Spark 5k run makes a return to Piedmont Park as a partnership between two organizations

The Spark 5k run and walk is returning to Piedmont Park on May 9. This year all the proceeds will go towards two Atlanta-founded nonprofits.

The race, sponsored by Roark Capital, will send dozens of participants racing through Piedmont Park. Funds will go towards the Kyle Pease Foundation (KFP), which advocates for people with disabilities in sports, and the Share the Magic Foundation, which aims to inspire children to read.

Brent Pease, executive director and co-founder with his brother of the KPF, says he is excited about the race and the positive feedback they’ve already received from families.

“For a lot of families that we serve, they actually enjoy that this is an evening; a lot of races are at 7 am and that means for folks like Kyle, where sometimes the morning routine requires a little bit more, they’d have to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning,” Brent said.

Racing in Piedmont Park, just down the street from where he and his brother grew up, adds to the joy of the event, Brent said.

Kyle Pease, chief inspirational officer, namesake and co-founder of KPF, is a disabled athlete himself. Although the physical part of athletics is different from most people, he said he focuses on the mental aspect.

“Even though we’re not doing physical activity like others are, to keep our mind in the game for [however many] hours… it takes a lot of energy,” Kyle said. “I have to train just like Brent does for any race. Even though we are not doing the activity we too have to be assertive and encouraging to our teammates.”

Brent Pease also says that a cultural mindset shift about inclusivity has been happening since the organization started in 2013. Some disabled athletes were unable to participate in the races a decade ago due to their limitations, but today it’s about “figuring out how we include them.”

Malcolm Mitchell, author, NFL champion and founder of Share the Magic, is also excited to partner together for the race to advance his cause — getting kids to understand the value of reading. He first became engaged in leisurely reading during his time as a college athlete at the University of Georgia, finding it a way to train his brain as much as he was training his body.

He went on to join a book club and now advocates for kids to pick up the habit of reading as he did.

“I had never voluntarily read anything in my entire life,” Mitchell said. “But I set a goal and was determined to accomplish it. I started practicing reading as much as I practiced football, and once I felt the tangible results… I realized this tool was more powerful than I had ever imagined — and that everyone should understand its value to enhance and enrich their lives.”

Those results ranged from critical thinking skills, analyzing information on and off the field, and existing in diverse social circles, said Mitchell.

He added that he recognizes not everyone enjoys reading but equates it to the athlete who works out even when they don’t feel like it,

“You don’t have to like what’s good for you. I played football from 10 until I was 25, and I would say at least five out of seven days a week I lifted weights. I despised lifting weights,” Mitchell said. “So why did I do it? I understood that this activity was going to impact my long-term objective.” 

In this same manner, he hopes to inspire those kids — even the ones who don’t enjoy reading.

“I’m not saying [reading] is the thing you have to enjoy more than playing the Playstation — that’s a hard battle to win. What I’m trying to get kids to realize is the benefit of this resource and how it can supercharge any desire you have in life.”

Mitchell joined the book club because of the simple philosophy — you are who you hang around. After joining, he made a goal of one book a month, but made sure that was the minimum and not an upper limit.

Joining with the KPF on this Spark 5k run and walk just makes sense, said Mitchell. A way of supporting the whole person — not just the athlete, but the intellectual as well.

“The consequences of low literacy are so detrimental that communities have been trapped in cycles of poverty for hundreds of years. Reading is creating neural pathways for the individual to conceive and receive information differently,” Mitchell said. “If you don’t read, you minimize your opportunities to maximize who you are as an individual… if you want to be the best musician, the best lawyer, the best doctor, the best anything, you have to diversify the amount of information that you take in and allow new neural connections and pathways to maximize your full capabilities.”

For Mitchell, reading was not just another habit to build for his mind while he physically built his body — reading was another tool to enhance his overall performance, even as a football player.

“The Patriots didn’t draft me because I was the most athletic player at that point in time. They drafted me because they understood that I could consume information and apply it at rapid speed,” Mitchell said. “And that’s why I was one of the few rookies to catch tough passes from Tom Brady in the Superbowl… reading made me a better football player.”

In short, Mitchell’s message is clear: “Whatever you do well, start reading, and you will do it better.” The Spark 5k has nearly doubled sign-ups from last year and is expecting another wave before the race this Thursday.