If you live in the Denney Drive and Gillespie Trail area of Essa, north of Baxter, you might see a familiar face running circles around the block.

Derek Shorey, 40, is one of 12,000 people chosen to be a torchbearer when the Olympic Flame makes its way through the region on Dec. 29, and he's been practicing.

Shorey, who is carrying the torch through downtown Angus, is not alone among local runners.

Alliston resident Brian Garriock, 52, will carry the torch through downtown Alliston and Lt. Georgette Mink will carry the torch through Canadian Forces Base Borden.

Mink will carry the Olympic Torch on its final 300 metres at the base to a stage where she'll light a celebration cauldron, in a move similar to the dramatic lighting during the opening ceremonies of the winter Olympics in Vancouver.

For the three of them, it's an opportunity of a lifetime.

"The Olympics has always been exciting to me," Garriock said. "This is something beyond my wildest dreams."

He watched the Olympics as a child and feels the torch relay is "an unofficial Olympic event." Participating in it is as close as he'll get to being in the Olympics and for him it's an unbelievable privilege.

"It's the longest torch relay in Olympic history," he said. "What the torch symbolizes to me is peace and freedom and unity; bringing the world together."

Each runner had to submit a pledge as part of their application process.

Garriock, a municipal enforcement worker in Toronto, pledged to create stronger communities through visiting seniors on a regular basis. He already takes care of his elderly mother and said he'll take it a step further.

"I'm a strong advocate for the elderly. I firmly believe the elderly have a lot to offer."

Seniors, he said, are "worthy to be mentors for all of us in society."

Shorey, meanwhile, pledged to make regular contributions to the local food bank.

"My pledge was to, every time we go grocery shopping, to get a little extra for the food bank," he said.

Shorey has already received the white runner's jacket bearing the Olympic rings and Vancouver games logos, and the red mittens each torchbearer gets.

Getting that outfit in the mail really helped it hit home for him.

"It's amazing. I'm going to be carrying a flame originally lit in Greece a month ago," he said. "It's downtown Angus. It's pretty exciting."

Like Garriock, Shorey sees the torch as a symbol of peace and unity, and like his fellow runners, he's an avid watcher of the Olympics.

"I love watching the Olympics, especially the hockey, the Canadians," he said. "I think they'll do well, being on home turf. It's the winter Olympics, that's our forte."

Shorey plays recreational hockey in Thornton and used to play slo-pitch baseball. Garriock, meanwhile, has coached minor baseball in Angus, minor hockey in Essa and the CFB Borden Barracudas Swim Club.

"Many important lessons are learned through competition," Garriock said. "Winning is the bonus. It's how you play the game."

To her peers, Fink, a physiotherapist, is dedicated to athletics and is a fierce competitor with a strong sense of fair play and respect.

"Her commitment to fitness, excellence in performance, and the manner in which she conducts herself makes her a true role model," said Lt.-Cmdr. Mike Thomson, Commanding Officer of the 31 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre.

On Dec. 29, the Olympic Torch begins its journey in Owen Sound before heading to Midland and then on to CFB Borden and Angus. Then it heads south to Alliston before turning around and heading up to Barrie.

According to torch run's organizers, there are a dozen people carrying the torch through Borden, Angus and Alliston in addition to Shorey, Garriock and Fink.

They include Steph Smith, 31, from Newmarket; Rick Ball, 44, from Orillia; Richard Adams, 56, from Toronto; Cindi Meyer, 45, from Barrie; and Jerry Janda, 61, from Caledon.

For a complete list of torch bearers and route map and schedule of the Torch Relay, visit the official RBC 2010 Olympic Torch Relay website by clicking here.