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Officers will either bike or run with the torch to the opening ceremony for the Special Olympics in Columbus. The statewide event will end Friday at the start of the games.
The run is one of the largest fundraisers for the Special Olympics. More than 2,000 men and women participated in the event in 2016, according to the website.
Urbana Police Division Chief Matt Lingrell said his organization received an invitation to participate. Springfield Police Division Detective Sandy Fent contacted the chief and he saw it as a win/win situation.
“This is actually our inaugural run and we will now be involved from here on out,” Lingrell said.
The team consisted of one person at first — just Lingrell. He then contacted the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office and the team soon grew.
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“It’s a great opportunity for us to give back and pass the blessing on,” Lingrell said.
About 30 people participated in the run on Tuesday, the police chief said.
One participant was an Urbana Police Division officer who thought it was a piece of cake.
“I’m a physical fitness instructor, running is not that big of a deal,” Officer Cade Hunt said. “Chief reached out to us and a lot of us are still physically fit so we thought it would be a good idea to come out and represent the city.”
Five people in the group carried the torch, Hunt said, and the runners passed the torch every half mile.
The chief said he wished his division had gotten involved a lot sooner.
“The money that we raised, it was a small amount,” Lingrell said. “All the money that we raised, 100 percent (goes) toward Special Olympians and we have Special Olympians in this community.”
It will help the athletes with room, board, food, and transportation to and from the games in Columbus, Lingrell said. The chief is already thinking about next year and hopes it will gain more attention in the community.
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