On July 4, nearly 60,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers will line up in Buckhead early in the morning for the annual Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race, the country’s largest 10K.
Push teams from The Kyle Pease Foundation (KPF), a local nonprofit dedicated to providing inclusive sports opportunities for people with disabilities, will be among the athletes taking on the hot, humid, and hilly Atlanta course covering 6.2 miles down Peacthree from Buckhead to Piedmont Park in Midtown.
Founded by brothers Kyle and Brent Pease after they finished their first triathlon in 2011, KPF now provides inclusive racing opportunities for more than 150 athletes each year. They are fixtures cheering and wheeling along Atlanta’s biggest race courses, like the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon, as well as other national race events.
Building accessible racing experiences
Avid triathlete and distance runner Tori Ragsdale has been a KPF push volunteer since she moved to Atlanta in 2021.
“I just have a heart for making people feel included, no matter how their bodies move,” said Ragsdale, an occupational therapist.
This year, Ragsdale will race the Peachtree with her teammate, Logan Northrop.
The duo met in 2023 at Camp Wheel-A-Way, an adaptive camp for children and teens with physical disabilities. Northrop had participated in the open division with previous partners, but said Ragsdale is his ideal racing partner.
“I like that she goes fast, because I am a little competitive,” he explained.
In 2025, and again this year, Northrop and Ragsdale qualified in the competitive push division, a starting wave reserved for teams with qualifying times of 50 minutes or faster.
“We had a blast last year,” said Northrop of racing in the iconic Peacthree race. “It was a little hot, so I had to scream her up the hills,” he recalled.
Before races, the fiercely competitive Northrop makes sure Ragsdale is ready to push them to a fast time.
“He’s always asking ‘Do you have your carbon-plated racing shoes? Did you get your training in?'” said Ragsdale.
Creating joyful memories
Emanuel McFarland and Shannon Booker are another KPF team that qualified for this year’s competitive push division for the Peachtree.
McFarland, a wheelchair basketball and track athlete, watched the Peachtree for years and always wanted to be part of it. With Booker and KPF’s support, the race is now an annual tradition.
“I’m super excited we got into the competitive division,” said McFarland of his partnership with Booker. McFarland especially loves the thrill of coasting downhill and the cannons shooting confetti onto the course along its final stretches.
Booker, a former competitive high school sprinter active in the local running community, got involved with KPF four years ago.
“For me, it’s about being selfless and creating joyful moments and inclusive experiences for others,” said Booker.
Celebrating inclusion
While the two teams do not train together on a weekly basis, they practice their racing technique at KPF summer camps and compete in local races, including the annual Superheroes Run.
“Between my work schedule and my general run schedule, I don’t necessarily do any specific training or pushing, but when race day comes, it’s like, ‘let’s go,’” explained Booker.
The composition of push teams participating in the Peachtree also varies by athlete.
While some KPF teams race as pairs — one athlete and one pusher — many athletes partner with multiple pushers, with no specific training required for volunteers.
That teamwork is what makes racing possible for all KPF athletes, whether they want to joy ride and give high-fives to spectators along the way, or race for fast times like these competitive division athletes.
“To me, this race is about celebrating America, celebrating inclusion,” said Booker. “We’re just celebrating life and a good time.”
Read more about The Kyle Pease Foundation and volunteer opportunities.
