Annual Torch Run Includes Walnut Leg Today

A group of runners reportedly navigating Walnut and City of Industry streets today are part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s efforts to help raise awareness of the upcoming Special Olympics Summer Games.  

The annual Torch Run kicked off this morning, with legs of the race of sorts set to include Valley Boulevard at Fairway Drive in Walnut and Industry Sheriff’s station personnel jogging to Colima Road at Mar Vista Street in Whittier.  

The week prior to the Special Olympics Summer Games, which kicks off Saturday at Cal State Long Beach, personnel from the Sheriff’s Department join athletes, officers from 300 law enforcement agencies, and members of the military to run more than 1,500 miles, according to a news release.  

The torch carried on the run will be used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the games.  

“Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are honored to run alongside Special Olympics athletes, as we are all working toward a common goal of providing opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities,” said Sheriff Leroy D. Baca in a statement.  

The Torch Run started 31 years ago in Wichita, Kan. when a group of officers there convinced their chief to let them honor Special Olympic athletes and raise money.  Last year, law enforcement officers raised more than $42 million with the event.  

The following is the estimated Torch Run schedule:

Monday, June 3, 2013 
8:05 a.m., Colima Road at Mar Vista Street, Whittier (Industry Station) 
9:06 a.m., Western Avenue at West 25th Street, Lomita (Lomita Station)  10:05 a.m., Valley Boulevard at Fairway Drive, Walnut (Walnut Station) 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013 
2:15 p.m., Bonita Avenue at San Dimas Canyon, San Dimas (San Dimas Station) 

Thursday, June 6, 2013 
12:00 p.m., Las Tunas Boulevard at Baldwin Avenue, Temple City (Temple Station) 
1:57 p.m., Sunset Avenue at Havenhurst Drive, West Hollywood (West Hollywood Station) 
2:55 p.m. Beverly Boulevard at Rio Hondo River, Pico Rivera (Pico Rivera Station) 
4:55 p.m. Telegraph Boulevard at Gunn Avenue, Norwalk (Norwalk Station) 

Friday, June 7, 2013 
10:03 a.m. Hawthorne Boulevard at Rosecrans Avenue, South Los Angeles (South Los Angeles Station) 
12:21 p.m., 2448 Pacific Coast Highway, Lomita (Lomita Station) 
3:30 p.m. Pacific Coast Highway at the Los Angeles County Line, Lost Hills (Lost Hills Station)   

For additional information, please contact Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Kimberly Unland at 562-305-5384. For additional route information, please visit, www.sosc.org.