RED BLUFF — After roughly 600 miles of running, walking and biking, a team of tired but determined relay members made its way Tuesday to the Cal Fire station in Red Bluff for a needed respite.
Every year, multiple teams travel a total of 15,000 miles from various points in the United States to Dallas, Texas for an annual event known as Carry the Load. Team members take turns biking and running the routes and passing off American flags as they go.
The team stopping in Red Bluff had already traveled all the way from Seattle, Washington.
“Carry the Load was started to restore the meaning of Memorial Day,” said participant Michael Garlock. “Two Navy SEALS were sitting at home having a Memorial Day barbecue thinking about all their lost buddies and comrades and watching everybody else just enjoying their day off of work and not paying any mind to what that day meant to them, so they decided to go out and march.”
Garlock said the duo, Clint Bruce and Stephen Holley, held the annual march in Dallas for a few years before making the event nationwide as 32-day relay.
“So really, this trip to me is more than just a fun trip from Seattle to Dallas,” Garlock said. “Along the way we are talking to vets, family members and active duty veterans. Every time you get to hear their story and what it means to them, it’s powerful.”
Meagan Heathcott was another of the participants making the stop at the Cal Fire station with her team after traveling 13 miles straight. The team travels by a large bus it lives in when not outside walking and biking.
“What really comes in handy and what we’re really grateful for is the fire stations and the really great people who give us a safe place to meet and to park and welcome us the way they do, which is so meaningful on a personal level,” Heathcott said.
In order to get to Dallas on time, a team member is always riding a bike or walking from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.
“It’s a great feeling, even just walking down the road with our flag and our team and hearing the honks and people cheering us on as we go,” Heathcott said. “Or someone walking up to us at our exchange points where we have our table set up to sign where we can meet people and hear their stories.”
Heathcott said remembrance is one of the most important parts of the relay for fallen military, veterans and first responders.
“We say something here that we believe very wholeheartedly and that is people die twice,” Heathcott said. “Once of course with their physical self and the second when you stop remembering them. So it’s our goal to remember those who were never forgotten and to keep their memory alive by hearing their stories.”
The team went on to Chico Tuesday night with their cyclist traveling there behind the bus. They’ll be hitting up every major city on the way to Dallas as they travel the west coast.
This was the second year the Cal Fire Tehama Glenn Unit acted as an exchange point for the event with the first being in 2019. The event was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cal Fire Public Information Officer Kevin Colburn said his department is planning on hosting an exchange point every year from here on out.
“We intend to keep doing this,” Colburn said. “We like being a part of it and think it’s important. We’ll do it as long as they want to have us as a stopping point.”
Other teams travel to Dallas from Minot, North Dakota, Minneapolis Minnesota and West Point, New York. During the event, money is raised to go toward services like counseling, training, suicide prevention and other veteran-centered programs.
Those interested in participating in future relays and marches can register at carrytheload.org.
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May 05, 2021 at 05:33AM
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Carry the Load participants make Red Bluff stop en route to Dallas - Red Bluff Daily News
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