2025 LETR Final Leg Polar Plunge

 

2025 LETR Polar Plunge 

Fundraising Information

Hello Team, I hope this message finds all of you well. We are extremely excited to announce the fundraising information for the 2025 LETR Final Leg Polar Plunge. It will take place at the spectacular Piscina Stadio Momunentale in Torino (pictured below). In addition to being a beautiful venue, it sports multiple diving/jumping platforms, which could add another level excitement to our plunge. Now, this is being billed as a Polar Plunge, so the Planning Committee is at work on ideas for the "Polar" part of that plunge. Any team member is more than welcome to provide suggestions. 

We have assembled a number of resources to maximize your fundraising efforts, and I know you will find them very helpful.

This fundraiser is 100% voluntary, understanding that some law enforcement agencies do not allow fundraising. If you are not able to fundraise, you still are able to participate in the Polar Plunge.

There are also a number of fundraising incentives to encourage you to raise as much money as you possibly can and receive in return some very special memorabilia.

Our goal is to raise $300,000 USD, but we know we can do much better than that!

In order to access all of the fundraising information, follow this link:  Polar Plunge (letr.org), 

In addition to the individual incentives, the Team that raises the most money will receive a very special reward, which will be announced at our Welcome Dinner when we are all in Italy.

As usual, please don't hesitate to ask any questions, and let the competition begin!

How many miles did you run today?

Thanks!

Welcome Ross Christie!

 Welcome to New Team Leader, 

Ross Christie

It is with great disappointment that I announce Team #2 Leader, Ivan Shields, has had to withdraw from the 2025 Final Leg. Ivan suffered an ankle injury and due to complications, has just not healed in a manner that would allow him to prepare properly.

As heartbreaking as it is to see Ivan have to step away, I'm excited to announce that Ross Christie of Scotland will take over as the new Team #2 Leader. Ross is an experienced Torch Runner, dynamic personality and has a somewhat similar accent as our good friend, Ivan.

Ivan introduced Ross to Team #2 last night in the team's WhatsApp group and I know Ross will catch up very quickly!

Welcome aboard Ross!

What do I pack for Italy?

 

What Should I Pack for the Final Leg

One of the most challenging tasks with any Final Leg is packing - especially for a winter Final Leg. If you live in the United States or Canada, your Final Leg uniform kit will be shipped to you prior to your travel to Italy. If you live in any other area of the world, your kit will be shipped to Italy where you will receive it upon arrival at the hotel.

All of our clothing items will be provided by Columbia. You can expect to receive the following:

• (1) Heavy winter jacket
• (1) Softshell jacket
• (1) Fleece vest
• (2) Half-zip fleece vests
• (1) Hooded sweatshirt
• (2) Running pants
• (4) Running shirts
• (1) Long sleeve, collared shirt
• (1) Pair of gloves
• (1) Beanie
• (1) Tactical backpack

That's a lot of stuff!

This was a very difficult trip to plan in terms of running gear. While we will likely run in some very cold, possibly icy conditions, we may also be running in much milder weather. So, even on our warmest day, we will be in running pants and a long sleeve running shirt. Colder days will likely require layering. On each run, the Management Team will advise the Team Leaders what the "uniform of the run" will be. It's impossible to make 100 runners happy all the time, because some of us would prefer to run in shorts and a t-shirt, even if we have snotsickles running down our face. Others will want to run in a heavy jacket, no matter what the temperature. We'll do our best to find a happy medium. Regardless, we will always be uniform when running as a team.

Fortunately, nearly all your time will be in some variation of our uniform, but there will certainly be times when casual attire will be needed.

Here are items that are recommended to pack:

• Long sleeve Class "A" dress police uniform for the Opening Ceremony; NO GUN BELTS OR WEAPONS OF ANY KIND; if you do not wear a uniform, you will participate in our running gear
• A pair of jeans or casual pants for meals and evening wear (when we're not still in our running gear)
• (1) pair of tan or khaki pants for the Team parties
• Underwear (yes, we need to remind you)
• A couple casual shirts for down time
• Running shoes; (2) pair recommended; running in wet shoes is awful, and not healthy for your feet
• Sunglasses, referred to as "sunnies" on the Final Leg; when you are running with the torch, or we're taking formal pictures, master photographers David Smith and Frank Tewey will be yelling, "sunnies off!!"
• Underwear
• Casual shoes for dinners and leisure time
• BLACK/DARK GRAY Thermal socks and/or any other type of socks you wish to run with; NO COLORED SOCKS - PLEASE WEAR BLACK AND/OR DARK GRAY
• Passport and ID
• Medications - with corresponding documentation
• Extra contact lenses
• Toiletries for the duration of the Final Leg (hotels will likely provide soap and shampoo)
• Small container of detergent to wash small items in the room, if necessary; we will have laundry services on specific days during our stay
• Bathing suit (for pool and Polar Plunge)
• Underwear

Although it is not visible to all of you, please know that our plans for Italy are coming together nicely, albeit later than normal, we cannot wait to share with you the itinerary, because it should be spectacular.

