RIO RANCHO, N.M. — You may think that with the extraordinary demands of his job as a law enforcement officer with the Rio Rancho Police Department, Ben Sanchez would have precious little time or energy for much of anything else.

Boy, would you think wrong.

Sanchez is a dynamo of both grit and heart.

Sanchez, who has donned the blue now for nearly two decades, is a motorcycle cop. For the past seven years, he has been the chief organizer of The Germaine Casey Invitational Police Motorcycle Competition, which he also founded. Sanchez proudly proclaims the three-day exhibition of expert and highly technical riding to be “the largest community policing event in the state of New Mexico.”

He also noted that proceeds from the contestant entry fees go to the state Special Olympics initiative.  While an abundantly worthy cause, this is not by way of random choice.

Rio Rancho’s Special Olympians and their families have been near and dear to Sanchez since he joined the community’s police force. For Sanchez, it’s a relationship forged in, and fortified by, mutual giving, as he expressed to the Albuquerque Journal.

“The joy I get from helping the athletes, their parents, is very rewarding,” he said.

In another interview with KOAT-TV, he shared his inspiration.

“The athletes, their enthusiasm!” he explained. “I love being around them because I think it just bridges a gap in our community.”

In 2019, Sanchez served as “Guardian of the Flame” for the Special Olympics World Games at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The Rio Rancho native ran six miles daily over an aggregate total of nearly two weeks as he carried the Flame of Hope throughout the UAE.

Not surprisingly, Sanchez called the experience a highlight of his career.  Little did he know at the time, however, that this was not to be a one-of-a-kind occurrence.

For next month in Russia, Sanchez and Rio Rancho PD Detective Brittany Mahnesmith will be among 96 worldwide law enforcement professionals invited exclusively to take part in the Final Leg Torch Run. After touring the country for two weeks, the trek concludes during the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Kazan, a city of over one million residents in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Sanchez, New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Torch Run director, is one in an elite group of only ten picked to be team leaders in Russia, with responsibilities ranging from insuring everybody makes the bus on time to being lead singer for the runner’s cadence chants.

Sanchez is a key driver of the Special Olympics New Mexico fundraising efforts, which go to support the local athlete’s team, the Rio Rancho Rockets.

“And if I make enough money, I will commit to jumping into a freezing cold lake in the middle of January in Russia, in sub-zero temperatures,” Sanchez confirmed to the Rio Rancho Observer.

All runners achieving fundraising goals earn the honor of taking the storied “Blue Lake Leap.” The year-round temperature of this suburban Kazan body of water is a brutally frigid 48 degrees Fahrenheit.  This on top of the dozens of miles they each will be legging out in the dead of the arctic-like Russian winter.

As he prepares to face this most daunting of challenges, Sanchez prescribed a personal secret for success. It is a simple recipe, yet one tried-and-true, as he confided to KOAT.

“A lot of Advil and a lot of water for my joints and my shins, and a smile on my face because that’s what gets you through it,” he said.

Even so, Sanchez makes it clear that he only plans to partake in this brisk bath if both he and Mahnesmith each raise $5,000 on behalf of Special Olympics New Mexico.

And when this happens, there can be no doubt that Sanchez will do this most “invigorating” dive into the bitter cold waters of Blue Lake.

After all, when it comes to helping Special Olympians, he is all in.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.