PORT ANGELES — Law enforcement and corrections officers of the North Olympic Peninsula will lace up their running shoes and hit the pavement today for the annual Torch Run to support Special Olympics of Washington.
The officers will be joined by a team of Special Olympics athletes from Clallam County — the Orcas — and a Jefferson County squad called the Warriors for a 60-mile relay from Laird’s Corner west of Port Angeles to the Hood Canal Bridge.
Kitsap County law enforcement and Special Olympics teams will resume the Torch Run from the east side of the Hood Canal Bridge on Thursday morning.
The Orcas and Warriors will join Special Olympics athletes from around the state at Friday’s opening ceremonies for the 2014 Summer Games at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The Special Olympics of Washington Summer Games will be held from Friday through Sunday at the military base south of Tacoma.
The Torch Run will begin at Laird’s Corner at 7 a.m.
Runners will carry the torch along Edgewood Drive and Tumwater Truck Route and through downtown Port Angeles to City Pier.
Public walks
At 8:30 a.m., Clallam County Commissioner Mike Chapman will lead the athletes and members of the public on a 1-mile walk from the Red Lion Hotel to the Rayonier mill site on the Waterfront Trail.
The officers and Special Olympians will proceed along the Olympic Discovery Trail to the corner of Rhodefer and West Sequim Bay roads in Sequim, where the State Patrol will lead a second public walking leg at 1 p.m.
The Orcas, Warriors and area law enforcement will carry the torch on U.S. Highway 101 from the Longhouse market in Blyn to the Hood Canal Bridge.
Jefferson County Sheriff Tony Hernandez will lead the Special Olympics athletes and members of the public across the Hood Canal Bridge at about 7 p.m.
“There are a whole bunch of kids that participate in that,” said Ron Cameron, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office chief criminal deputy.
Who’s helping out
Participating law enforcement agencies from the Peninsula include the Clallam and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices; Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend and tribal police; State Patrol; Olympic National Park; Clallam Bay Corrections Center; and U.S. Border Patrol.
“The citizens of the Olympic Peninsula have always demonstrated their support for this program through donations made during Tip a Cop fundraising events or simply by their patience and supportive waves to runners as they carry the torch to the Hood Canal Bridge,” said Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin.
Cameron said the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office has participated in the Torch Run for at least five years.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.