The July 4 event honors fallen Soldier and RCSD Deputy Ryan Rawl<\/i><\/p>\n
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n
Registration is open for the 14th-annual RYAN RAWL MEMORIAL WORKOUT to be held Saturday, July 4, on the grounds of 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.<\/p>\n
“We’re doing this on the morning of Independence Day as we have for the past 14 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 it begins early Saturday morning, the workout serves as a special kickoff to all Independence Day celebrations here in the Midlands of South Carolina.”<\/p>\n
According to Lott: “No matter what participants may have planned for the day and the weekend, this to me 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.”<\/p>\n
Lott adds: “Through this event and in other ways throughout each year since we lost him in 2012, Ryan and his family will never be forgotten; not as long as I’m sheriff.”<\/p>\n
A former Lexington High School football player and wrestler who later graduated from The Citadel, Rawl began serving RCSD in 2005. In 2006, he was also commissioned into the S.C. Army National Guard.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The ensuing blast killed Rawl and fellow soldier Sgt. John David Meador II, also of Lexington (who served with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department), 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.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
Never, says Lott, who directed that RCSD 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 as well as previous 5K Freedom Runs and a Kids Fun Run.<\/p>\n
This year’s banner slogan is: “Honor his spirit. Celebrate his life. One rep at a time.”<\/p>\n
Registration and a $25 per-person fee are both required to participate in the Ryan Rawl Memorial Workout 2026 [register at https:\/\/rcsfsc.com\/<\/a>], but friends and supporters do not have to participate to donate. And everyone is encouraged to show up as a demonstration of support. Participants need to register by June 19 to guarantee an event t-shirt. The final day for registration is July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n – This year, the Ryan Rawl Memorial Workout will be preceded by a one-time six-day 250 lbs. Bench Press Challenge, celebrating America’s 250th birthday, also hosted by RCSD. For details visit – Bench Press Challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The July 4 event honors fallen Soldier and RCSD Deputy Ryan Rawl By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Registration is open for the 14th-annual RYAN RAWL MEMORIAL WORKOUT to be held Saturday, July 4, on the grounds of the S.C. State House in Columbia. Hosted and facilitated by Richland County SheriffContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32],"tags":[1079],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-8554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-events","tag-ryan-rawl-memorial-workout"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Ryan-Rawl_2026_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}