Kyle and Brent "Love That Dirty Water" in Boston

Hey KPeasey Nation….Though I hate to push the summer away faster than I should, I’m really looking forward to our fall racing season. Somehow the heat of an Atlanta summer is not as conducive for racing as the crisp morning air of September and October.

 While Brent and I were traveling around Boston last weekend, Kevin Enners and several other KPF athletes were enjoying one of our favorite races, the 27h Annual Lekotek Run.  Kevin shared his race report in the paragraphs below.

 “The last Lekotek race I did resulted in the three letters no competitive athlete wants to hear – DNF. One of the pullies that kept my recumbent cycle chain taut was smashed as I rode over a speedbump. The speedbump was unavoidable as were all the ones spanning the entire width of the first stretch. Luckily, the damage to the bike was fixable, but it was devastating to my soul.

I thought that would be my last attempt at Lekotek, until recently, finding out that they had a new course, which turned the four-miler into a 5k and10k – without speedbumps! Instead, it had hills! Lots of hills. Grinding away up one steep sucker, cresting the top breathless, I found myself reconciling some life decisions. What had I expected? Maybe that the course would be friendly? Maybe it would seem manageable as I’ve gotten stronger? Wrong-o!

A fellow crank athlete, Jackson, accompanied me and suffered with me through massive, thigh-burning undulations. Drill the hills, I urged myself...just drill the hills. Jackson was a crank athlete who had raced with ConnectAbility in Dahlonega. He is aspiring to qualify for the Paralympics in a push-rim chair.

His racing tactics were the typical full-speed-downhill-grind-uphill method. Mine were just the opposite, as I consider myself a “climber” and a “careful-not-to-flip-over descender”.

With four-percent climb to ascend (according to Strava), I tried to hold my watts slightly below my FTP (Functional Threshold Power)– which is 100 watts – but had to go above FTP just to average a seven-minute-per-mile pace. It was a challenging course and one that makes you appreciate the finish!”

Everyone seemed to have a great time and this was felt in the power of Kevin’s words. Kevin is a hard worker, a published author and a gifted writer and teaches us all that a mere disability can’t hold you back.

 We had an equally great time in Boston due to the planning, connections and great hospitality of none other than our friend and co-author, Todd Civin. Todd’s itinerary for us included a visit to a wonderful adaptive gym owned by new friend Brendan Aylward, a TV interview with Worcester TV3, and two book signings.  The absolute highlights however were throwing out the first pitch for the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate for Boston, bringing out the game ball and the resin bag for the starting pitcher at historic Fenway Park. These are childhood dreams of every little boy and girl and were absolutely incredible experiences. We met Red Sox pitcher Andrew Cashner, who was so down to earth.

We also visited the bronze statue of the founders of our sport Dick and Rick Hoyt which sits overlooking the starting line of the  historic Boston Marathon. This was dwarfed only by meeting the Babe Ruth of our sport, Dick Hoyt, in human form. Rick was ill so couldn’t join Dick at the Expo for the Falmouth Road Race but meeting Dick was surreal. He is so supportive of what we are doing and without the efforts of he and Rick, our sport may have never existed and the opportunities to compete for so many would likely remain a fantasy.  We shared war stories with Mr. Hoyt and show absolute love and appreciation to the founder of our sport.

After competing in the Falmouth Road Race, we returned home as our athletes competed in one of our staple races, the John Tanner Tri. Several athletes competed with the help of some amazing volunteers. As always smiles were abundant and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and the comradery experienced by our athletes and their families.

Don’t forget that our book, Beyond the Finish is now available in Kindle form which we are super thrilled about.

Until next time,

Kyle

Braves Recognize the Pease Brothers and Launch their New Book!

As part of the Atlanta Braves’ recognition of community heroes, Kyle and Brent Pease were honored on May 14th during the game. The Pease Brothers were recognized for their continued efforts to promote inclusion of differently abled individuals in sports. For Kyle, a lifelong Braves fan, it was a dream come true.     

“As I got to wheel out of a tunnel to an amazing crowd, and to watch the video and all the photographs really put into focus what we are trying to do with the Kyle Pease Foundation. I was in awe of the moment.” 

