Publix Weekend is a Dream Come True

Sometimes no matter how beautiful a dream may appear to be in one's imagination, the culmination of that dream exceeds even the most incredible of expectations. 

That was the case this past weekend at the Publix Georgia Half Marathon and Luckie 5K. The event was one of my favorite weekends since we launched the Kyle Pease Foundation just a bit more than four years ago. The whole process was just amazing. From the Happy Hour at Gordon Biersch to meeting new athletes and their families the event was beyond our wildest imaginations. 

It was incredible to feel the love, the drive and the desire of these athletes to compete with KPF. I could tell right off the bat just how dedicated they were and how their families instantly embraced the mission of KPF. I can't explain how much that means to me. 

I have always said the moment I do not have fun is the moment I will walk away from everything. Well based on the way I felt this weekend, I'm not sure that that day will ever come. 

The Sunday morning of the race Brent and my day started at 4 AM in the midst of a steady down pour. Once we assembled all the wheelchairs, 22 in all, we loaded all the athletes. We then introduced nearly 70 volunteers to the athletes. We made sure they were all comfortable and safe and led them to the starting line. 

Nearly half of the athletes were first timers as were many of the volunteers. Their commitment and their compassion spoke volumes about who they were and about their commitment to KPF. 

The Kyle Pease Foundation has always been more about the experience of the athletes than it is about the accomplishments of Brent and I so we opted not to race. It was a bit weird not being on the starting line when the gun sounded but we wanted to be sure that everyone else had a memorable experience. 

We had volunteers all over the course and Brent's wife, Erica, and a handful of fans rooted the runners on at the Rally Corner near the half way point of the race. This gave an extra boost to the KPF athletes as they entered the stretch run. 

By the end, I was soaking wet but I was beaming ear to ear at the thought of seeing our dream grow to the next level. We understand that we are not there yet but that was the largest group of athletes that the foundation has assembled to this point. 

It was a moment that I will always embrace and one that we challenge our foundation members to duplicate and exceed as we strive for continued growth. 

Like any KPF race, this weekend wasn't about finish times or PR's but instead about the smiles, the warmth and the everlasting positive impact this had on the lives of the athletes, the volunteers and the many fans who witnessed the race. 

We are so proud of you all and thank you so much for doing what you do...

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Brent's Corner: Lifetime Fitness Georgia Publix Marathon holds a special place for us. Of course, each race does, but this was the first race that allowed us to sponsor another athlete.  That was in 2012 and since then our participation has grown to 22 athletes!  
I cannot thank the race director and organizers enough. They were seamless to work with and accommodated nearly every request that we had.  

The message of inclusion was felt by nearly every one of the race participants as we had so much road covered that everyone from the front to the back had a chance to witness what we were doing.  

That 2012 race is still special because of who we met that day. Jake Vinson, our first athlete, took to the road with us that weekend and helped grow this race into 22 strong. Without Jake and his mom, Amy, it is hard to say if we would be where we are today.  

Jake is no longer with us, but we hope to carry on his name and recognize what he meant to us as friends, as athletes and as a foundation. Together, with Jake's parents, Scott and Amy, we have started the Jake Vinson Family Grant. This grant is open to applicants of any age and of any need.  

We hope that a gift such as a chair, a scholarship or any need within the family will help make an impact in some small way.  We are so very grateful to the Vinson's for sharing their gift, their son Jake, with us and we hope to continue to honor his memory through this grant. To learn more or for an application please contact us here at  walkingwithkpeasey@gmail.com.  

Pease's Posse Nearly One Hundred Strong at this Year's Publix

It's awfully hard to be think ahead to spring while skidding around on the black ice that blanketed the city tonight.  Of course, it is pail in comparison to our neighbors in the northeast, who are up to their armpits in snow and bundled up due to below zero temperatures. Weather like that makes us love Atlanta so much more than we already do. We hope everyone has remained safe and is ready to lace up and prepare for race season.

The Kyle Pease Foundation will be debuting at the 2015 Publix 1/2 marathon and Luckie 5k to be held on March 22nd. The race will be starting at Centennial Park and runs through Atlanta, parallel to the downtown area. Brent and I will be a game time decision either running the half marathon or the 5K, but we will be sure that everyone involved will have a memorable time. To this point we have nearly 100 athletes and volunteers participating in this, our largest race of the year.

