there.  

Being part of a community of people with common backgrounds and bonding with his daughter, Katy, are motivators for volunteer and dad, Ryan Freeseman. “I want to help where I can because I want more families to experience the connection they can have with their kids and the joy others can have by competing,” said Freeseman. 

Push-assist volunteer, Kip Thompson, a strong athlete who has competed in several high-level races, hopes his twin-toddler daughters will learn the value that helping others brings. Thompson sees merit in his training in a different way; it’s not just for him, it’s for others. 

“I have so much joy in being a father,” said Emanuel McFarland. An in-chair athlete, McFarland wants his daughter to see how being active and involved enhances one’s self-confidence. 

It’s clear that racing and volunteering have positive influences for everyone involved. However, can we talk about what it takes to get to a race? When asked, KPF dads chuckled and shared the following:

·      Multiple alarms are needed to wake up a zero-dark thirty.

·      Multiple bodies need to be dressed and fed (some need to be accessorized with orthotics). 

·      Babysitters must be scheduled to care for kids not attending a race. 

·      Wives must be promised a self-care day if they are staying behind with the kids. 

·      Accessible transportation needs to be available and on time to get to the race. 

·      Equipment needs to be checked, loaded and transported. 

All this before hitting the start line! KPF dads definitely step up to the plate on race day with a simple goal – to make sure their kids are happy.

Thank you, dads! You rock!

Written by Kevin Enners