Marathoner, 62, brings kids with disabilities along on run

When Peter Kline nears the end of his personal 100-mile ultramarathon — which will culminate in Sunday night’s Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon — the 62-year-old surely will be looking forward to crossing the finish line on The Strip.

But Braydon Fauntauzzi — the 12-year-old rider-athlete with cerebral palsy who will be pushed through the entire 26.2-mile race by Kline — probably won’t want it to end.

At mile 23 of the 2013 Denver Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon, Fauntauzzi started putting his foot on the front wheel of his running chair in a playful attempt to slow Kline.

“He’d look at me and laugh,” Kline said.

But after the race, Fauntauzzi’s laughter turned to tears.

“We finished the race, and he started crying,” Kline said. “His parents and I couldn’t figure out why.”

They eventually realized the boy from Las Vegas was crying because he didn’t want his marathon experience to end.

“He knew that mile 23 meant that we were about to be done with the race,” Kline said. “It was like leaving Disney World. He didn’t want to be leaving Disney World.”

A Merrill Lynch financial adviser from Seattle, Kline will attempt to run 100 miles in 24 hours — starting at 10:30 p.m. Saturday at UNLV’s Myron Partridge Track Stadium — while pushing a series of individuals with disabilities.

“This is about a message of inclusion for kids,” he said.

His plan is to run approximately 74 miles (296 laps) on the track — a safe, convenient location for the rider-athletes — then run to the starting line of the marathon, which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sunday in front of Mandalay Bay.

Kline, who will be running his ninth straight Las Vegas marathon, has competed in the past three Zion 100s, finishing only one of the 100-mile trail runs. But he’s confident he’ll go the distance this weekend.

“This one is a more controlled environment. I’ve trained for this one harder and with more dedication than anything else in my life,” he said. “I don’t want to let the families or the kids down. I feel like a Marine veteran going into this thing. You don’t leave anybody on the battlefield.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can stop me except for a major injury, and it will have to be major.”

Overweight and out of shape 10 years ago, Kline accepted his nephew’s dare to run a 10K. Soon thereafter, his wife challenged him to run a marathon.

“Maybe she was after my insurance,” he said jokingly.

He since has run more than 50 marathons, finishing his first in Las Vegas in 2006. With the help of a coach, he eventually realized his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which he ran in honor of a close friend who died of brain cancer.

That experience inspired Kline to start running for others, and in 2012, he pushed Las Vegas native Taylor Little — a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy — through the Las Vegas marathon.

“It was a more moving experience than what I had anticipated,” said Kline, who was overwhelmed by the crowd’s response. “I had a policeman leave his post on the course to come out and run with me. They found it motivating.”

So did Little’s mother, Eden Capsouto, who was inspired to start a myTEAM TRIUMPH-Light of Las Vegas chapter — which is an athletic ride-along program for people with disabilities.

“I was watching my girl be an athlete. After that, I said, ‘We’ve gotta do this,’ ” said Capsouto, a local special education teacher who has three children with cerebral palsy. “It really was overwhelming, that feeling of her being included, and every parent should have that opportunity to feel that way.”

Kline pushed Capsouto’s other daughter, 17-year-old Erin, through last year’s Las Vegas marathon while Capsouto pushed Taylor through the half-marathon.

On Saturday, Taylor will be the first rider-athlete, or “captain,” pushed by Kline, her “angel.”

“He is a genuine, caring person,” Capsouto said of Kline. “He has a lot of faith, and he really loves these kids and really believes in this mission of inclusion.

“He’s become an extended family member to us. I say his name and my kids just light up and adore him.”

Kline has pushed individuals with special needs through more than 10 marathons across the country, and each of his captains and their families are expected to make the journey to Las Vegas — including some who can’t fly and must travel by car from Denver and Seattle — to join him on his 100-mile quest.

“It’s unbelievable how much they love doing this,” Kline said. “They’re competing in an athletic event and seeing all the camaraderie and hoopla that go along with that.

“I got very close to all these kids. They have a really special place in my heart, and it makes it wonderful that they’re all able to come out and run with me.”

Between Kline’s group (marathonswithmeaning.com) and Light of Las Vegas (lightoflasvegas.org, 702-596-6762), 13 rider-athletes will participate in Sunday’s marathon or half-marathon, with 11 of them running with Kline on the UNLV track.

Kline, who has three children, said pushing people with special needs through races has changed his outlook on life.

“Fortunately for me, my kids are very healthy, but I’ve seen the other side of it. I see the fact that kids are not always included, and it hurts and I don’t like that,” he said. “The network of people I’ve been exposed to, and the disabilities they have to overcome, what they do day in and day out is incredible. What I do is nothing.”

■ NOTES — A Health &Fitness Expo that’s free to the public will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. ... The inaugural Rock ’n’ Roll 5K presented by SLS Las Vegas is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, and the Zappos Half of the ½ is slated for 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.