Torch Run

Each year, hundreds of Oklahoma law enforcement employees organize and participate in the Torch Run for Special Olympics. The Torch Run is a series of relay runs leading up to the Special Olympics Oklahoma State Summer Games. Runners carry the Torch from all corners of the state and meet up in Stillwater. The culmination of the run is at the Summer Games Opening Ceremonies, where the torch bearers bring the “Flame of Hope” into the ceremonies to light the Summer Games Cauldron.

Oklahoma’s annual Torch Run is not only a symbolic relay, it is also a fundraising opportunity for Special Olympics Oklahoma. Runners are encouraged to collect pledges from family and friends for their participation in the event. Your pledges are a great way to encourage the runner and also raise money for the athletes of Special Olympics Oklahoma.

Torch Runs are also carried out on an international level. Every two years, Oklahoma sends a delegate to run in the Final Leg of the Special Olympics World Games. Our delegate joins runners from each of the 50 states and from 27 other countries. In February 2005, Trooper Calvin Symes of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be our state’s delegate for the 2005 World Games Final Leg in Nagano, Japan.