KPF and a "Pair of Justins" Learn Much During the Augusta 70.3

I've learned so much since we decided to start The Kyle Pease Foundation just six short years ago. The birth and subsequent growth of KPF has been similar to having an infant child. You care for it, you nurture it, you learn from it and teach it. You care about it more than you care about yourself. And when your precious child succeeds, nothing feels better.

When our athletes experience the taste of competition and the flavor of success, my chest swells with pride. Our athletes are inspiring to me and that was on full display this past weekend in Augusta. Justin Dugan and JDUDE showed perseverance thorough out a very difficult Augusta 70.3. They experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all within one race. Victory in their decision to compete; defeat in their inability to complete the race. Results are not why we started KPF.  We started KPF to show the world that "Together we can and TOGETHER WE WHEEL". Thank you to the volunteers , the countless supporters, parents and the ATHLETES. Thank you Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

-Kyle

And now some inspiring words from Justin Dugan himself following the Augusta Half Ironman. 

I've been trying to process a lot of thoughts about our race in Augusta. Most of all I want to thank you. For many things. All of you extended yourselves over and over for Justin and I. I was able share some special memories with you all.

I learned a lot about myself out on the bike course, both while struggling to keep that bike moving as well as when we couldn't get it going any more. It broke my heart. I sacrificed a lot for this race, time with my newborn son and family, work events and time working on my house.  I felt failure.

Throughout the weekend and after it, I think I learned a lot more about the foundation, inclusion and more importantly the team of people that came to support and work hard for Justin and I.  You guys were my Rocks! I can't even put it into words that will do it justice.

Hearing about how "we did it" so many times right after having my chip taken off was hard to hear. I felt like I failed all the people I asked for donations, all of you and everyone that was cheering us on. I felt like I didn't live up to my end of the bargain. But now, after letting it all sink in I can see the impact we had. Justin is an amazing Man and he handled this race so well. He kept checking on me and making sure I was okay. Even after the race was over. I'm lucky to have been able to share the course with a friend like him.

I have written and rewritten this post already a bunch of times and know that it will not have everything I want to say and need to express. The best I can do is thank all of you again. Throughout the weekend all of you were there for us. When Justin needed someone or something it was done! And even when I needed something it was handled just as quickly and with as much care.

When I've asked Brent about how I can find the motivation to do this because we aren't brothers, like he and Kyle, his response was "Out here, we are all brothers." I think that is what I learned, because I don't know if I believed him when he said that. We were a family out there. We had highs and lows and we were all in it together. We were brothers (and sisters).

We did it. We were there. And just like every other athlete there, we had a shot at finishing. We dealt with problems just like every other athlete has to deal with. And we faced defeat like every athlete has to. We showed that it is possible.

-Justin Dugan
    
 

The Kyle Pease Foundation Remains Busy with a Capital B!!

As the saying goes, "If you want to get something done, ask a busy man to do it." Well as the summer comes to a close the Kyle Pease Foundation is getting it done, because we are BUSY with a capital B. and as you may suspect, we wouldn't want it any other way. 

We start off the weekend of September 24 in beautiful Augusta, GA with the 70.3 Augusta 1/2 Ironman, where the double Justins, Justin Dugan and Justin Knight will be taking on the land of the famous Green Jacket. The duo have done some local races together under the KPF umbrella but this will be their first 1/2 Ironman together and the first time a KPF has participated in this awesome Ironman sponsored event.

Our Camp Wheel Away Annual trip to Winder, GA is just beyond the horizon as KPeasey and friends invade Camp Twin Lakes for one of my favorite weekends of the year. This is a great time for anyone with a disability to get away and focus on what we do best;  bringing inclusion to the forefront. The weekend gives all participant the opportunity to learn about the Foundation, while participating in biking archery, camp fires, boating running and Smores galore!! There are still a few openings, but space is limited. The weekend is 100% funded by the Kyle Pease Foundation and Camp Wheel Away. Campers with any type of disability are welcome. Apply on our website and join us for the weekend of October 10-12. 