I am so proud and honored to call Atlanta home and have the city as a back drop to one of our biggest events as a foundation. It will truly be a remarkable event and will embody the true mission of the Kyle Pease Foundation. 

If anyone who has not contacted us to this point, would like to become involved either as a KPF athlete or volunteer, please visit the KPF website and sign up or email KPF Executive Director Brent Pease at pease.brent@gmail.com. For anyone interested in sponsoring a KPF athlete, please donate at our website. 

"The Publix race means a lot to us", explains Brent. "We ran with our first athletes here at what seems like so long ago. We are extremely proud and grateful and how far we've come and look forward to another big year!"

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And now a word from our sponsor: 

The time has come...To order KPeasey cycling and triathlon apparel!!

This wonderful time only comes once a year, so take advantage while this opportunity is available! These Champion System cycling and triathlon kits are some of the best in the business and what better way to support and spread the KPeasey message than to be seen around down in one of these very appealing kits.

To order, click the link below. Time is limited! The ordering period will end on March 8th, so don't delay. The Link below. 

*Please note that this kit order does not directly benefit the foundation, we are just providing an opportunity to help share and spread the mission of inclusion.

Below are what the kits will look like. If you have any questions be sure to email Shanks@dynamomultisport.com or pease.brent@gmail.com. Invoices will be sent out via PayPal once the order has been placed.

Kpeasey Enters 2015 With Fond Memories of 2014 Behind

A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.

-Sarah Ban Breathnach

What better way to summarize the ending of one year filled with memories and the beginning of a new year equally full of memories to be made. 

We are extremely excited about entering 2015 and the opportunities afforded to Brent and me. As always the focus will be on the Foundation and the athletes who benefit by joining us. 

The new year is also a time to reflect on the high points and the many accomplishments that occurred during the year we leave behind.  The year 2014 marked another year of incredible growth and notoriety for the Foundation filled with many memories. 

Among the highlights of 2014 were returning to the Publix Half marathon where 17 athletes joined us in a race to remember. We were joined on that day by Ainsley's Angels of Central Alabama spreading the message of inclusion throughout the southeast. As Brent said following the race, "It wasn't just me & Kyle but rather sixteen other athletes ready to run like the wind as well! I couldn't help but get overly excited."

In May, KPF went national when Elsha Stockseth donned the KPeasey blue. Elsha runs a race nearly every weekend and is a positive addition to our team. Elsha is never without her patented smile as she crosses the finish line and has added countless memories to 2014. 

The Fourth of July was extraordinary as Justin Knight and Resuteck joined us as the second assisted running team to take on Peachtree. Brent and I blazed the trail in 2013 and we are hoping to add running teams in 2015. 

October featured the Marine Corp Marathon, where a number of athletes made the trek to the Nation's Capitol. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing KPeasey blue and red, white and blue running with the images of Washington DC on the horizon.  

November kicked off with our second successful Ironman competition in Panama City Florida and despite the cancellation of the swim portion and biking into thirty mile per hour head winds, there was no stopping the Pease Brothers. Hearing those incredible words, "Brent and Kyle Pease, you are an Ironman" is a memory that will last much longer than the flip of the calendar page between one year and another. 

Our social calendar ended on a high note with another successful family oriented bowling event held this year at Stars and Strikes in Atlanta. Seeing smiling faces, while listening to pins drop and tasting savory cheese pizza is a sensory experience that can't be duplicated. 

So as we ride off into 2015 with 2014 in the rear-view mirror we remember the words of author J.B. Priestly, who said, “I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” 

Kyle Pease Foundation Rolls a Strike with End of Year Announcements

Happy December. So, so much has transpired since our last blog post that I almost don't know where to begin. We have so much to be excited about as 2014 comes to a close and we prepare for a very inspiring 2015.

Bowling with Kpeasey was an incredible event once again and keeps getting better and better each year. It was an electric event held at Stars and Strikes where we raised over $12,000 for the Kyle Pease Foundation. This is the largest amount raised by individuals to date and clearly the most smiles we have witnessed since the event began five years ago. 