“As a life-long Braves Fan it was a dream come true. Being by the Atlanta Braves was such an exciting moment for me, as I got to wheel out of a tunnel to an amazing crowd, and to watch the video and all the photographs really put into focus what we are trying to do with The Kyle Pease Foundation. I was in awe of the moment. The book signing was another terrific opportunity to share our story and go behind the scenes of brotherly love to realizing our dreams of becoming athletes together,” Kyle said.

Everything from that week set in after the book signing two days later, at which they debuted their autobiography, Beyond the Finish. “The book signing,” Kyle added, “was another terrific opportunity to share our story and go behind the scenes of brotherly love to realizing our dreams of becoming athletes together.”

From Brent:
In 1991, the Braves were finally out of the cellar and on the last game of the season they clinched their first of 14 straight pennants.  Sitting behind home plate were three of the biggest Braves fans and their mother (she might have been the biggest fan).  It was the first time we as brothers got to experience the real thrill of victory.  I know that HD & 4k tv's are all the rage, but nothing can replace the excitement of being there in person.  With more than 50,000 people cheering on the hometown team it was one of the coolest experiences for us as brothers.

Flash forward to two stadiums later, a move OTP and the Braves were getting ready to call our name.  For two guys who probably had no shot at a big league contract this was pretty amazing.  When they called our name and we walked onto the field it was damn near close to that game in 1991.  I might have even stole a glance at the jumbotron to see the smiles on our faces.  The most exciting part was feeling like an even bigger part of the Atlanta Sport Community.  The night was about honoring community heroes and the focus was as much on the foundation as the two of us.  Of course it didn't hurt that we got to wear custom game jersey's with our names on them!  We are incredibly proud of the work of the foundation and are ever humbled at the recognition that sometimes brings.

Because who does things easy?? We turned around on Thursday night and launched our book, Beyond the Finish! When we learned more about the process of actually writing a book we decided in 2016 to get started on the project then.  We figured when the last chapter occurred we could finally write that one.  After the Ironman last fall we were able to finally complete our book and begin the editing process to get this ready for 'mass consumption.'  A big thanks to Todd Civin & Mascot Books for helping us pull this together and helping us learn along the way the energy required to write a book.  The reception was fantastic and nearly 150 copies went out the door for that first event.  We hope that each of you can take something from the book as friends, parents, athletes and maybe even brothers.  We hope this brings you as much joy as it brought us along the way and even more so as the first books head out the door.  We've been told that the Amazon market place is pretty big so as you get your book please review and share your comments there and hope that you encourage your friends to grab a copy too!  Thank you to all of you who have ordered and started reading your copies already!

 Together WE Wheel!

Pease Brothers' New Book Takes Readers Beyond the Finish

As Brent and I ascended up the racing ladder over the past several years, countless people have asked when we plan to document our story in the form of a book. I even asked myself the same question for some time knowing that what we have been able to do together is a story that many are interested in hearing. With a lot of hard work over the two year process, we are happy to announce that Beyond the Finish is a reality. Over 200 pages sandwiched between a bright, beautiful front and back cover, we share our story of life, love and determination through the years which culminated in success at the Ironman World Championship in Kona last October.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of this book. Beyond the Finish takes you behind the scenes like never before, through the eyes of every Pease family member who has helped us get to this point. I know the story pretty well having lived it and even I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out how our story ended.

What I hope people take away from the book is that you don’t let anything stop you and don't let anything define you. It’s more than just a book about two guys racing together but more so a book about love, friendship, outshining your goals and not allowing a few unfortunate circumstances prevent you from shining on your own biggest stage. I want to say thank you to our great buddy, Todd Civin, our co-author. Todd has been with us since day one and without his guidance and knowledge in how to put the story together this would not have been possible.

You can preorder your book today on Amazon.

We also teaming up with the Atlanta Braves on May 14th at SunTrust Park as part of our book celebration and rumor has it we may be toeing the starting line against Freeze.

We will be having our launch party on May 15th at Big Sky Buckhead and invite everyone to attend. Please consider inviting friends and sharing the flyer below on Facebook and Instagram.