Once we recover from our weekend as one with nature we are off to the Nation's capitol and the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.  The MCM is the largest race that KPF competes in outside of GA. It is always an honor to be there with the marines and all the men and women that protect our freedom. To see the kids smiling from ear to ear all the way from the hotel to the starting line is an absolute highlight for me. Many athletes will be competing dressed in KPF blue, while Brent and I will be there to play the role of Commanders in Chief of the KPF army. Special thanks to the Ability Experience who will be competing with us as well.

Before we even catch our collective breath we will be off to the BIG Apple and the NYC Marathon. This year  will be very special as we have three athletes competing as this is the first year we opened it up to other members of the foundation. We are so proud of the other athletes and their families as we return to the scene of our now famous Broken Wheel.

We close out the fall season with our annual Bowling with KPeasey event which is the culmination of everyone's accomplishments for this incredible year. More details will be following in upcoming posts and on our Facebook page in the coming weeks. The event is highlighted by the awarding of the Jake Vinson Family Grant. We've received a record number of applications but will keep on accepting them until the end of September. Applications are available on our website. 

As always thank you for your support. We could not do this without your love, kindness and  generosity. Together We Wheel, Kyle!

KPF Atlanta to Utah to Muncie: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

Guest blogger and Walking with Walking with KPeasey of Utah athlete, Joe Guttenplan, recently competed in the Ironman 70.3 with KPF athlete Curtis Ward. The two not only competed but completed this challenging event. Below they share their thoughts about their experience. 

I was more than excited when Brent let me know that I’d be able to race with Curtis at Muncie 70.3.  Having been inspired by the Pease Brothers from the moment I was introduced to them, I was really looking forward to finally having a chance to race with another athlete. I longed to experience conquering a long distance triathlon, not as an individual, but as a team. Helen Keller wrote, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

As cliché as it sounds, the entire weekend far exceeded all expectations. It was incredible to spend time getting to know Curtis, his mom and the support crew (Brent, Mike, Jesse and Thomas). We all worked as a cohesive team to build a race plan that would work for all of us.  Since I had never raced a distance greater than a 5k while assisting another athlete, I received a significant amount of helpful coaching from everyone in the camp leading up to the start of the race.  

The weather was perfect on race day and the support team and fellow Dynamo/KPeasey fans were out in full force.  Without them, I anticipate a mighty long day. During the swim, Curtis and I made a few friends and were joined by an outgoing navigator on a kayak to help direct us through traffic. A little comic relief took place to quell the nerves, when Curtis experienced a few fellow racers, who grabbed onto his boat for a breather believing that he was a lifeguard there to help them.

The first 3/4 of the bike portion was incredible. Curtis and I received encouragement and kind words of inspiration from athletes, who were passing us on both sides of the road. At the end, it was only Curtis and myself working as a finely tuned team to get the miles in on the bike.  Curtis was a great teammate and provided both encouragement and friendly conversation to help push us through the last tiring laps. Without him I would have been toast.

Once on the run, we received emotional pats on the backs from a vast majority of the racers, as they passed us on their way back to the finish line.  I had to fix my right arm in a manner so that I was not only pushing the chair, but that I was able to give a sufficient thumbs up to acknowledge the constant positive affirmations from fellow racers. As much as I could have used that extra energy to propel us towards the end, I didn’t feel it was enough to simply nod a thank you. Thumbs up all around.

The support crew showed up on bikes at a perfect time to give us a second wind as we reached the turnaround.  Most racers had already passed us going the other way by this point, so it was great to have Thomas (and the Facebook live feed), Jesse, Mike and Brent there to cheer us on as we made our way towards the ultimate goal: the Finish Line.  I had mentioned to them that my legs were starting to give out and my pace was slowing mightily for the last four or five miles of the run.  Those last miles were a great example of what the Kyle Pease Foundation is all about.  While nobody broke out into an inspirational “Where there’s a wheel, There’s a way” tribal chant, Curtis and the boys coached and encouraged the entire way home. They willed us to the finish. While having the team there to help was incredible for the Friday setup and in both transitions, my favorite part of the race was the last handful of miles as everyone pulled together to get us to the finish line.  

