A Year Full of THANKS

“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people - your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way. ”
Barbara Bush 

Thank you to each and every one of you for making this such a special year.  What started as a journey amongst brothers has grown to mean so much more to us.

First Half Ironman together as brothers

From our first Half Ironman 70.3 race, to our first race with sponsored athletes this year is one we cannot thank you enough for.

First sponsored athletes and families!

 Whether it was watching future Olympians from afar or new friends close by it is hard to believe how much you have all made such an impact on us.

Christina Young on the left at the Junior PanAm games

Greg & Marin Smith at their first duathlon together

To races with dear friends and events with friends who make this all possible is a gift and we are so honored to be able to share that gift over and over.

Our dear friend Betty sharing a wonderful day with us!

The 3rd Annual KPF bowling event that brought plenty of smiles!

 From new partnerships forged that will lead us into 2013 and beyond we cannot wait to see what the future holds.  A special thanks to LocumTenens.com & Bennett Thrasher for providing incredible support to our organization.

Thank you LocumTenens.com for joining our team!

But who can forget the biggest day for us to come.  12 ATHLETES on the start line for an unforgettable day.  What a day it was and what days to come!

Thank you to those who traveled far and near to make this day possible.  Holcomb Bridge Hustle 5k Alpharetta, GA.

We had a blast that day!!

But why stop there? Why not cap the year off with so many who helped make this all possible?  A "race", a drink?!? Happy New Year to us!

Bryan Neumeier running his 40th race with Kyle through Decatur!

To all of you we simply say THANKS.  This has truly been a special year and we cannot wait to see what 2013 holds for us all.

With gratitude,
Kyle and Brent

Goosepond Weekend!

Early on a Saturday we make the trek down to Scottsboro, Alabama.  Last tri of the year, but this was special as I was speaking to all those taking to the starting line.  We tested the equipment and went on a quick run with our good buddy Andrew Shanks.  After we felt good about our equipment, we settled in for a short rest at the hotel and waited on our friend John David and his entire family.  I was pretty excited to have them all there and words don't describe the thanks I felt with them.  John David has long been a friend and it always brings joy to see him by our side on race morning.

In my speech I spoke of the gifts that we have and no matter how small the gift we should all share those.  For me a simple gesture of opening a door can make the world of difference in my day.  The group in Alabama was an incredibly warm group and as I spoke to the group I was already looking forward to a fun day racing with everyone.

Delivering remarks to racers of Goosepond 70.3

Raceday started at 4:45am...cold and dark, I settle into my thoughts. Upon our arrival, we assemble our equipment and prepare for the day ahead.  There was a piercing coolness to the day but I was ready for what was before us.   JD and his nephew Martin pump our kayak and Brent pulled on his wetsuit.  As the horn sounds, Brent lurches forward and I feel the boat move swiftly in the water.  We were moving quick today.  Maybe Brent didn't want the cold water on him much more than I needed that wind blowing in my face.  Either way I was screaming my head off at him.  No sense in slowing down now...

No time for sight seeing today :)

A quick transition was aided by sherpas Dad and JD and then we were off on the bike. The wind was in my face as we turned through the Alabama country roads.  My legs got tight, my back started to ache.  Should we stop? What are we doing? "Brent how many more miles??" He lets me know it is a mere 20 miles...We all face the challenges of the day and together we all must get to the other side of the mountain.  Brent was working hard and I wanted to work harder.  I urged him on and fought through the barriers of my own.  As we neared the transition I was proud of how hard we worked and knew I had learned another lesson as we race more and more. 

Saying hey to friends with our great escorts for the day!

The run was difficult as well as the cold never really let up.  I knew we needed to stay positive and once on the run we had friends and family all over.  Plus the other racers were great energy to keep us going.  As we made our way over the course John David and his family pulled up alongside us and offered us some warm food.  Yep french fries and hamburger :) I think I know a new fuel source for those longer races and those salty fries were some of the best food I have ever tasted...well at least 6 hrs into a good race. 

 

As we raced along I kept thinking of positive thoughts.  I asked more of my body and more of Brent to get us across the line.  This was no easy day but as we approached the finish I knew we had earned it!  We finished in 7hrs 18mins making it a terrific end to a great weekend. I would like to thank the people of Scottsboro for their unbelievable hospitality and generosity as well as all the positive things they had to say about the foundation. To our three escorts on the bike... I don't know how to thank you enough.  To JD and his wife, their children, his mother and cousin thank you for all the support.  It gives us all the more reason to push through.  To Dad for being there all day to make sure we were taken care of a thousand thanks!!

We have a great November in store and hope to share our gifts with many of you!

All the best!

K-Peasey

Pride

Holcomb Bridge Hustle 5k

Holcomb Bridge Hustle 5k Teams With Kyle Pease Foundation!!!!

Holcomb Bridge Middle School and the second-annual Holcomb Bridge Hustle 5k are
excited to announce a partnership with the Kyle Pease Foundation (KPF), a non-profit
organization which provides sports-participation opportunities for persons with disabilities.

To kick off this partnership, HBMS will be hosting an in-school assembly on Oct. 19 with
Kyle Pease, his brothers and KPF supporters to promote this year’s race, discuss the
organization’s goals and educate all HBMS students about inclusion of all athletes as part of the
group’s mission.
Through this partnership, the school, it’s PTA and race organizers, will be promoting
KPF’s mission to provide assistance for persons with disabilities and to help them meet their
individual needs through sports. Kyle Pease, as well as students who are being assisted by
KPF, and numerous KPF supporters and volunteers will participate in this year’s race.
We are excited to be able to help all students experience the thrill of reaching the
starting line and the exhilaration of crossing the finish line.





