What's Ahead for KPF? Virginia Highlands, Pease Family Grant and the Atlanta Hawks in the Finals

Happy Spring and nearly summer to all KPeasey fanatics in Atlanta and the surrounding areas. It's been a bit quiet since our Publix Race, but we are gearing up for a big summer and have a really great race just over the horizon. The next foundation race is one of our personal favorites, taking place on June 6th. It is the Virginia Highlands Summerfest 5K. 

The 5K is part of the 32nd annual Virginia-Highland Summerfest, which is a non profit event with proceeds donated to neighborhood projects: park improvements, landscaping, public libraries & more. Highlights of Summerfest include the artist’s market with over 200 national artists, live music, food market, Kid’s Fest and of course the 5K Road Race & Tot Trot.  Each year over 50,000 visitors attend Summerfest for one of the most memorable weekends of the year.

For Brent and I, there is nothing more gratifying than witnessing the ear to ear smiles on the faces of our athletes and we're hoping that we can piggy back off the success and enthusiasm of the Publix Race and continue to bring KPeasey to more and more assisted athletes around the country.

One of the coolest things we do as a foundation is awarding the Kyle Pease Foundation Family Grant that we award once per year to one very deserving family. This year will be no exception as we begin accepting applications for this extremely prestigious award. Previous winners include Sean Bates of Fort Worth Texas and Jessica Bryant Minton of Adairsville, GA. The KPF Grant allows winners to use funding to purchase equipment to assist them in racing.

The one big change with this year's award is that we have permanently changed the name from my name to that of our very dear friend Jake Vinson, who passed away last year. Jake was our very first KPF athlete and will forever be remembered as a young man who embodies the spirit of KPF.

If you would like to apply you can find the application on our website or email walkingwithkpeasey@gmail.com. The winner of the Jake Vinson Family Grant will be announced at our annual bowling event to be held in November. 

Brent and I will be traveling to Boulder Colorado this week for the Bolder Boulder 10K looking forward to some down time and to visit the beautiful state of Colorado again. This is a return trip for me as when I was a youngster I participated in adaptive skiing there. We also spoke last year at Newton Running so it will be great to connect again with our good friends at Newton.

We also want to welcome our new partner Morris, Manning and Martin attorneys. It is great to have them as a part of the KPF family.

Lastly, best of luck to our own Atlanta Hawks as they take on Lebron and the Cavs. Next stop NBA Finals.

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.