Miles for Bethany 2021

"If you ever did a triathlon in the Atlanta area than you probably knew Bethany.  She was always at the races, always quick to lend a smile and was always willing to help an athlete across the line.  

We are so very fortunate that she was able to support and honor The Kyle Pease Foundation athletes and we are very proud to be able to continue to honor her legacy each year.  Showing up to share with our community, with all who knew her is a small part for us and one we are proud to be able to do.  

We look forward to many more miles to come!"

~ Brent Pease

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On August 3, 2019 the world lost a beautiful soul. Bethany was a devoted mother & wife, a beloved daughter & sister, a trustworthy friend, a motivating coach, gifted competitor, and an inspiring role model.

On November 13, 2021 we'll gathered to celebrate her life, to support the causes she loved, to challenge ourselves to be our best, and to cheer each other on.

Push Assist Overall Winners:
1st - Bentley-Grace Hicks
2nd - Sherry Adams
3rd - Tallie Lyons

Full List of Push Assist Winners

Hand Crank Overall Winners:
1st - Cougar Clifford
2nd - Emanuel McFarland

Catrike Overall Winners:
1st - Cecil Williams

Partner Spotlight - Wahoo Fitness

What’s in a name? Per dictionary.com, names are simple arbitrary labels. In a soliloquy by William Shakespeare used in Romeo & Juliet, Juliet laments Romeo’s last name, Montague – the name of her father’s sworn enemy:

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Wahoo Fitness, a sponsor of KPF, was named after Wahoo Creek, a tributary to the lake located just north of metro-Atlanta where prior to Wahoo, Founder and Chairman of the Board Chip Hawkins owned Wahoo Boat Docks. Having earned a master’s degree in engineering and self-proclaimed tinkerer, Hawkins tried a list of names, but the one that stuck was Wahoo. 

An engineer, serial entrepreneur and self-described “struggling age group athlete”, Chip made it his mission (and eventually a passion) to make technology to help athletes at all levels train better. A triathlete, himself, he knew what athletes wanted. As an engineer, he knew where prior fitness technology fell short. As an entrepreneur, his goal was to create innovative products that provided what athletes needed to be able to train and perform better. 

On his technological mission, Hawkins created several products that have helped Wahoo become a leader in the fitness equipment space.

Wahoo's impressive portfolio of cycling industry products includes the KICKR family of indoor trainers and accessories, the ELEMNT family of GPS bike computers, activity-tracking sport watches, the TICKR family of heartrate monitors, the SPEEDPLAY Advanced Road Pedals and the Wahoo Sufferfest Training App. Philanthropically, Wahoo is one of KPF’s core backers. 

Initially, Wahoo was introduced to The Kyle Pease Foundation through its CFO, JP Matzigkeit. He then introduced Brent and Kyle to Content Director Matt Porter, who collaborated with them on a video shoot. Since then, a number of Wahoo employees have stepped up to participate in races as push-assist athletes, including Katie Dupree. 

Dupree is now the product manager for sensors and pedals. She met Brent Pease through the triathlete-training group All 3 Sports during the affectionately titled “Thighs Out Thursday” group runs. Prior to starting her career as a Wahooligan, Dupree volunteered to escort an in-chair athlete with KPF in a particularly tough Publix Half-marathon in 2014.

“My first KPF event was on a cold and rainy day,” she remembers. Yet, invested in KPF’s mission, Katie still participates in its long list of endurance events, ready for whatever. Four years into her volunteer work, Katie was hired by Wahoo. 

“Mike Ragan convinced me to volunteer for the swim portion of the John Tanner Triathlon. After that, I knew I wanted more and joined the KPF Tri Team. I’m looking forward to going back to John Tanner in September and completing a full triathlon with the foundation.”

Technical Support Representative Mike Ragan began working as a push-assist athlete in 2014. He soon started pushing in short races with KPF over the summer. Then, he ran his first ever marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in October of the same year.

Mike is a man of many talents, funny and a pleaser. At one point in the 26-mile-long race, seeing his in-chair athlete in distress, Ragan started singing Old McDonald. He would continue singing until the moment they crossed the finish line. 

“Since then, I’ve done three marathons and countless other races and social runs,” Mike states. “Since 2016, I’ve been helping to coach volunteers and serving as an event coordinator for the Foundation’s races and events. While I don’t race as frequently anymore, I have a great time helping others get involved.”

Matt Porter, Content Developer for Wahoo, heard about the Pease brothers from his coworkers who found their story and their mission inspiring. He has worked with the brothers to create videos, diving into their story and continues promoting their vision. 

“My wife is the runner in the family and has pushed for KPF in multiple half marathons,” says Porter. “The mission to make endurance sports approachable for all regardless of physical ability is close to our hearts.”

So, why are they called Wahoo Fitness? Because, at Wahoo, they value fun, hard work and determination, always putting their customers first and ready to help others. 

“We truly love and believe in the work we’re doing for endurance athletes,” says Katie. “Most of us are competitive athletes and have our own goals to grow in sport and our careers, we get to blur that line every day in work and training.”

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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!