Law Enforcement officers run one to four mile legs of a relay that traverses their state or nation, carrying the lighted Special Olympics Torch to the Opening Ceremonies of their Special Olympics Summer Games. Participating officers and agencies raise funds through corporate sponsorships, the Adopt-A-Cop program, and many other fundraisers. In 2007, the Special Olympics Torch was carried by more than 90,000 Law Enforcement officers through 30,000 communities worldwide.

The public awareness generated by the Torch Run is just as important as the money it raises. A grassroots event involving well-known public figures, the Torch Run creates deserved recognition for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Across the United States, Law Enforcement officers carry the Special Olympics Torch on relays that take them through blizzards in Alaska, the Florida everglades, the endless farmland of Illinois and the Arizona desert with their eyes set on the goal of the Special Olympics Summer Games caldron ahead. Special Olympics athletes, many of who compete in mainstream long-distance races and marathons, run alongside the officers. Communities along the Torch Run route often organize parades and other special events to mark the Torch’s arrival.

All Law Enforcement agencies are represented in the Torch Run including chiefs of police, police officers, Secret Service and FBI agents, military police, sheriff s, corrections officers, state troopers and state rangers. The IACP endorses the Torch Run, as do federal, state, city and county Law Enforcement agencies.