Special Olympics Torch Run to pass through Waterbury on Thursday

June 2, 2026  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

The 2025 Vermont Special Olympics Torch Run passes through at People's Academy in Morrisville. File photo by Gordon Miller

The 2025 Vermont Special Olympics Torch Run passes through Morrisville. File photo by Gordon Miller

Special Olympics Vermont hosts its annual Summer Games next weekend, July 5-6, at Saint Michael’s College and heading into it, a massive relay race will pass through many Vermont communities, including Moretown and Waterbury.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is a Special Olympics worldwide tradition where members of state and local law enforcement agencies, along with unified athletes, carry the games’ Flame of Hope in a coordinated relay run. 

The run raises funds and awareness for Special Olympics athletes, with an estimated more than 90,000 officers participating worldwide.

In Vermont, the run begins on Monday, June 1, and ends on Friday, June 5, at the games’ opening ceremonies. 

Around Vermont, a number of high schools host unified basketball teams with student athletes and Special Olympics athletes as teammates. Those participants will have a chance to take part in the Torch Run. The summer games include a Unified Basketball exhibition game as well. 

The routes for the Torch Run are posted on the Special Olympics website. 

The segment that will come through Waterbury will take place on Thursday, June 4, starting at 11 a.m. at Majestic Auto at Majestic Drive and U.S. Route 2 in Moretown. 

Members of the Vermont State Police Berlin Barracks will run this leg that will proceed for approximately 2.5 miles into Waterbury, ending at Parro’s Gun Shop and Shooting Range at 601 U.S. Rt. 2 in Waterbury, west of downtown.

More about Special Olympics Vermont and the summer games is online here. More about the Torch Run is here.