Mission Statement: The purpose of The Kyle Pease Foundation is to create awareness and raise funds
to promote success for persons with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs
through sports. Programs may include scholarship opportunities, purchasing medical equipment for
others or contribute to other organizations that provide similar assistance to disabled persons and
participating in educational campaigns to create awareness about Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities.

KPF will provide these services directly to individuals as well as partner with other existing non-profit organizations to achieve these goals. Direct beneficiaries will be limited to persons with disabilities who need adaptive sports equipment, mobility devices or medical care.

Bowling and Shopping With KPeasey!!!

Guess what?!?  It's that time of year again.  Yes we are already ready to go for our 3rd annual bowling event.  So please go ahead and SAVE THE DATE:

 

When: Nov 15th 6 pm - 9 pm

Where: Midtown Bowl 1936 Piedmont Circle Northeast  Atlanta, GA 30324

What: An Evening to benefit The Kyle Pease Foundation

Donation: $35 Suggested Donation to benefit The Kyle Pease Foundation 

                 Your donation will include a shirt, bowling and pizza!

 

 We hope that you can make it again this year so please be sure to mark the calendars NOW!!

See how much fun everyone is having!!!

We will also have our raffle again with more GREAT prizes

Unfortunately Karl Malone's shoes will not be available this year

And of course special guests....

The Dude

Not this dude...well maybe

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon and sharing with you our journey and plans beyond. 

Perhaps equally as exciting we now have another way to help The Kyle Pease Foundation. 

The Kyle Pease Foundation has teamed up with Socialvest, a cause-based shopping platform, to give you an opportunity to earn money for our organization every-time you shop online. Anytime you shop at one of 100's of participating retailers including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, and Nordstrom a percentage of your total purchase will be donated to the organization, at no cost to you! We know you want to support us but that time and money are two of the two biggest challenges we all face. Our goal is to find easy ways for you to give back just by doing something you already do: shop.

Visit SocialVest or use the link: https://www.socialvest.us/get-involved/register/kylepeasefoundation.

Please consider joining us in November and the next time you shop please remember there are easy ways to help too!  Thank you to you all who help us make this possible and we look forward to sharing with you soon.


All the best
KPeasey
Founder: The Kyle Pease Foundation

When can we race again??

Greg and Marin Smith have been racing with The Kyle Pease Foundation this year and most recently they competed in a duathlon at John Tanner Park near Carrolton, GA. First off we cannot say enough about Chuck and Kristen for and all of Tri The Parks race series for allowing us the opportunity to compete.  Rest assured you will be seeing us at plenty more of those races next year.  Truly a well run series. Greg recently helped pen a blog posst to share the experiences of his family at their first duathlon (Thanks Christy, Lauren and Graham for sharing the day!!!)

-Brent
KPF BOD Member, Walking with KPeasey racer

Marin and I had a tremendous time in the John Tanner tri-the-parks duathalon  this past weekend racing as representatives of The Kyle Pease Foundation.   For the past couple of weeks she and I did several training rides and runs together and I had the opportunity to talk To her often about racing again on Kyle's team. Marin was quite excited once again to Go Fast!  Several times during our training rides leading up to the race she would be on the bike with me encouraging me "go faster daddy", usually while I was going quite slowly up a hill!  On race day I woke Marin up at 5:50am, earlier than she has ever willingly gotten up.  She perked right up and told me she was ready to race.   After arriving at the park, she was very excited to set up - having her grandparents there to shower her with attention.  She was very excited to see Brent and especially Kyle arrive to cheer her on.

Kyle and Marin were all smiles!!

A duathlon consists of a run, then bike and then run.  After we started out on the first run, all the other runners turned to encourage Marin and she was thoroughly enjoying herself.  She sang songs to help me along...."mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please shine down on me". (we started off running with the sun in our eyes after the first quarter mile).  After the first transition saddling up into our bikes, we were off and fast.  Seems the trip to All3 Sports to tune up the ride was well worth the trip! 
We ended up passing quite a number of riders (blowing by some at 30+ mph) and all I could hear behind me was "WEEE.....WEEE!" like the little pig in that geico commercial. Marin was having a blast!   About 35 minutes into the ride, Marin decided to take a little nap since dad was cranking the peddles pretty well on his own (and as I said, she did wake up pretty early).  Finishing up the ride at 16mph pace for the entire ride was great and off we were for the final run.

Heading out for the final lap!

We managed to finish strong together encouraging one another and getting encouragement and energy from all the other racers around us.   Really cannot say enough about the people that put this race on and all of those out there as a volunteer or fellow competitor.  When we finished, Marin was tickled to get her Gold medal!

That evening, thoroughly tired after a great day, Marin unprompted said to me when I was putting her to bed that she was looking forward to our next race, this next time with Kyle!  I of course could not be happier.  Marin knows of course she is a little bit different from typical kids due to her walker and legs. However I am a true believer that modeling at an early age that she can participate in and achieve everything that typical kids/athletes/adults can is so important.  Plus it's incredibly fun for us all and a great way for dad and his little girl to bond together with Mom, sister Lauren, brother graham, family and friends cheering along the way.  The Thrill of Victory!

All of the winners!

We are looking forward to many more occasion and even more so when we can share the road with Kyle and the rest of They Kyle Pease Foundation!

-Greg Smith