It’s no secret that law enforcement officers across the country participate annually in local Special Olympics games, but this year, one of Searcy’s police officers will go one step further to bring the Special Olympics Flame of Hope to the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Los Angeles Special Olympics World Games.
Sgt. Steve Hernandez has been a participant in local legs of the Law Enforcement Torch Run with the Special Olympics for 10 years, and in September, he was approached to see if he would be interested in being a part of the final leg of the event in California. He will be the first officer from the Searcy Police Department to participate in the final leg of the run.
“My opportunity came up,” he said. “I didn’t hesitate. They asked me if I wanted to go to work and talk to them about it or talk to my wife about it, but I knew I had to do it. I was in.”
Since 1993, law enforcement officers from around the world have symbolically carried the Flame of Hope torch to the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games. The final leg honors both the law enforcement officers and the Special Olympics athletes who have participated in Special Olympics around the world.
There are technically three torches that have made their way across the United States. The torches started their journey in Athens, Greece, then were shipped to either Florida, Maine or Washington, D.C.
The three torches will be carried to different parts of California before converging in Los Angeles for the Opening Ceremony. In total, 124 people — including 76 Law Enforcement Torch Runners, 10 Special Olympics athletes, team leaders and other participants — from 23 nations will participate in the final leg of the event.
“They’ve hit all 50 states,” Hernandez said of the torches. “I’m going to be part of the final-leg team. We’re going to pick it up in California at the state Capitol. My route will actually go north toward the Sierra Nevada Mountains.”
The three torches will meet up several times throughout the journey, Hernandez said, including in San Francisco, where the torch carriers will run across the Golden Gate Bridge.
“That will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime thing there,” he said.
On average, each participant will run 10 to 12 miles per day, totaling an average of 157 miles throughout the journey. Hernandez and the rest of the final-leg runners will start the trek Monday and end July 24. The Opening Ceremony will be held July 25.
“I talked to some former final-leg members, and they told me it’s pretty grueling,” he said. “You’re getting up early and running all day and going to bed late at night. Back in September, I started running, but I really started getting after it in the last three months. I’ve run more this year than I have in the last five years.”
The hard work is worth it, Hernandez said. He first got involved with Special Olympics in 2004 when he started working for the Searcy Police Department. He had heard of Special Olympics but didn’t know about the Law
Enforcement Torch Run until some co-workers informed him of the opportunity.
“I ran into the stadium with the torch at the state games, and from then on, there was no turning back,” he said. “Along the way, you become friends with athletes. There are several who I’m Facebook friends with, or I see them when we’re doing fundraisers, and they come up to you with the biggest hugs.”
Hernandez will not get to stay and watch any of the World Games, but he will be at the Opening Ceremony, and he said he is excited to experience that celebration.
“There’s probably around a couple thousand at the Arkansas games,” he said. “At World, there will be 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches, and then you’ve got everyone who goes just to go. It’s going to be a huge deal.”
To follow the progress of the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, visit www.letr-finalleg.org. Hernandez will run with Team 4.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.