A dozen officers and cadets from Watsonville Police Department teamed up to run in the annual Northern California Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Thursday morning.
Led by a pair of WPD motorcycles with lights flashing, the crew laced their way along Main Street to Clifford Avenue, Pennsylvania Drive back to Main and ending at Watsonville Plaza.
“It feels great,” said Sgt. Juan Trujillo, who has run with the group five times. “It’s a great group and a great cause.”
Organizer John Hohmann said money raised in the run goes to fuel awareness and Special Olympic games that unfold this weekend at Santa Clara University.
“Typically, 21,000 athletes from 44 counties in California take part in Special Olympics year round,” Hohmann said. “And the World Special Olympic games are happening right now in Berlin, Germany.”
Locally, the run typically includes multiple law agencies around the county, including the CHP, Capitola, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley Police, and others.
The run was launched in 1981 in Wichita, Kan., and with events in all 50 U.S. states and 170 countries, it has evolved into one of the largest grassroots efforts in the country, Hohmann said.
