Pease Brothers
STAYING POWER
Together, two siblings have conquered endurance races to promote greater awareness for disabled athletes. This April, they’re taking on the Boston Marathon.
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rent and Kyle Pease aren’t afraid of huge challenges. In fact, they pay and travel long distances to pursue them. As a push-assist racing team that has competed together for nearly a decade, the brothers have learned how to keep each other going strong while overcoming obstacles including monsoon-like conditions, pothole-riddled roads and the sheer fatigue that accompanies longdistance races. Kyle, who was born with cerebral palsy and rides in a specially designed wheelchair pushed by his brother, has developed a keen sense of when Brent needs encouragement. Sometimes he’ll recite the uplifting mantra from The Little Engine That Could to boost their spirits: I think I can, I think you can, I think we can, I think we can . . . Other times, stronger language is necessary: “In Hawaii [at the Ironman World Championship race], I needed to utter a few things not suitable for print,” Kyle jokes. “We call those the brotherly moments that you don’t always hear about.” The unwavering support of the Pease brothers extends beyond their team of two. Since the day Kyle and Brent completed their first triathlon together in 2011, their mission has been to support other athletes in the disabled community. “After we crossed the finish line, Kyle said to me, ‘I want others to be able to experience this as well,’ ” Brent recounts. “And that was the
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catalyst for the Kyle Pease Foundation.” Kyle and Brent founded KPF hoping to improve the lives of disabled men and women of all ages by helping them compete in endurance-sports events. The Atlanta-based nonprofit has since supported 85 unique athletes across more than 400 finish lines, raising nearly $3 million for their cause. Kathy Labus, a mother of twin boys with cerebral palsy, felt the positive effect of the foundation firsthand when she and her son Andrew were invited to participate with the KPF Team in the 2019 Publix Half Marathon. They were overwhelmed by the encouragement they received. “Kyle and Brent were so open and warm, we immediately felt welcome—like we were part of something,” says Labus. “My son was just completely in awe of Kyle, and I’m in awe of both of them.” Plus, the race itself was a pleasant surprise for the
mother-son duo. “So many times, in special-needs events, it can be awkward, disorganized and uncomfortable,” Labus shares. “You often feel like you don’t belong.” Too many endurance races are plagued by a lack of organization and universal inclusion—a problem the Kyle Pease Foundation seeks to resolve. Greater inclusivity is needed in sporting events where the space for disabled athletes to compete is limited, or even nonexistent. “The biggest thing is really the amount of opportunities there are,” says Brent, noting that most major U.S. road races offer only a few slots for disabled athletes. “I hope the disability category in competitive sports continues to organize and be recognized for what it is—and for the opportunities it provides somebody like Kyle and the other athletes that we serve.” For the Boston Marathon, which typically has around
Brent and Kyle Pease competing during the 2018 Ironman World Championship.
Left: In 2018, Brent and Kyle Pease became the first push-assisted team of brothers to finish the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Right: The brothers at a 2012 triathlon in Georgia. THE RED BULLETIN