At Fourth of July Rawl Run, working out is patriotic

Fitness buffs in the Midlands have a lot of opportunities to work out. But few routines have the deeper meaning of the annual Rawl Freedom Run at the S.C. State House.

Held for the last five years on July 4, the run honors Ryan Rawl, who was a school resource officer with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department when he deployed in 2011 to Afghanistan with his S.C. National Guard unit. On June 20, 2012, Rawl was killed along with two other soldiers by a suicide bomber.

On Tuesday, about 170 runners signed up for a string of fitness challenges at stations on the grounds of the State House. They not only worked up a sweat, but raised money for scholarships in Rawl’s name.

Brent Skinner with the F3 Lexington workout group said he and his friends did an early morning workout on Tuesday, but came back after breakfast to honor Rawl’s memory.

“We’re doubling down to pay tribute to him and our first responders,” Skinner said. “He paid the ultimate price, and we’re all patriots.”

F3 is one of several local groups around the country that participate in boot camp-style workouts.

Brian Copeland, another F3 runner, is friends with Rawl’s father and brother in Lexington.

“They’re very down-to-earth people,” he said. “Very humble, blessed and appreciative for what they have. Ryan lives on through them.”

Most saw the event as a fitting way to celebrate the Fourth of July. Copeland served in the Marine Corps — as did Rawl’s father — “and I know from having served that we don’t see (Ryan’s death) as a loss but more as a sacrifice for the country, so that we can continue the greatness of our nation.”

Rawl’s mother, Diane, said the annual event was a way for the family to keep a promise she made the day she went to Dover Air Force Base to retrieve her son’s body.

“I looked around and said, ‘Where are all these people going? Don’t they know our world has stopped?’” she said. “That’s when I knew the world would keep going as if my son was never in it, and I promised that as long as I breathe, he would be remembered.”

Since then, Diane Rawl has grown close to Ryan’s colleagues in the sheriff’s department, which sponsored the event, and other friends in the community who turn out every year.

“These people call me throughout the year, send cards, check in on us,” she said. “They’ve picked up where my son couldn’t.”

Sheriff Leon Lott has gotten so close to the family, “the next thing you know, he’s going to give me a badge,” she said, and added she was “shocked” when Lott presented her with a framed letter from Gov. Henry McMaster ahead of the event.

Tuesday’s event featured teams doing burpees, carrying weights and even carrying each other piggyback up and down the State House steps.

Diane Rawl watched from the sidelines as her husband and son took part in the challenge, along with her 9-year-old grandson.

“He was there when we got the news about Ryan, and saw all the terrible emotions,” she said, “So he always wants to come out and celebrate what he called his Uncle Ronnie.”

This story was originally published July 4, 2017 at 1:56 PM with the headline "At Fourth of July Rawl Run, working out is patriotic."