Kyle Pease Foundation Joins Atlanta Track Club's Resolution Run

ATLANTA, GA — The Atlanta Track Club's annual Resolution Run will be more inclusive this year. The Kyle Pease Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities through sports, will sponsor 16 push-assist and wheelchair teams in the Atlanta Track Club's New Year's Day run.

Able-bodied participants will race near the Atlanta Track Club's office, while athletes with the Kyle Pease Foundation will compete at the Florence Road Trailhead of the Silver Comet Trail in Powder Springs to socially distance and remain safe.

"During the pandemic, we have been very creative with how we keep and serve our athletes and their families because we are in a higher population of getting COVID[-19] or any other respiratory event," said Kyle Pease, who founded the nonprofit with his brother, Brent. "We collaborated with the Atlanta Track Club and they've been great to partner with."

Kyle has cerebral palsy, and uses a wheelchair full time. He said he was used to watching his brothers play sports from the sidelines, until he asked Brent if people in wheelchairs could do Ironman triathlons — and Brent said yes.

Brent and Kyle have competed in races around the United States since 2011, including the 2018 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. The duo was the first push-assist team of brothers to complete the Ironman triathlon, with a completion time of 14 hours and 29 minutes.

"I had done other things like wheelchair basketball or whatever the case was, but the Ironman really gave me the ability to participate with Brent," Kyle told Patch. "I wanted more peers of mine that experience what I experience to have the same opportunity."

Kyle and Brent launched their foundation in June 2011 and have since supported 135 families across more than 1,000 finish lines, raising $3.5 million, according to a press release from the foundation.

"Looking back to when we started The Foundation, we couldn't imagine beyond our wildest dreams accomplishing what we have in 10 short years," said Brent, who also serves at the foundation's executive director, in the release. "From our first Peachtree Road Race to our historic accomplishment at the Ironman World Championship, we are so grateful for the love and support from the city of Atlanta over the past decade."

Justin Knight, Conyers resident and 32-year-old athlete, will be participating in this year's Resolution Run, according to the release. Knight, who was born with cerebral palsy, became the foundation's third sponsored athlete in 2012 and is employed by the foundation.

"As a mother and son push-assist duo, Justin and I are so thankful for The Kyle Pease Foundation and the Atlanta Track Club for their collaboration to promote inclusion in its races," said Teresa Knight, Justin's mother, in the press release. "We can't think of a better way to ring in the New Year than competing together. It means the world to us to be a part of such a loving and accepting local running community."

The Florence Road Trailhead of the Silver Comet Trail, which is where the foundation's athletes will start, is located at 3470 Florence Road, Powder Springs. Masks are required while suiting up, and participants will be asked to maintain social distancing for safety purposes.

Those interested in donating should visit the Kyle Pease Foundation website.