Police officer, on 50-hour run, passes through Orleans to raise money for Special Olympics
Photo courtesy of Kyle Lonnen: Kyle Lonnen has water, Gatorade and ice available for Brett Sobieraski at about 1 in the morning near Canal Road in Murray, after Sobieraski had run about 70 miles since Friday morning.
An Orleans County resident on a 50-hour run along the Erie Canal Towpath has made it through about 25 miles in Orleans County and was near Route 390 in Rochester by 8 this morning.
Brett Sobieraski
Brett Sobieraski, a sergeant with the Rochester Police Department, is running 50 hours straight to raise money for the Special Olympics. He expects to make it near Syrcause on Sunday after the 50 hours on his feet.
Sobieraski started the run Friday morning in Buffalo by a memorial for Craig Lehner, a Buffalo police officer and K9 handler who died in a training exercise on Oct. 13.
Sobieraski reached Medina about 9 p.m. Friday and was joined for a mile by Medina firefighter Matt Jackson. Sobieraski, a Kent resident, was in Albion about midnight.
“Albion PD Shut down the intersections so I could cross and supplied water! Thanks Chief!!” he posted on his Facebook page, where he gives updates on his location and thanks people for joining him on the journey.
Shannon Brett, investigator with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, met Sobieraski at 2 a.m. at the bridge on Route 237 and ran 3 miles with him to the boat launch as he crossed into Monroe County.
“He was going strong and had already run over 70 miles!” Brett said.
In Brockport, Sobieraski ran with Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter and radio personality Bob Lonsberry.
Sobieraski wants to raise funds an awareness for Special Olympics, which he called “a phenomenal organization that helps to transform the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.”
He posted this message on Facebook:
“Inclusiveness – that is what the Special Olympics means to me. That everyone who wants to compete in the Games should have the opportunity to do so. People experience their own personal greatness by competing, breaking through barriers and obtaining their goals. That is why I am doing this. Please consider donating so that willing athletes are not left on the sidelines. To those who have already donated, I sincerely thank you.”
Sobieraski is no stranger to endurance tests. He has completed the 135-mile Badlands ultramarathon through Death Valley and has swum 32 miles across Lake Ontario.
For more information or to donate to the cause, click here.
