Runners Carry Flame for Special Olympics

Across Ventura County on Thursday, dozens of police officers swapped squad cars for running shoes and worked up a sweat to support this weekend’s Special Olympics Summer Games.

For the avid runners, the lengthy relays were just routine. Others, however, are probably sore this morning.

But for every officer, deputy, prosecutor and park ranger who took part in the Law Enforcement Torch Run across Ventura County, the mission was the same: put the spotlight on the athletes who will gather at UCLA this weekend for the Special Olympics. The idea of running together was to celebrate the fact that sports are for everyone.

“When you run in a group, you have to support the slower runners,” Ventura Police Lt. Carl Handy said moments after he and 20 other officers completed the nine-mile stretch from City Hall in Ventura to Wagon Wheel Road in Oxnard.

There, Oxnard police officers took the torch and started their relay leg that ended on Pacific Coast Highway.

“This isn’t a hard pace,” said Handy, who slowed his normal 7 1/2-minute per mile pace to stay with the group. “The intent is finish together.”

At certain points in the relay, the law enforcement personnel were joined by some of the Special Olympians who will take part in the regional competition through Sunday.

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Outside the Target store on Main Street in Ventura, 28-year-old Ian Eaton drew cheers from fellow employees who came out to encourage him. He ran along several portions of the relay.

Eaton, who has cerebral palsy, is headed to the games to compete in golf.

“We’re very proud. He tried so hard,” said his mother, Jean Eaton. “All the Special Olympians who do it are ecstatic.”

The torch run is an annual precursor to the Summer Games, which draw more than 1,000 people with physical and mental disabilities. Athletes from age 10 to 58 will get a chance to enjoy the benefits of athletic competition.

In Southern California, law enforcement officers have been running a continuous relay--south from San Luis Obispo County and north from San Diego County--that ends tonight at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. Of the 1,300 athletes expected this weekend, 65 will be from Ventura County.

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Locally, the relay began Wednesday evening as members of the district attorney’s office picked up the torch at the Santa Barbara County line and trekked 11 miles to downtown Ventura. The run resumed Thursday morning after a brief ceremony on the steps of City Hall.

A separate group of runners representing the Simi Valley Police Department took off from the Simi City Hall and met up with colleagues in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. The east and west county runners intersected along the coast about lunchtime.

In all, about 200 members of the local law enforcement community covered about 79 miles in Ventura County. Los Angeles County officers took over near the Neptune’s Net restaurant at the county line.

The runners were pounding the pavement in purple, green and white T-shirts for a good reason, said Bob Martin, director of the Special Olympics for Ventura County.

Events such as the law enforcement relay draw attention to the Special Olympics and help build an appreciation for the challenges people with disabilities face, Martin said.

“It’s easy for someone with special needs to get left behind by the other kids,” Martin said. “You and I pick up a ball and throw it. Some of our athletes may never be able to throw that ball properly.”

Oxnard Police Officer Randey Cole, soaked with sweat after an 85-minute run, said he is used to long runs. He runs almost every day, up to 14 miles.

But Cole said he never felt the urge to pull away from the pack Thursday morning.

“The object isn’t to win,” he said. “It’s to pass the torch on.”