Run for Ret returns for sixth year in Sea Pines

Many of Liz Nash's cross country runners at Hilton Head Preparatory School are too young to have known Ret Thomas.

They do know, however, why they run for him.

"We keep it real," Nash said. "We tell the story again each year. Mrs. (Suzanne) Thomas comes by campus, and any time you hear a mother tell a story of losing her child, it becomes real. Whether it was 15 years ago or it was yesterday."

Most of the Dolphin runners were little tikes while Thomas was playing quarterback and point guard for Prep. Twelve years later, they run in Thomas' memory at the annual Run for Ret 5K, which will be held for the sixth consecutive year this Saturday at Hilton Head Prep.

Thomas passed away in 2000 at the age of 15 after a year-long battle with Ewing's Sarcoma. The event named in his honor benefits the RET Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

"It's the sixth one, and that's unimaginable," Suzanne Thomas said. "I didn't think we'd get through the first one. I'm really grateful as to how its grown. The local support is just very good."

This year's 5-kilometer race will start on the Prep campus before going through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, the only race to go through the area, Thomas said. The trail takes runners and walkers on a scenic route that travels through wetlands, forests and around lakes.

"For me it's a little sweet and sour," Thomas said. "It's been a long time now since we lost Ret, but the good news is that our foundation prospers with these events, mostly supported by our local community."

The Bluffton cross country team and members of Hilton Head Island High School's team will compete this year, while a separate 5K race involving CrossFit Hilton Head will also run along the 3.1-mile course. The event, which is called WOD for Ret, will feature CrossFitters stopping along the way to do burpees, pushups and deadlifts.

Other members of the community are welcome to join, as well. Participants can register at RetFoundation.com or at OnOnEvents.com/run-for-ret. Registration is $30.

We do it to "keep his memory alive and honor him in that way, because he asked us to," Thomas said. "Right before he died, he was very mature. He looked at us as a family and said, 'We need to give back. People have been so good to us. It's important to me that you give back.' "

What: Run for Ret 5K

Where: Hilton Head Prep, Sea Pines Forest Preserve

When: Saturday, 8 a.m.

Registration fee: $30, tax-deductible

Notes: The 5-kilometer race begins and ends on the Hilton Head Prep campus, with the bulk of the course winding through the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. The scenic trail goes through wetlands and forests and around lakes. ... Participants living outside Sea Pines Plantation are asked to park in the Sea Pines Montessori School parking lot off Cordillo Parkway or pay the $5 gate fee to enter Sea Pines and park at Hilton Head Prep. Sea Pines residents may park at Hilton Head Prep.

More information: RetFoundation.com or OnOnEvents.com/run-for-ret

This story was originally published August 30, 2012 at 12:52 AM with the headline "Run for Ret returns for sixth year in Sea Pines."