The July 4 event honors fallen Soldier and RCSD Deputy Ryan Rawl
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Registration is open for the 13th-annual RYAN RAWL MEMORIAL WORKOUT to be held Friday, July 4, at the S.C. State House in Columbia. Hosted and facilitated by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), the Independence Day event begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp and – as in previous years – will feature station-to-station running and exercises based on the Crossfit model and various military-law-enforcement physical fitness regimens.
“We’re doing this on the morning of Independence Day as we have for the past 12 years as a way to honor and remember our own [RCSD] Deputy and S.C. Army National Guard officer Ryan Rawl,” says Sheriff Lott. “Because of the time of day, 8:00 a.m., it really serves as a special kickoff to all Independence Day celebrations here in the Midlands, and through this, Ryan and his family will never be forgotten; not as long as I’m the sheriff.”
Lott adds: “No matter what you may have planned for the day, really a long weekend because the 4th falls on a Friday, this is the best way to gather with friends, enjoy a great workout, reflect on the significance of the day and honor one of our own without whose sacrifice – and those who’ve sacrificed like him – ‘independence’ would be a hollow word.”
Midlands-area fitness instructor and longtime RCSD supporter Bruce Brutschy plans to attend. “I cannot think of a better way to initiate our weekend long celebration of Independence than to honor a fallen soldier and a deputy through a gathering of amateur, maybe a few professional, athletes; first responders; and families all on a physical fitness mission,” said Brutschy. “Young men like Ryan Rawl and his family have been sacrificing for our nation since April 19, 1775, almost eight months before we as a nation declared our Independence. It’s all connected.”
Rawl, a former Lexington High School football player and wrestler who later graduated from The Citadel, began serving RCSD in 2005. In 2006, he also received his U.S. Army commission in the S.C. Army National Guard.
On June 20, 2012, Rawl was temporarily detached from duties back home as an RCSD school resource officer and deployed as a 1st lieutenant serving with the Guard’s 133rd Military Police Company, when tragedy struck. He and other soldiers were manning a security checkpoint at a crowded market in Khost, Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, when both the checkpoint and the market were attacked by a suicide bomber.
The ensuing blast killed Rawl and fellow soldier Sgt. John David Meador II, also of Lexington (who served with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Dept.), and Sgt. 1st Class Matthew B. Thomas of Travelers Rest. Five other Americans were seriously wounded, and 21 Afghans were killed with scores more wounded.
As it was and is for all gold-star families, it was a devastating loss for the Rawls, whose matriarch, Mrs. Diane Rawl, feared “Ryan might one day be forgotten.”
Not so, says Lott, who directed that his department establish the first-ever Ryan Rawl Memorial Workout event. That first event was held July 4, 2013, and events since have included the aforementioned station-to-station workouts – similar to the one being held this year – as well as previous 5K Freedom Runs and a Kids Fun Run.
Registration is required to participate in the Ryan Rawl Memorial Workout 2025, but friends and supporters do not have to participate to donate. All proceeds benefit The Big Red Barn Retreat, supporting veterans and first responders.
– Register at https://loom.ly/ob5HnHs.
