Aurora 5K to benefit Special Olympians

With an expected finish time of an hour and 10 minutes, Branden Witt will be far behind the front-runners in Aurora's third annual Run for Athletes 5K.

But with a special finisher's award awaiting him at the end, he may be the most honored competitor in the race, which steps off at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at Blackberry Farm and raises money for Special Olympics Illinois through the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run fund.

Although Witt, 21, of Plainfield, is not a Special Olympian yet, he has special needs, and the Run for Athletes 5K will be his second race, his mother Joni Augustine said.

“We come in dead last but he finishes and that's what matters,” Augustine said.

What matters for race organizer Doug Podschweit, a sergeant in the Aurora Police Department, is providing recreational opportunities for people with special needs.

“We try to get people who are disadvantaged to grow in athletic ways and also in social skills,” Podschweit said.

In the past two years, the race has raised a total of $4,500 for the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run fund, which Podschweit said is the single largest monetary contributor to Special Olympics Illinois.

The Aurora Police department holds other fundraisers throughout the year to build its contribution to the Torch Run fund, including quirky ones in which police officers wave to customers from the roof of Dunkin' Donuts stores, or wait tables in uniform at Buffalo Wild Wings. Those events have raised about $9,400 this year, Podschweit said, and he hopes the 5K will close the gap to the department's goal of $15,000.

Race-day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and costs $25. Podschweit said he expects at least 200 participants, including teams from Aurora's police and fire departments, who will compete for the first time for the best places and fastest times overall.

“When I first came on the job, we played basketball against each other and there was a weightlifting competition, but (firefighters and police officers) haven't done anything against each other in terms of head-to-head competition lately,” Hal Carlson, Aurora's fire chief, said. “Last year we thought, ‘Why don't we make this like a team competition?'”

And while police and firefighters will be competing for a traveling trophy and bragging rights, and other runners will be striving for personal bests, Witt and his mother Augustine are just in it to finish it, she said.

“It's for a great cause, the Special Olympics, which is the main reason behind this,” Carlson said. “With everything that's going on right now, everyone is struggling and this tends to bring everyone together and unify everyone when they're competing.”

If you go

<p>What: Run for Athletes 5K</p>

<p>When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6

Where: Blackberry Farm, 100 S. Barnes Road, Aurora</p>

<p>Cost: $25</p>

<p>Details: Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Funds benefit the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run, which in turn supports Special Olympics Illinois

Info: runfortheathletes.com or (630) 256-5772</p>