Virginia Law Enforcement Torch Run passes through Valley June 5-6

The Law Enforcement Torch Run benefiting Special Olympics Virginia will pass through the Lower Shenandoah Region Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6, as runners make their way to Special Olympics Virginia’s largest annual competition, Summer Games, June 7-8 in Richmond.

June 5, the New Market leg will start at the SunTrust Bank on Congress Street at 11 am; June 6, the Harrisonburg-Staunton-Waynesboro leg will start at the SunTrust Bank on East Market Street at 7:45 am. During the two days, the run will travel through the Lower Shenandoah Region, which includes Law Enforcement agencies from Augusta, Harrisonburg, Highland, Madison, Bath, Page, Rockingham, Staunton and Waynesboro.

Between the two days, officers of the Lower Shenandoah Region will run a total of 41.89 miles. Their route on the first day will mainly follow Route 11 down to Harrisonburg. The second day they will continue along Route 11 to Route 250 until they arrive at their final destination of Afton Mountain.

After a Kick-Off in Chantilly May 29, the Torch Run officially commences May 30 when officers from fourteen points across the Commonwealth carry 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 1500 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, the event is 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 Lower Shenandoah Region (Region 7) Torch Run route, please visit www.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.