The light rain and cloudy skies hanging over Western Pennsylvania Wednesday morning worked in North Huntingdon Police Sgt. Kari Bauer’s favor.
Led by two police motorcycles and trailed by a handful of emergency service vehicles, Bauer, her police dog Ceco and fellow North Huntingdon Officer Jack Packe completed a leg of Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s 150-mile Torch Run — a statewide fundraising event signifying the start of the Summer Games.
The dreary weather created perfect running conditions for Ceco, a two-year-old German Shepherd-Malamute mix who has worked five months with the department, Bauer said.
“Agility is part of being a police K-9. They’ve got to be agile. They’ve got to be able to run, jump, swim, all that fun stuff,” she said. “So this is just part of his daily routine.”
About 250 of the state’s law enforcement officers participate in the run — which began Wednesday morning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh’s North Shore. It will conclude Thursday at Penn State’s campus in State College.
The run is divided into 53 legs, ranging from 2.5 to 6 miles.
Bauer laced up her running shoes and set out from Cornerstone Ministries in Murrysville just before 9 a.m. for a 3-mile leg ending at Gene & Boots Candies in Salem — hoisting an American flag in her right hand and gripping Ceco’s leash with her left. Packe carried the Special Olympics torch.
“We try to do anything for any charity,” Bauer said. “If somebody asks, we’re going to try to help out.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Pittsburgh field office has participated in the Torch Run all 15 years it has been hosted, said Investigator Andrew Bartosiewicz, who handed off the torch to Packe.
“It brings awareness to Special Olympics,” he said of the event, after completing a 3-mile stretch. “I have a special needs daughter, so it’s important to me she participates.”
More than 2,000 athletes statewide will participate in the Summer Games, slated for June 4 through 6 at Penn State, according to Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s website.