Thank you to the students of Kennesaw State for so many awesome volunteers who put it on as if it was their very own. Your support allows us to enjoy the evening while knowing we are in good hands. One of the highlights of the evening was the Celebration of the Vinson family by re-naming the former Kyle Pease Family Grant to the Jake Vinson Family Grant. 

For those who don't know, Jake was one of the first Kyle Pease athletes and he passed away earlier this year. Needless to say there wasn't a dry eye in the place. This was not due to sadness but due to an acknowledgment to celebrate the achievements of an extraordinary family. We will forever miss Jake, but will never forget him. 

One of the other big notes for 2014 is the Kyle Pease Foundation has named it's first executive director. We can think of no one more deserving than our own Brent Pease. Brent began his duties on November 1 and is very excited about the opportunity to take KPF to a new level. 

We want to thank everyone for their support in 2014 and into the future. To our many sponsors, family and friends words cannot express our gratitude. To our athletes and their families. You are the best. Look out 2015. Here we come. May all of you enjoy a safe and happy holiday and enjoy your Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa from your friends at KPF. 

Neither Ironman nor Life Itself Happens as Planned for Pease Brothers

There are very few who paddle, pedal or push their way around the planet who understand the phrase, “Life doesn’t always happen as you plan,” more thoroughly than the assisted triathlete team of Kyle and Brent Pease. 

 

So when nearly three thousand Ironman competitors faced the challenge of thirty mile an hour head winds and dangerous rip tide currents as they set out to conquer the 140.6 mile course at Ironman Florida this weekend, it was simply business as usual for the Pease Brothers.

 

“Every day is an Ironman for me,” explained the ever-positive Kyle, who was born 29 years ago with cerebral palsy. “But that makes a challenge like this just another day at the office.”

 

The fierce current that strangled the Gulf of Mexico this past weekend was deemed to be so dangerous that race organizers made the eleventh hour decision to cancel the 2.4 mile swim with wet suit clad racers standing on the ready at the edge of the white-capped surf. 

 

In the case of the Pease Brothers they had inflated their kayak and had Kyle safely fitted in his life jacket awaiting the sounding of the starter's horn blow when race organizers made the decision to change plans.

 "At first we were certainly disappointed in not having the swim component," added Brent, who leads his younger brother through the surf towing the kayak via a rope tied around his waist. "But watching the lifeguards and boat struggle out there we knew Ironman did the right thing. It certainly didn't take from the experience of the day."

 

The competition therefore began an hour later than expected as the Ironman officials declared the event a duathlon, reducing the length to 138.4 miles, yet face first into the teeth of a 30 mph head wind.  The Pease Brothers navigated the bike portion of the event in just over nine hours and at times questioned whether or not they would make the cutoff. 

"We certainly had that thought. That fear. But we were not going to allow that to be our deterrent", added Brent who pedals the custom-made three wheeler with Kyle sitting in front of him at the mast. "Kyle worked his tail off and helped push us all the way to the finish of that bike. The headwinds were brutal and it was like trying to sail against the wind but we somehow managed to find a way together to get there."

To the encouragement of the inspired crowd, the Pease Brothers disembarked their bike, re-fueled and headed out to run the final 26.2 in a time of 4:28:15, finishing their slightly shortened Ironman in a time of 13:53:08 and for the second time in the past two years crossing the finish line, not one in front of the other but side by side to the sound of the announcer's voice, "Kyle Pease, Brent Pease, You are an Ironman."  
 

The Atlanta-based brothers, who completed Ironman Madison Wisconsin 2013 in a time of 15:09:24, are the founders of The Kyle Pease Foundation, whose purpose is to create awareness and raise funds to promote success for persons with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs through sports. 

"This was an opportunity to put the Foundation in the spot light through the efforts of Brent and I," beamed Kyle, a graduate of Kennesaw State University. "There was no way that Brent and I would fail while representing all the members of KPF." 

 

Brent added, "I didn't honestly think it would be as special as Madison was but in many ways it was more special. I think this opens more doors to inspire others to live their dreams."

 

"To live without limits and to take on the biggest of challenges. We look forward to a race soon with kids from our foundation taking on something like Ironman."