A Father’s Heart

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

Meet Jess, The Transformation

Who could ever forget the 2019 Marine Corp Marathon? In a deluge of rain collecting in the gutters, potholes and at the base of each hill, KPF teams splashed through Washington, DC in ponchos and soaked running shoes, skidding on slick wheels. It was a struggle – to say the least – for everyone there and it was the first 26.2 running race push-assist athlete Jess Wilson had ever done. 

A triathlete just starting out, Wilson had been training with KPF’s own Shawna Gray, had interest piqued by a social media post. 

“Shawna has always been very supportive of me,” Jess says. “I'm no Brent or Chris Nasser or Chris Johnson. I'm not super strong and I don't make it on podiums so I wasn't sure it was even something that I could physically do.”

Wilson may not consider herself “super”, but she is determined and has done several triathlons with Shawna supporting her throughout her athletic career, giving Jess pointers on her open-water swim.  

“She was the person beside me, cheering me on, encouraging me and assuring me that I could do it.”

Wilson primarily trains and races for the social aspect of it. She tried the typical training routine, coach and all. But she preferred running and cycling with friends over keeping up with rigid training plans formulated by personal trainers. 

“The triathlon team (prior to KPF) that I was part of at the time wasn’t filling that social aspect I was looking for.”

Valuing performance over fun, the team-in-training group wasn’t for Jess, who was pining for something more socially fulfilling. Growing to like the concept of racing and sharing experiences with someone – the way Brent and Kyle do, volunteering for KPF quenched Jesse’s social thirst. It motivated her to train for races. 

“I’m not going to hire a coach or stick to training plans with the goal of getting on the podium,” Wilson states.” “I run and bike because I enjoy it, and I enjoy doing it with friends.”

Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Wilson moved to the Atlanta area in 2008 and has lived all over town, presently residing in Woodstock, with boyfriend Gary Whitehead-Nudd, who also volunteers for KPF as a push-assist athlete. Sometimes vacationing to Chattanooga, Wilson spends free time in nature running, hiking, mountain biking and camping, and works as an accountant for an advertising agency based in Atlanta. 

Two months before the Marine Corp Marathon, Jesse jumped into the Lekotek 5k, which took place on relentlessly undulating hills in Sandy Springs – in humid Georgia heat. Unfamiliar with the course and partnered with another volunteer runner whose knowledge of the tricky roads was less than Jess’s, somewhere along the way, they took a wrong turn and did extra miles before looping back onto the course. 

“We crossed the finish line and I thought to myself, ‘I have never done something so difficult in my life! How am I going to do that for 26 miles?’”

However, with a tremendous amount of crowd support and motivation throughout The Marine Corp Marathon, and a pair of dry socks to replace soaking wet ones, Jess was determined to finish. 

“I wanted to make sure Aidan had the best time.” Wilson and her push-assist partner took turns singing Aidan’s favorite songs when his speaker died. Motivated by a bracelet she had purchased at the race expo with the saying, It may be hard but it’s worth it, Jess and her partner pressed on, pushing up the last hill, cheering for Aidan. 

“I bawled like a baby,” she remembers. “Like full-on ugly cry!”

They weren’t tears of sadness or grief, but tears of victory in achieving a goal. 

Mother like Mine - KPeasey Tribute to ALL of the Moms

This special edition blog was a little tougher than others to write.  KPF moms can be found advocating for their children, cheering on the race course,  signing up for races from their laptop and managing logistics. What I have determined is that they do not necessarily want the spotlight or do not necessarily see themselves as extraordinary. BUT THEY ARE!

For Mother’s Day (whether they like it or not) we are turning the spotlight on them. We want to highlight all the moms because they are among the unsung heroes of, and advocates for, their families. 

Speaking from experience, getting up on race day takes exceptionally longer than on a normal day. It goes something like this: Wake up at an ungodly hour, wiggle into my bike clothes (aka cramming into Spandex). Then, my dystonia kicks in and it’s just about all I can do to avoid whooping my mom. There’s an exchange of words. 

Mom: Just sit still! 

Me: I would if I could! 

(followed by chuckles and additional bantering)

Unlike our routine tete-a-tete, the morning of a race at the Kramlich residence seems to be void of the razzing, but still a sprint to get ready on time. Getting Kyleigh dressed takes a bit longer on race day – especially when layers are required. 

Kyleigh comes first, then “everything else is negotiable” Christina jokes, “Mom is lucky to end up dressed and with her teeth and hair brushed.”  

With similar scenarios playing out across our KPeasey family, the push for inclusion goes way beyond the finish line with moms leading the charge. We witness their fight for inclusion on a regular basis, as education advocates, as medical advocates, as therapists, as coaches – all in the name of challenging society, as well as their kids, to do more. Moms do whatever it takes to ensure their kids try their best with the abilities they have to be successful in every path they choose to blaze – whether there are inclusion-driven nonprofit organizations to assist or not. 

“Our mom helped bring the miracle league to Buckhead baseball in the early 90s, and I might say the seeds of KPF were planted then,” Brent recalls. “Bringing inclusion to baseball was just one of the ways the wonderful moms in our world help make Team Pease a winner.” 

