VANCOUVER - Banish romantic thoughts of the famed Olympic torch being carried along the country's frozen highways by bundled-up, rosy-cheeked runners on its way to Vancouver for the opening of the 2010 Winter Games.

While the entire journey will total 45,000 kilometres, much of the distance is to be covered by vehicles transporting the flame from community to community, organizers confirmed Tuesday.

Wednesday's trial run of the relay will involve torchbearers jogging slowly through seven communities, from Hope to Abbotsford, in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, and a flotilla of cars and vans transporting it between stops at about 80 km/h.

"This is what the Vancouver 2010 relay is. There is rarely running between communities," explained VANOC spokesman Sébastien Théberge. "We run into communities, not between them."

In this way, VANOC is able to have more than a thousand communities across Canada play host to the torch during its 106-day voyage from coast to coast to coast, billed as the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history.

Basic math reveals that VANOC's goal of 12,000 torchbearers carrying the flame for 300 metres each will cover no more than 3,600 kilometres of the 45,000-kilometre route.

The test run, scheduled to begin early Wednesday morning in Hope, is designed to simulate a typical day on the road for the Olympic torch, complete with support crew, escort runners, sponsors, government staff and security personnel that will accompany the flame during its cross-country trip.

The exercise will cause brief, but numerous, rolling road closures along the route. In its official announcement, which gave motorists less than 24 hours notice, VANOC thanked the public in advance "for [its] patience, understanding and support for this training event."

There will also be a trial community celebration to mark the unlit torch's arrival in Chilliwack.

"We are thrilled to be at this stage, fully testing our operations and procedures with our new team members and our valued partners," VANOC relays director Jim Richards said in a statement. "Our goal is to uncover any gaps and refine any overlaps to ensure we have the very best relay ever."
The 2010 Olympic flame will be lit for the first time in Greece, using the power of the sun's rays, on Oct. 22, and will arrive in Canada eight days later for the start of the national relay in Victoria.

The torch relay is considered one of the emotional highlights of an Olympics. At various times, according to VANOC, the flame will be carried by dogsled, Haida canoe, chuck wagon, sea plane and double-decker bus.

In B.C., the provincial government has issued grants ranging from $40,000 for celebration communities to $7,000 for aboriginal reserves where the torch will stop along the way.