There was no greater thrill than hearing the loud ovation as my teammate at the wheel, Curtis, and I rolled across the finish line. Crossing the line by myself is pretty darn amazing; crossing with my teammate is beyond description.

Curtis, a man of very few words except when he’s on the course, summed up our experience this way, “I had an unforgettable, life-changing time. The swim was fun because the other swimmers kept on bumping into me and Joe on the course and were trying to hang on to us like we were a rescue boat. The bike course was exciting to see all the other bike riders cheering us on, but the run was my favorite part because it had a food station at every mile. I may be exaggerating but I feel like we stopped to feed me 26.2 times along the way. That's where you see me with a big bag of chips, literally making it "all this and a bag of chips." 

I want to thank everyone associated with the Kyle Pease Foundation for allowing Michelle (my wife) and me to not only take part in this weekend, but for allowing us to start Walking With KPeasey in Utah.  I’ve enjoyed working with Kyle and Brent while participating in a few races in Atlanta so having the opportunity to build a new chapter in Utah to extend the mission and purpose of the Foundation in our new home is absolutely surreal. Wherever we are, Together We Wheel.  

KPF Makes History in "The Grand Daddy of Them All"

The 241st birthday of the United States was historic in more ways than one as nine Push Assist teams, representing the colors of the Kyle Pease Foundation, participated in  the "Grand Daddy of them All", the iconic Peachtree 10K Road Race. 

To take you back through the history of KPF's involvement in the Peachtree, we must take you back in time to the year 2013 when Brent and I made history as the first Push Assist team to participate in this historic race. One year later, race organizers, The Atlanta Track Club (ATC) and the Shepherd Center, granted us a second bib as Brent and I were joined by Justin Knight and Brian Resutek as participants. Now in 2017, through the continued support of both ATC and the Shepherd Center our numbers have blossomed yet again. 

"As we waited to start, Matt of Infinity Yoga, turned to me and said, 'Dude, we have the whole row.' It's amazing to think that in 2013 it was just us. Now it's beyond that. It's bigger than us. It's a collective We and one we are so proud of.  Together WE Wheel!"                                     ~Brent Pease

As I've shared on several occasions, the reason this race is so special to me is because it takes place right in my own backyard on the very streets that I call my home. From the moment the starter's pistol sounds to mark the beginning of the race at Lenox Square Mall to the point where  runners make their way down Peachtree Road, through the streets of Buckhead and Midtown before finishing in beautiful Piedmont Park, the Peachtree can be summed up in four letters...H-O-M-E!

The highlight takes place as we race by the Shepherd Center, where many of the patients line the streets and cheer us on as we make our way past this incredible facility. The Shepherd Center specializes in spinal cord & brain injury rehabilitation along with medical research as the top rehabilitation hospital in the nation, so it is apparent why they cheer on the KPF athletes so feverishly. Another highlight for me is when we whisk by Piedmont Hospital, where I've been employed for many years. Patients, staff and many dear friends come out of the hospital to cheer for Brent and I, as well as our other push assist athletes. My heart swells with pride as we pass both of these top-rated facilities. 

Brent and I finished third in the men's division with a credible time of 39:18. The men's division was won by Ricardo Aranda and Matt Shechtman, while second place was awarded to Justin Knight and George Darren. The push assist women's division was won by Naomi Hicks and Carrie Smith, while the coed division was won by Aiden Jackson and Carmen Brahmin. Winning participants in each of the push assist divisions were awarded  cash prizes by the Kyle Pease Foundation to acknowledge their accomplishment. 

We look forward to next year and the opportunity for KPF athletes to participate in America's Largest 10K. As always, our goal remains spreading the message of inclusion from sea to shining sea. 

Before we blow out the final candle on our country's birthday cake, let me take a moment to remind you to apply for the Jake Vinson Family Grant and to register for Camp Wheel Away. These are two of the highlights of our organization and we hope to make both opportunities available to as many families as possible. 

Until next time-Together We Wheel....

IRONMAN Boulder Race Report

The adventure known as our third IRONMAN finish began with quite a whirlwind. Brent, Erica and Caroline headed down the Sunday before the race to get acclimated to the altitude and, from what I hear, traveling with a toddler can be an adventure in itself.  

