Torch run passes through area
Special Olympics athletes, police making their way to State College
Special Olympics athlete Scott Harding Jr., 22, of Altoona, waves to the crowd cheering for him during the 2023 Torch Run in front of Altoona Area High School on Thursday. Mirror photo by Alicia Chiang
Casey Miller, 19, of Altoona, hugs Jason Miller, 20, of Altoona, after Jason finished the Law Enforcement Torch Run from the 58th Street Sheetz in Altoona to the Greenwood Sheetz. The event benefits Special Olympics PA, which will hold games June 8-10 in State College. Mirror photo by Alicia Chiang
Special Olympics athlete Scott Harding Jr., 22, of Altoona, waves to the crowd cheering for him during the 2023 Torch Run in front of Altoona Area High School on Thursday. Mirror photo by Alicia Chiang
Casey Miller, 19, of Altoona, hugs Jason Miller, 20, of Altoona, after Jason finished the Law Enforcement Torch Run from the 58th Street Sheetz in Altoona to the Greenwood Sheetz. The event benefits Special Olympics PA, which will hold games June 8-10 in State College. Mirror photo by Alicia Chiang
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Altoona police and Special Olympic athletes took part in the Law Enforcement Torch Run through city streets on Thursday.
The run kicked off Tuesday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and arrived at the 58th Street Sheetz about 10:10 a.m. Thursday. After that, local police officers on motorcycles and in cars escorted runners as they wound their way toward the Greenwood Sheetz, where another group of runners took over. The final destination for the torch is State College, where the state's Special Olympics games will be held June 8-10.
Altoona police Sgt. Matt Plummer, who grew up with a close family member who had Down syndrome, said the Special Olympics is personal to him, that's why he "kind of" became the spokesman for Altoona's Police Department on this event.
"We got involved probably six or seven years ago," he said. "It started with the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics, and we got on board with the torch run."
This is the Altoona Police Department's biggest partnership fundraiser for the year. Plummer said all the money raised goes toward providing everything athletes need to compete in sports games, including travel, equipment and coaches.
"Coming together with our athletes really, really means a lot to not only our athletes but to the law enforcement as well," said Karly Heath, stewardship manager and law enforcement liaison for Special Olympics PA.
Throughout the event, runners -- both Special Olympics athletes and police officers -- took turns carrying the torch.
"It gets tiring whenever I run with the torch in my hand, because I'm not pumping," Jason Miller, 20, of Altoona, a unified athlete whose family is very involved in the Special Olympics.
He was greeted at the Greenwood Sheetz by his sister, Casey, who gave him several huge hugs. While she didn't run with Jason, she is an athlete in track, volleyball and bowling.
Community members also came out to cheer the athletes along the route. Students from Holy Trinity Catholic School held up purple cheerleading pompoms and urged the cars passing by in the opposite direction to honk for the runners. Crowds also gathered around Altoona Area High School, on both sides of the road and on the connecting walkway over Sixth Avenue, to show their support.
The event is always fun, said runner Scott Hardin Jr. "I broke a sweat a little bit when I was running."
Plummer, Miller and Hardin all said they plan to join the torch run again next year.
"As long as I work here, my goal is to keep giving back to the Special Olympics," Plummer said.
The run finished at State College about 6 p.m.
Mirror Staff Writer Alicia Chiang is at 814-946-7428