Krista Cutsinger runs for Harrisburg veteran

Krista Cutsinger was almost in tears as she crossed the finish line.
She had just run nearly five kilometers, carrying a 50-pound rucksack filled with bricks and cans of spaghetti, along with a few towels to keep the load from shifting.
But it wasn't the physical load or the "color powder" that elicited her reaction though. It was the emotional impact of the photo on her rucksack and what it represented.
Cutsinger ran This Able Veteran's "really close to almost 5K" color run/walk earlier this month at Marion High School. She ran it in memory and honor of Brandon Scott Gibbons, a Harrisburg veteran who fell victim to suicide on March 6, just months before his 30th birthday.
The tears flowed moments later as Cutsinger spoke with Gibbons' mother, Sharon Williams. The two were connected by Dan McNeill, a This Able Veteran service dog recipient, and who served as race director along with his wife, Beth.
"It was very emotional for Brandon's mom and for me," Cutsinger, of Johnston City, said. "I've seen families torn to pieces by PTSD. I have a lot of military people in my own family and I knew many people who struggled with it when my now ex-husband and I were stationed at Fort Bragg."
That's why Cutsinger ran with the extra weight.
"I wanted to show that we need to help them carry the weight of the burden they are bearing," she said.
Cutsinger has participated in the run all three years it has been held and this is the second year she's carried the extra weight and a photo of someone who lost their battle with PTSD.
This year, it became especially personal as Williams told her about the son she loved and lost.
"It's very emotional, but also very inspiring because even though she's lost her son and been through so much, she's doing everything she can to raise awareness and help other people suffering from PTSD," Cutsinger said.
Every day more than 20 American veterans take their own lives and 600,000 veterans suffer from traumatic stress. This Able Veteran is a Carbondale-based nonprofit that provides trained service dogs and a trauma resiliency program for veterans to help them recover from psychological and physical injuries incurred as a result of their service. The run/walk is a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, which provides the service dogs along with specialized training, to the veterans at no cost.
McNeill and his service dog, Brooks, were paired by This Able Veteran. The cost of acquiring, raising and training one service dog from puppyhood through program graduation is about $25,000.
The McNeills believe that Dan McNeill is living proof PTSD doesn't have to be a life sentence.
Nearly 800 people participated in the run/walk, raising nearly $15,000 for This Able Veteran. Some participants carried photographs of veterans who succumbed to PTSD. Afterward, their families were sent photos of the runners or walkers who honored their loved ones to remind them although gone, they are not forgotten.
To learn more about This Able Veteran visit www.thisableveteran.org, or call (618) 964-1162.