Support Team KPeasey in Marine Corps Marathon this Fall

UPDATE 8/1 - Thanks for helping hit the initial goal! My mind is blown with all the support. If you came here to give, please do! Your money will enable athletes in future races and events do amazing things. All money goes to KPF!

Hey Guys,

This fall I am running the Marine Corp Marathon in DC with the Kyle Pease Foundation and I need your help to raise $3,000 crush my orginal $3000 goal:

Short Version:

Kyle Pease Foundation (KPF) is all about inclusion and exists to help persons with disabilities meet their individual needs through sports. I love what KPF stands for. KPF athlete, Lizzie, and I will be throwing down 26.2 miles together in DC and we need your help. Donations will be used to make sure Lizzie has a first class experience at the race: from travel and hotel accommodations to the equipment needed to participate. More information about KPF can be found here: https://www.kylepeasefoundation.org/

Long Version:

Two years ago when riding MARTA, Atlanta’s mass transit system, I got the pleasure of meeting my dude Kyle Pease. Kyle approached me on the train to ask me about an Ironman bag tag on my luggage. He told me he’d completed 2 Ironmen himself. I was intrigued. A little back story on Kyle, he was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy at a young age and is reliant on a wheelchair to get around. And for those of you who don’t know what an Ironman is, it’s a one day race that is comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and at the end you run a full marathon (a 26.2 mile cool down because why not?). Kyle let me know that he and his brother Brent had been competing in races as a team and breaking down barriers. Kyle and Brent (“Team KPeasey”) have completed over 75 races together. As of today, they have completed 4 Ironmen, including the World Championship in Kona (THIS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL), the NYC marathon, and even helped create the push assist division for the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta among dozens of other things

Their story has really caught on with national media in the past few months. What they do as brothers is incredibly loving and inspiring, we need more Kpeasey in the world and in our lives. You can read about them here on a small site called CNN:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/29/sport/kyle-and-brent-pease-ironman-world-championship-kona/index.html

They recently came out with a book (Beyond the Finish)- that details their story. It is a fantastic read. Kyle is a human version of Red Bull exploding with motivation. He doesn’t use the word “no”, even though he has every excuse to. He is a legend and I am better for knowing him.

What I love about Kyle and Brent is their story doesn’t just involve them. They started the Kyle Pease Foundation (KPF), which allows individuals with disabilities participate in similar races while the foundation takes care of logistics: equipment, push athletes, etc. Their message is built on inclusion: that everyone who wants to participate, CAN. I have had the pleasure of being part of KPF in a few races and it is awesome. This fall, Lizzie, a KPF athlete, and I are taking to the streets of Washington DC to do 26.2 miles. I've raced with Lizze in a much shorter race before and it was a blast. She had her game face on at the start, let me know when we were going fast enough on down hills, and had a huge smile at the end. We need your help to make sure Lizzie has a first class experience in DC. Please consider donating to make big things happen with KPF. No amount is too small or big.

Thanks!

Matt