Submitted Photo Participants of the Law Enforcement Torch Run Truck Pull will be pulling the Minot Police Department's Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team Bearcat armored car a total of 150 feet.

Special Olympics North Dakota is looking for some muscle this week. The organization is seeking entrants for its tractor pull, set to take palace Saturday at the U-Haul Storage facility at 1 20th Ave. SE, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Special Olympics North Dakota (SOND) Westfield manager Renee Dufner assisted in organizing Minot’s first Law Enforcement Torch Run Truck Pull fundraiser with help from the Minot Police Department and Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team.

Dufner said SOND normally holds a Polar Plunge fundraiser at this time of year, but with everything she and everyone with the organization had going on, they could not bring that to fruition.

When looking around for ideas, SOND Commanding Executive Officer and President Nancy Hanson sent her an email with a link to a truck pull event the New York Police Department did.

That gave Dufner an idea. She contacted Master Officer Jacob Olson and Senior Officer Seth Labodda with the Minot Police Department about getting involved with the event. They were all in, and it was decided the vehicle the teams would pull would be the SWAT team’s Bearcat armored car. One person will be sitting in the driver’s seat for safety, with the vehicle in neutral, just in case the brakes need to be applied for any reason.

The vehicle weighs 19,000 pounds, and to find out how many people would be needed for a team, they did a trial and error process. In the end, 10 people were necessary to pull the Bearcat 75 feet in 15 seconds.

Teams of 10 people minimum will be pulling the Bearcat. The goal is to find out which team will be able to pull the Bearcat 150 feet the fastest.

The teams so far are comprised of officers from Minot PD, but the competition is not limited to law enforcement. Anyone who would like to participate may form a team of 10-15 people to compete against the officers.

If a team of more than 10 members is entered, only 10 members may pull the truck at a time. The remaining members may be the cheer squad, coaches, moral support or even alternates if a team pulls more than once.

All funds raised from the event will be going toward SOND athletes and their events so they can continue to participate in the sports they love.

As of Tuesday, only seven teams had signed up, with high potential for an eighth team. Dufner is hoping that since preregistration is preferred but not required for the truck pull, more people will show up the day of the event to participate.