(ABC 6 News) – On Tuesday, law enforcement officers from across southeast Minnesota ran and biked to support the Special Olympics.

It was all part of their 2024 Torch Run. They carried the torch from Hastings all the way to Rochester. They started around 7:30 a.m., ending in Rochester around 7 p.m.

They didn’t let the 12 hours of running and biking in the humid weather get them down though. Sheriff Kevin Torgerson of Olmsted county stated it was about “spreading awareness and letting us talk to different people whether it’s a newspaper in one of the small towns or people on the side of the road; they see us going, they’re honking horns and cheering, all that kind of stuff.”

Starting on Saturday June 21st, Minnesota Special Olympics athletes will compete in multiple sports at the Summer Games at Stillwater High School.

As for the torch runners, they clocked 96 miles on Tuesday.