Another Publix in the Books, but Not Without Our Words of Gratitude

Looking back at what we've written after past Publix races we could likely repeat the same words again.  We often seem to repeat that “this year’s race was bigger, better and one amazingly, unforgettable experience.

This year, however, I would add the sentiment of thanks. Thank you all for your trust in our work and our mission.  Thank you for believing in us and lending your legs, your heart and your spirit for the betterment of yourself and your fellow athlete.  Thank you for helping to raise more than $100k in support of our mission and the remainder of our event costs this year. 

What struck me most about this year’s event was hanging back with Kyle and witnessing the hard work of all our years as an organization spread out across the road.  When we turned at mile 1.5 to look back behind us it was a sea of athletes.  With a twenty-minute head start under darkness all you could see for nearly a mile was a wave of KPF athletes and volunteers, all running for one cause. All running together.  We are all brothers and sisters.

We interviewed a handful of our athletes following the race so we could share their thoughts about this incredible day. Jennifer Cooper, from the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and a volunteer every year of our partnership, felt a sense of duty when running with her athlete. “I didn’t want to let our athlete down,” she shared. “What a tremendous honor that families trust us with their child for over two hours over 13.1 miles.”

She continued, “The crowd was awesome as were the fast athletes!  Everyone was cheering on our team and athlete. My highlight was hearing our athlete YELL out each mile marker and watching his mother film him walking across the finish line under his own power.”

Long time KPF athlete and a speaker at the Publix dinner, Jessica Minton was in the zone on race morning and seemed to take the event in stride. “It wasn’t the big thing for me. The one thing that made a huge difference is that my focus this year was on my running people. It was Coleman’s first half-marathon. He didn’t even realize they would have aid stations.  So, this year, it was about Coleman.

Minton, the second recipient of prestigious Jake Vinson Award routed her teammate to the finish line. “Around mile 10, he started struggling, so my goal was to encourage him. Just a 5k to go!  We slowed down after mile 10, but I assured him that we were in this together and that TOGETHER, we wheel!!”

Longtime friend of Kyle and me and volunteer pusher, Art Brady, was awestruck at the magnitude of the event. “I was in amazement at how much had to come together to make everything work. The pride of knowing that all eyes were on the athletes and the impact that this had not only on themselves but on all of those watching.” 

Brady added, “The corner in Virginia Highlands was amazing as usual and literally felt like we were pulled through the corner! My most memorable part however was being able to see the joy and shared celebration on all of the athlete's faces regardless of the role they played. Everyone was on the same team and were virtually equals!”

John and Diane Reynolds will be sharing their thoughts in an upcoming blog post but in the interim had this to say. “We are still basking in the victory of last week's race. As Jason crossed the finish line he yelled "I won first place!"

“For a number of years, Jason has always enjoyed being a part of a team and having the opportunity to wear his team colors, t-shirt, hat, etc.  The Kyle Pease Foundation gives Jason that fantastic team spirit and belonging that is so important to him.  Many individuals with physical challenges are often left out from team and sports events, so a race such as the Publix Half Marathon far exceeded our hopes and dreams for Jason.  He IS a part of the Team.”

Diane continued, “For Jason, the crowd reaction was especially impactful at the end of the race.  In sight of the finish line, Jason gets out of his chair and with his team members walks, runs and dances across the finish line.  The crowd recognizes this is special and cheers him on with great enthusiasm.  As parents, we were impressed with the support and encouragement he was given during those final moments of the race.”

“The pre-race excitement leading up to the start was so very memorable.  By the start of the race, we had gained trust in Jason’s Team to carry him through.  Once they were racing, we knew he would be happy and thrilled with the movement and company his team provided.  He cheers them on and keeps them moving until they cross the finish line and earn their “bananas!” 

For this special event, Kyle and I truly thank the Atlanta Track Club for making us part of Running City USA and the countless volunteers that helped to accommodate 60 differently-abled athletes.  Inclusion is what we are all about and to be included with these incredible athletes is a wonderful and emotional experience. 

Coming into Virginia Highlands, our rally corner was deafening.  It was like running through a tunnel of enthusiasm. The smiles there were almost as wide as the finish line.  We thank you all for, quite literally. "Walking with Kpeasey".

Together WE Wheel!