By Sean Wallach

DINWIDDIE

The Law Enforcement Torch Run benefiting Special Olympics Virginia will pass through Southside Tuesday, June 4 through Friday, June 7, as runners make their way to Richmond for Special Olympics Virginia’s largest annual competition, Summer Games, June 7-8. During the three days, the run will include law enforcement officers from the following jurisdictions: Brunswick County, Colonial Heights, Dinwiddie County, Emporia, Franklin County, Greensville County, Hopewell, Lunenburg County, Nottoway County, Petersburg, Southampton County, Surry County and Sussex County.

For the Southside’s four-day run: June 4, the run will commence at Dinwiddie Middle School (11608 Courthouse Road) at 9 a.m.; June 5, they will start across from City Hall (201 S. Main St.) at 8:30 a.m.; June 6, they’ll start at 8175 Wagner Way at 9 a.m.; June 7, the run will begin at Rosa’s Italian Restaurant (4098 Oaklawn Blvd.) at 8 a.m.) By the end of the run, officers will complete 20.3 miles. Great photo opportunities include the beginning of the run at City Hall and when runners pass Sun Trust (360 Charles H. Dimmick Highway) on the last day.

After the Kick-Off in Chantilly May 29, the Torch Run officially commenced on May 30 when officers from 14 points across the Commonwealth carried the Special Olympics Flame of Hope more than 1,900 miles across Virginia. June 7, officers will run the Final Leg on campus and join more than 1,500 Summer Games athletes to officially open Summer Games. Fans are welcome to attend this free, fun, family-friend event – for more details or to sign up, visit www.specialolympicsva.org. Fans also are welcome to join or show your support for the Torch Run by visiting https://bit.ly/2Uk3U6S.

In addition to carrying the Flame, we’re also celebrating the fundraising efforts of the more than 2,000 officers involved in the Torch Run, sponsored by the SunTrust Foundation, Hardee’s/Boddie-Noell Enterprises, Publix and the Wawa Foundation, with additional support from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Virginia Sheriff’s Association, the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Virginia Association of Regional Jails and the Virginia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. Since June 2018, they have raised more than $1.3 million for Special Olympics, pushing their overall fundraising total to more than $22 million since the Torch Run’s inception in Virginia in 1986.

For more information about the Southside Region (Region 4) Torch Run route, please visitwww.torchrunva.com and click on the Routes button under the Resources tab. In addition, everyone is invited to cheer on the officers as they make their way through town; media also are invited to join the officers at several water stops along the route.

For more information, please contact Special Olympics Virginia Director of Marketing and Outreach Sean Wallach at 609-213-1665 swallach@specialolympicsva.org or Chief Jeffery W. Faries with the Colonial Heights Police Department at 804-520-9311, or fariesj@colonialheightsva.gov. For more information on Special Olympics Virginia and Summer Games, visit www.specialolympicsva.org.

SEAN WALLACH is director of marketing and outreach for the Special Olympics. He can be reached at 703-359-4031 extension 4 or swallach@specialolympicsva.org.