MELBOURNE, Fla. — Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across Brevard County converged on Melbourne for the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Florida Wednesday.

Officers and athletes carried the ‘Flame of Hope’ as they ran the route up and back on the Melbourne Causeway.

It's all with the goal of supporting people with intellectual disabilities.

“The return is the smiles on their faces, and how happy they are, regardless of the outcome of the race, it can teach us all a great lesson in life,” Chief David Gillespie of the Melbourne Police Department said.

Torch runs will continue throughout the state, ending at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics Summer Games in Orlando on May 17.