Some KPF moms, mine included, are not necessarily runners. Athlete support is not limited to pushing a jogger through a hilly racecourse. It also takes place on the sidelines, in the simplest of acts. Naomi Williams once told a group of KPF supporters how wonderful it was to be a soccer mom for once. To be able to stand and cheer and pass out orange slices while her son, Noah, raced in a marathon made her feel engaged and was the bond that drew her closer to her son and other in-chair and volunteer athletes.

KPF moms are known for rolling up their sleeves and pitching in.

“My favorite memory of KPF moms diving into help was the Annandale Village Extra Mile 5K in 2019,” Shawna said, KPF’s Director of Operations and Development. “It was my first solo staffing event. I was nervous and there were pieces that needed to be done. All the moms jumped in. They moved everyday chairs. They checked off finishers. They watched personal items. It was a full-on team effort.”

The moms of KPF play vital roles in front of and behind the scenes - at the races and at home. From wrangling their kids into racing wardrobe to the daily morning routine. From running alongside their athlete to themselves being in-chair athletes. Moms are essential in keeping the wheels of The Kyle Pease Foundation turning.

So, THANK YOU, to all the moms. We appreciate you, we acknowledge your herculean efforts, and we love you!

Volunteer Appreciation Week - April 19 - 25, 2021

“Everyone sees the glory moments, but they don’t see what happens behind the scenes.” 

April 19-25 is Volunteer Appreciation Week and The Kyle Pease Foundation wants to take this time to send out a very special thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that make it possible for our athletes to race each year. 

In 2011, The Kyle Pease Foundation was founded.  The Foundation had no employees. Lots of helpers and loyal supporters pushed Brent and Kyle to expect more out of the race community.  Over the last 10 years, hundreds of individuals have helped us not only assist athletes on race day, but help them outside of racing and in our own community.  Without this support, KPF might not be here today. 

As you can imagine, the planning for our races start long before the actual event day.  Marketing, managing registration, assigning equipment, coordinating teams, packing the truck, and then getting everything to the event (sometimes across the country!) is a process.

Once all of this is done, it’s time to line up and start the race.  For every in-chair athlete one or more volunteers are needed to run the race, support our athletes during the race and get them safely across the finish line where the entire KPeasey Nation is cheering them in.. and usually their parents too!  

Everyone sees the glorious moment of an athlete crossing the finish line… but the work is not done.  Our team and volunteers get our athletes out of their race chairs and back to their everyday chair. Then the clean up begins by wiping down the equipment, loading the chairs and other equipment back on the truck, and heading back to the warehouse.  Once at the warehouse, the unloading, maintenance and organizing of chairs is completed.  

This process is long, involved and more work than one person can do.  Our small staff isn’t enough to make all of these moving parts come together for our athletes.  Because of this, KPF leans heavily on our volunteers and the amazing community that is needed most.  

Words on paper or social media will never be enough to properly thank our volunteers that dedicate their time and energy to The Kyle Pease Foundation.  We hope that as they read these words, they hear the gratitude that is forever in our hearts to each of them.  We hope that our families, athletes, staff and supporters make it a point at the next event to say a special THANK YOU to the volunteers they encounter that day.  

Afterall, we are family. Without each and every unit of this organization, we would not be able to show the world what inclusion and The Kyle Pease Foundation are all about.  

Together WE wheel!

Meet Cecil, The Expeditioner

Cecil Williams is an adventurous soul. In 2018, after being involved in a hit-and-run accident that caused his peripheral neuropathy, he turned to adaptive sports as a way to rehabilitate his body and spirit. Through a nonprofit in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Williams quickly transformed into an adventure-seeking adrenaline junkie. 

“I have tried skydiving, hang gliding, adaptive snow skiing, adaptive rock climbing, kayaking, scuba diving, zip lining, adaptive water skiing, tubing, jet skiing - just to name a few things,” offered Williams.

In 2019, friend and KPF crank athlete Cougar Clifford and his mom told Williams about their racing endeavors with the foundation. 

“She gave me a KPF business card, and I had started to follow KPF on social media later on in the year. To be honest, I was just taking a chance by trying something new.” And so, he signed up for the 2019 Invesco QQQ Atlanta Thanksgiving Half-marathon. 

“When I had crossed the finish line inside of the Georgia State University Stadium after the half marathon. I was like, ‘this is it.’ “He had found the catalyst that helped quench his thirst to stay active in sports. 

Williams rides his Catrike outdoors twice a week and pumps iron at the gym three to four times a week, training harder when it gets closer to a KPF race day. 

This past Atlanta Half-marathon was William’s third half marathon. Searching for another marathon – next time, a full -- he is driven and committed to do more. The crank athlete has his sights set on doing a triathlon as he was recently inducted into the KPF Tri Team. 

Beyond racing, Williams stays active in the community volunteering on the Mayor's Council of Disability. 

“I try to stay engaged with my community and look for ways to serve.” 

Article Written by Kevin Enners