Hang in there! Oh, did you run today?

Expression of Interest - Athens & Rome

 EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

PRE-FINAL LEG ACTIVITIES

During the Team Zoom Call last month, our Team Captain spoke about two opportunities available to Final Leg Team members.

The first opportunity is to attend the Flame Lighting Ceremony in Athens.  

This ceremony has taken place prior to the Final Leg for over 20 years.  It is arranged and managed by Special Olympics Hellas (Greece) and is held in one of two locations - the Acropolis or Zappeoin Hall, both in Athens.

In 2023, the Flame Lighting Ceremony was held at Zappeoin Hall.  For the first time since 2003, Final Leg Team members were able to travel to Athens and participate in the event (which included a Torch Run out of the Hall)

Click here to watch the video from the 2023 Flame Lighting

The Flame Lighting Ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, 25 February 2025, commencing around 11.00am.  

The second opportunity is to attend a mass where Pope Francis will bless the Flame of Hope.  To our knowledge, this will be a first for the Torch Run.

The timings and finer details of this event are not yet settled, but it is likely that the mass will be held in St Peter's Basilica within Vatican City in Rome on the morning of Wednesday, 26 February 2025.

If you've been paying attention, you may have realised that the timings for these two activities are very tight.

All Final Leg Team members need to be in Turin by the afternoon of Thursday, 27 February 2025 with the first Torch Run scheduled just 2 days later.

If you are thinking about participating in either or both of these activities, you should do so in the full knowledge that you'll have to manage your travel arrangements well.

A quick check of the Skyscanner website shows just two direct flights from Athens to Rome on the afternoon / evening of February 25 - Aegean at 4.25pm and ITA at 7.25pm.

If you travel to Athens, you will have to leave for the airport immediately following the Welcome Ceremony at the Italian Embassy if you want to be in Rome for the Papal Blessing.

You would have a bit more time following the blessing - you could stay in Rome on the nights of February 25 / 26 and catch a direct train to Turin on the morning of February 27.  The train journey takes about 5 hours.  Flights are also available.

Please click on the Take Survey image above to complete a Survey / Expression of Interest form advising us of your interest in attending one or both of these events.

We'd like everyone on the team to complete the form - it will provide us with a solid basis to take these ideas to the next stage.

If you have any questions about this proposal, don't hesitate to reach out to Mark McCorkle, Greg Dawson or myself.

Scott

Backgrounding Piedmont

 The purpose of this post (and others that will follow) is to introduce you to the Piedmont Region and Turin.

Piedmont is a region in the northwest of Italy, next to the border with France. The main city is Turin (Torino), which was host to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.  Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including the Monviso, where the Po River rises, and the Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Aosta Valley.

The area is justly famous for its wines, which include some of the best produced from Italy, such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato D'Asti. Its local cuisine is renowned throughout Italy and the precious white truffles of the region have been compared to gold because of their cost and delicacy.

Piedmont consists of the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Vercelli.

Click on the image below to view a YouTube video highlighting the features of Turin.  

Link to Zoom Meeting Recording

Zoom Meeting Recording Link

It was fantastic to see so many people on our Zoom call today. If you were unable to make it, copy and paste the link below and watch at your leisure.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 https://zoom.us/rec/share/Bhc7441ZejHfph0IaSfLbB86AUvvQwVcsYrNWcK8bCg_QGbpPhTeJpIuBYjhfB9G.enq_qUzoQXq8DmUU

Passcode: Jri%20wN

Mark

 

The Official Final Leg Logo

Hello Team,

We are very excited to share with you the Official Final Leg logo for 2025. We have shifted from our traditional red banner/ribbon to colors that match the official colors of the 2025 Special Olympics World Games.

We would kindly ask that you not yet share this logo. There are a couple of minor legal hurdles that must be cleared before we can truly make it public.

This logo, along with the official Games logo, will be on our uniform kit pieces, trading pins, challenge coins, etc. 

As soon as we get notice from SOI, we will let you know so you can use it in your own communications.

See you all soon!

Mark