My buddy Ian and I flew out together on Wednesday, just a couple days before the race. Ian has been a good friend for a few years, but has never taken care of me, so this could have been an adventure for him as well. I knew he would do a great job though, so I wasn’t worried about it. I was, however, worried about my wheelchair making the trip all the way to Colorado. My everyday wheelchair is not made to fly. There’s a lot of things you have to do to get it from point A to point B and it weighs about 500 lbs. Ian and I took all the extra precautions to make sure it made it out safely and so it would arrive in one piece undamaged.

Prior to the flight, everyone told me to drink a lot of water. So I did. I won’t go into too much detail, but something really funny happened on the plane. Because I drank all that water, I eventually had to use the bathroom. If you’ve ever been in an airplane bathroom you know what two guys crammed in one could be like. I’ll just leave it at that...

After we landed and got settled into the hotel room, we went out to dinner with Erica, Brent and Caroline in the hotel restaurant. On Thursday morning, Brent, Ian and I went to the IRONMAN village to get our bibs and everything else that we needed to get ready for the race.

In between all of this, we did some interviews for a video that IRONMAN Boulder was putting together. It’s always fun to do interviews, but once that was complete the focus turned solely to the race, and the preparation for what would turn out to be a crazy day.

(I think all that hard work with the interview turned out great.) 

On Friday, we got to hang out and meet Miranda Carfrae. We chatted for about five minutes. It was so amazing to be able to talk to and connect with one of our sport’s greatest athletes. She is basically the Michael Jordan of women’s triathlon. Although, I was a little starstruck, it was an honor to meet her.

As race day came closer, we tested the equipment out to make sure that everything was good to go. By that time I felt pretty acclimated to the altitude and water intake. All of our transition bags were packed and ready to go. Mentally Brent and I were laser focused and ready to compete in our third IRONMAN distance race together.

The morning of the race, Ian woke me up at 3:30 AM. I quickly drank some water and ate a little something to keep my pills down. Then, just like that, off we went to the starting line. We had about an hour and a half once we got there to do our final preparations. I like to listen to music with headphones in my ears, trying to get some quiet time and ease my racing mind. I was getting some nervous and excited energy. 

As the minutes got closer to the start, I went to the transition docker, which lead me to the boat. We met up with my dad, Ian and Jason (Jason was the third member of our crew helping with transition). My dad whispered some encouraging words, Brent kissed me on the head and we were off!  

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THE SWIM

The swim started calm on the way out, but on the way back, we had a bit of a tailwind. It was a little choppy, but it really helped us out. I ended up getting a lot wetter than usual because of all the people surrounding us (IRONMAN Boulder is a big race). We were out of the water in 1 hour and 7 minutes - our fastest swim yet! 

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THE BIKE

When I got to transition, Ian picked me up and we were off to the bike. The bike is our equalizer, it’s our biggest obstacle. During transition, we were going a little too fast and I almost fell out of the jogger. It was scary and things were kind of hectic, but once I saw Brent things calmed down. We were off on our 112 mile bike. Wait, IRONMAN Boulder is actually 114 miles!

 Once we were on the course, the bike has three racks. We had 17 people supporting us on the course throughout the race. They were all amazing. We did the first loop in 2 hours and 31 minutes. The second loop got a little bit harder. There’s a stretch in the course called Nelson Road, a heartbreaking six mile climb. We were cruising at about 28 miles per hour downhill, then stalled to 5 miles per hour going up. Nelson Road was seriously crazy. I never want to experience it again.

“We got this, come on buddy, we can do this.”

On the end of the second loop, Brent started to get fatigued. I had to reel him back in and try my best to give him encouragement. “We got this, come on buddy, we can do this.” Our support team followed us throughout the bike course and Brent said we need everyone out there with us on the third loop to give us the inspiration we would need to complete the course. I could tell that we needed all the help we could get. And boy, did my family, and our loved ones show up in a big way.

About 30 minutes into the bike portion all I wanted to do was get off, but I knew I had to be there for my brother. On that third loop I started to get hot. I had on a jacket and long sleeves, so when we saw our mom, she helped me get my jacket off. When we stopped, Brent noticed one of our wheels was a little wobbly. While I was getting changed, Brent gave our tire a solid and thorough inspection, but everything looked good. After this slight interruption, it was go time.

