Special Olympics

The Baltimore Sun Several roads in Annapolis will be closed briefly on Saturday morning for the Annapolis Police Department's 1 Mile Challenge. The event, a one-mile run through downtown Annapolis, benefits Special Olympics Maryland. Walkers, joggers, dogs and strollers are permitted The closures are Randall Street to King George Street, King George Street to College Avenue, College Avenue to Church Circle, Church Circle to Main Street, and Main Street back to Randall Street, said Detective Amy Miguez.

When Heather Ziehl lost her job in sales and marketing operations two years ago due to the failing economy, she became a “true housewife.” And what started as an inside joke about the “Housewives of Bel Air” amongst friends, quickly developed into a full-fledged nonprofit organization helping people build professional and personal connections. “Our mission is basically to bring people together and create awareness about nonprofits and charities. We want to give back to the community,” says Ziehl, 34, of Bel Air. “I'm a very positive person, and I start each day with a positive quote.

Bridget K. Healy, a second-year George Mason University student who had also been a member of the Special Olympics team at the university, died Thursday of a pulmonary thromboembolism at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Towson resident was 24. "Bridget Healy was a wonderful young lady and one of the sweetest young adults I've ever had the pleasure of coaching during my 29 years as a Special Olympics coach," said Leo Alonso, who coaches in the Special Olympics program at George Mason in Fairfax, Va. "I coach 43 kids, and Bridget was a big part of our team.

Bridget Flynn had just run three miles through a dark tunnel. She was thrilled. Flynn was one of 800 people who either ran or walked through the northbound Fort McHenry Tunnel Sunday morning to raise money for the Special Olympics. Sipping water while seated on a curb near the finish line, the 39-year-old Baltimore County special education teacher said her morning was an absolute success: She finished the 5K race (in 108th place, at 25:38.3 minutes) and did some good for the children she works with.

Proximity to Interstate-95, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the Baltimore Beltway was one of the factors in the move by Special Olympics Maryland from its current location in Linthicum to a business park off Washington Boulevard. Merritt Properties announced Sept. 7 that Maryland Special Olympics is moving to 3701 Commerce Drive in Merritt's Beltway Business Community. Relocating to the west side of Baltimore will provide Special Olympics Maryland with easier access to a large part of the state, according to a release from Merritt.

From Syd Lea's home in Taneytown, the Pennsylvania line is less than two miles away. When the accomplished cyclist ventures outside from his home gymnasium, he often crosses the Mason-Dixon Line as part of his training regimen. That's not the only boundary that he has crossed during his cycling career. The 26-year old from northwestern Carroll County has traversed the world several times on the way to becoming the premier cyclist among American Special Olympians. Lea was a top winner for Team USA in the recent Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, earning three of the team's 10 gold medals in the international competition.

Swimmer Zachary Posten, of Laurel High, will compete with Team USA at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, June 25 to July 4. Zachary has competed in Special Olympics as a swimmer for four years, and competed at the county, regional and state swimming competitions for the first time in 2010. Athletes for the U.S. teams were chosen by a random drawing from among those who won gold medal during their sport's state finals. Maryland's delegation to the games includes 16 athletes and seven coaches and managers.

With a few minutes to spare before running a 400-meter race in Maryland's Special Olympics, Mike Heup waited in the stands and contemplated his game plan. To escape the hot sun, the 31-year-old Anne Arundel County resident wanted to cool off under a water misting station at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, a long-time host to the games, which ended Sunday afternoon. Not a good idea, his mom warned: Wet sneakers wouldn't be kind to him in a race. Instead, Heup, a 10-year-veteran of the games who works at a grocery store, drank bottled water and iced himself down.

In the fall of 2006, the Students for Disabilities Awareness club at St. Paul's School for Girls was searching for a way to use sports to bring its members together with students who are physically or mentally disabled. LuAnn Blackman, the club's faculty sponsor, reached out to League of Dreams founder Frank Kolarek to explore the possibility of a partnership. "To this day she laughs," Kolarek said, "because I don't think I answered her first email. " Blackman eventually did contact Kolarek, and, with the help of League of Dreams, St. Paul's has just completed its fifth annual spring baseball program with special-needs students from Ridge Ruxton School.

Arnold Palmer's memories of Baltimore date back to Mount Pleasant Golf Course and an ugly opening drive that might still be bouncing somewhere along Hillen Road. This was in 1956 at the Eastern Invitational Tournament, which he would go on to win after that rocky start. But let him tell it. "I was playing with Doug Ford," he recalled in a phone conversation this week from his home in Latrobe, Pa. "I was tired, I'd been playing in a lot of tournaments and I rushed up to the (first)