Baker to Vegas

Last month Officer Squid took part in the Baker to Vegas relay run.  It is an annual event in which teams from law enforcement agencies around Southern California relay race on foot from Baker, CA to Las Vegas, NV, a distance of about 120 miles.  About 250 teams participated.  There were twenty runners on each team, plus support people.  The desert was full of cops!

I was fortunate enough to be able to go and cheer them on.  I helped relay three runners and their catcher (all cops) in the first leg.  Squid ran the first leg, about 5.5 miles,  and his teammates ran about 6+ miles and 8+ miles.  Uphill.  Through the desert. On a very hot afternoon.

The race is really well organized.  They start the slower teams at 8:00 or 9:00am, and every hour another two dozen or so teams start, with the fastest teams starting at about 4:00pm.  The idea is that all the teams end at the same time, at approximately 6:00am, in Las Vegas!  Our team started at 1:00pm.  Hot!

They finished 171st, with a time of 18:35:02. 

Here are some pictures.

Team 258, Leg 1.  Three runners and a catcher.

The first hand-off

Officer Squid, hot and tired.


Waiting to get the baton.







And leg 2 is off!


As we were waiting at the top of the 8-mile-long hill for our third runner, a guy came in an had to be cared for by paramedics.  They eventually took him away in an ambulance.  As we made our way back, a couple more ambulances were on their way up.  Luckily, all of Team 258 finished in fine shape.

It was a really good weekend away, just the two of us (well, for part of the time, anyway!).  That doesn't happen often!