I knew that it was on me to keep Brent going emotionally and on his incredible ability physically, but no matter what we were going to get through this bike course. To me, one of the coolest things about IRONMAN, is that they have cut-offs. If you don’t make it through a certain point of the race in time you’re disqualified for the race. There was a 5:15 PM local time cut-off. We were out just over eight hours when the race official came over by us and said we had about 42 minutes left. We both mumbled about that and we just said, we gotta go, let’s go! One more time.  

The rest of the way, I was whispering so Brent could hear me, “I think we can, I think we can.” And we did. When we hit mile 112, with 2 more miles and one more big hill to go,  I was there whispering to Brent, encouraging him. Like we said in Wisconsin, I made follow Brent’s legs, but he follows my spirit. I think that’s what helped us conquer the bike portion in 8 hours and 51 minutes, 24 seconds.

“Like we said in Wisconsin, I may borrow Brent’s legs, but he borrows my spirit. ”

I’ve never been more happy to get off the bike. When I got off I yelled…some not so nice words, because I was so sore. By this time, Brent was getting ready for the run. When Ian started pushing me, I told him we gotta go slow, (to avoid almost falling out again). When we got to transition, they laid me down on the towel to change and get ready for the run.

I laid there for a minute and collected my thoughts. You see, it was our own will, and our tenacity to get us through the bike. We didn’t execute the bike plan the way we wanted to in regards to nutrition, but that was behind us. We had to get some nutrition to end on a high note. It was our moment to shine. It was our moment to feel what we were about to accomplish.

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THE RUN

Once we got onto the run course (after about a 12 minute transition) we started slowing down. Then we walked for the first couple miles until we got some food in us. When we finally got to eat, at an aid station, Brent dropped me with the volunteers so he could get as much food as possible. Once we were fueled up, we started to pick up the pace. And pick up the pace we did.

We started to get a little pep to our step and saw all of our family and friends as they were out there in numbers for the run. Every time we saw them they’d be dancing or yelling with vuvuzela in hand. They were with us every step and wheel throughout the 26.2 miles. We stopped at every aid station to make sure that we were well hydrated and well fed before we came to the famous red carpet and the finishers shoot.  

We were at mile 25 and we started to celebrate! I told Brent how proud I was of him. As we inched closer to the end, the emotions started to pour out. They were emotions of pure elation. Pure joy. As we rounded the final corner the crowd was deafening. They were raucous. The music was blaring. I told Brent to slow down so that we could shake every hand that came to see us finish and complete our third IRONMAN together.

We started with our bike mechanic Curtis, his wife Jen and then Wayne (who drove all of our equipment from Atlanta to Boulder). We moved to the next set of friends. By this time we were on the red carpet.

Then a roaring noise came across the PA, “Kyle Pease you are an Ironman. Brent Pease you are an Ironman. Brent and Kyle, this is one of the best stories of Ironman this year. Kyle, you pushed Brent across the line,” the PA announcer said.

Brent kissed his wife, and hugged our good friend Betty. I got a big hug from my dad, then Ian, Jason, Danny, Helen, and everyone that was out there from the KPeasey crew. It was amazing. Words cannot express my gratitude and my love for each and everyone for the sacrifices that you made to get to Boulder. Thank you. To our sponsors, to our friends back in Atlanta, thank you. To Mom and Dad, thank you for giving us the gift of our family. To Ian and Jason, thank you. Ian was so great that he decided to stick around and be a part of my team and my caretaker. I’m so appreciative of you and Jason. To Erica, thank you for your continued support and I can’t wait until Caroline gets a little older so we can explain to her what her dad and I accomplished. Thank you for your continued sacrifice for your passion and love. Last, but not least, Brent. Thank you for giving me the ability to be an athlete. To be an athlete with you is so, so awesome. Thank you and I’m so proud of you. What you did on that course, what you did on Mountain Road and what you have done for the Kyle Pease Foundation... I love you and I’m so proud of you.

Together We Wheel, 

Kyle