When The Beatles sang "you're gonna carry that weight a long time," they were speaking to all of us. It's doubtful there's a person reading this story who doesn't carry a burden of sorrow, regret or responsibility. One can occasionally can see it in the eyes, the lines of someone's face. Most of the time the burden is hidden, buried beneath a practiced smile and pleasantries.
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10k First Place/Overall Male – Robert Gallagher, 27, 37.08
10k Overall Female – Michaela Driscoll, 36, 39:44
5k First Place/Overall Male – Robert Jackman, 33, 17.33
5k Overall Female – Joy Will, 34, 21:37
When The Beatles sang "you're gonna carry that weight a long time," they were speaking to all of us. It's doubtful there's a person reading this story who doesn't carry a burden of sorrow, regret or responsibility. One can occasionally see it in the eyes, the lines of someone's face. Most of the time the burden is hidden, buried beneath a practiced smile and pleasantries.
Mark Rhynard, the Warren native who owns Anchor Health and Performance in Bristol, knows of such burdens. His brother, Charles, died two years ago from substance abuse. Mr. Rhynard said he and his family will carry the burden of that loss forever. As a symbol to the rest of us, he and some of his Anchor disciples – called the Rhode Island Warriors – carried sand bags over their shoulders during Saturday's Food Truck 5/10k. The bags, some of them weighing 50lbs, represented the burden carried by the living who mourn the dead.
"When my brother died two years ago it changed my life. I saw an opportunity to make an impact," Mr. Rhynard said.
"I wake up every day and think 'there's no time to waste.' Running with the sandbags raises awareness of the burdens families carry. We don't advertise that. The word just spreads," he said.
Lifting burdens was the theme of the day. The event, sponsored by the Bristol Warren Education Foundation, raised roughly $12,000 for the local schools. Some 500 people participated in a day marked by three different athletic competitions – 5k, 10k and kids cross-fit race. Waiting for participants at the end of the line was a food truck festival complete with a local craft beer garden and a DJ at the Pete Sepe Pavilion in Warren.
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