BHPD Competes in Baker to Vegas Run

Every year, some of the fittest Beverly Hills Police Officers journey to the desert to participate in the annual Baker to Vegas Relay.

Lasting anywhere from 15 to 18 hours, the race pits relay teams of runners from law enforcement organizations around the world against one another--as well as the heat and some pretty rugged terrain.

BHPD has fielded a team for years, often finishing in the top three in the category for agencies with 150 employees or less.

This year, the run begins about 1 p.m. on Saturday. Twenty BHPD officers have headed out in SUVs and are ready to drop in at their assigned places along the route.

The first runner will start in Baker, California. The last will finish in Las Vegas, Nevada about 18 hours later, soon after sunrise on Sunday.

Matt Thurman is one of the organizers of the BHPD team. He'll be running too.

He is a ten year veteran of the force and has participated in the run six times.

BHPD officers train on their own for the event by ramping up their usual physical fitness regimes, he says.

It  takes a lot of coordination, he says. Another twenty people or so provide support to the runners on the BHPD team.

The comraderie and teamwork, he tells us, is what makes the event worth the many extra hours he and others spend on it.

We'll have photos from the run at the site. We'll also let you know how BHPD did. So please check back.