Special Olympics of Northern California (SONC) has been a organization that is near and dear to my heart. The first time I was around the athletes and felt their energy and enthusiasm for their sporting events it was inspiring. Their spirit is infectious and it’s such a pleasure to help them accomplish their goals. 

There is nothing better in life then to make someone smile!   

It was my honor to participate in the annual Torch Run for Special Olympics last week. This year I ran 3 of the 8 legs for the group.  The 1st leg starts at Beals Point and the 8th and final leg starts at CSUS. The final leg ended at the State Capital where the  ceremony is to honor the SONC athletes and bring awareness to how all the agencies who contribute to the SONC organization.

I started at Beals Points at 5:00am, it was already 77 degrees.  You know it’s going to be a hot day when the sun isn’t up yet and its almost 80 degrees. I completed the 1st and 2nd leg with the group by 7:00am (ran 9 miles so far).  During the run we encountered three rockslides but the torch must go on!

I had a break before the last leg that started at CSUS.  When the runners arrived we took off for the final 4 mile run to the State Capital.  If you’re counting that was 13 miles I ran.

Of course I coordinated my running shoes, cooling towel and water bottle (all pink). This was the first time I used a cooling towel during a run. This towel really worked to keep me cool the 1st and 2nd leg. The towel dried, I applied more water to reactive the cooling. The towel was still cool when I finished the run. I will definitely be using this on my runs during the hot summer.  Happy running!