42 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2017 C all it a 120-mile f o o t p u r s u i t . Scores of cops from multiple agencies recently took part in the 33rd Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay. The race takes officers through the Mojave Des- ert and a whopping 283 law-enforcement agencies competed this year. Most of the 5,660 runners are sworn law enforcement personnel. The race has become a tradition in law enforce- ment circles out West. “It goes back to friendly competition. It’s about ca- maraderie,” said Anaheim Police Officer Garrett Mel- berg, 27, who has run the event four times. “After the race, you’re running into officers from the other side of the country and it’s something we have in com- mon.” John Enriquez, a UC Riverside police officer and member of the statewide University of California team, said even though cops are competing against cops in the event, that’s not exactly what it feels like. “There’s 200, 300 teams in the middle of nowhere. Everyone’s coming togeth- er, everyone’s competing against each other. But we’re all blue, we’re all cops, we’re all on the same side,” he told reporters with the Whittier Daily News. The LAPD are once again the favorites. They’ve got the numbers and are used to taking home the tro- phies. The LAPD has won the race 15 times and has been the returning champ five years running. Many use the race and time off to honor fallen law enforcement partners. Lt. Todd Kridle ran Baker 20 times for the Anaheim PD’s team. “He loved running and he loved that team effort. And it’s a hard run,” said his wife, Anne. But Kridle died of cancer in 2015 at age 49. So the rest of the Ana- heim team ran in 2016 with Kridle’s photo on their rac- ing bibs. “It’s the kind of person he was,” said Officer Gus Maya, 35, who worked under Kridle and used to run and ride bikes with him. “Knowing how much he enjoyed it, it keeps his memory alive. Great friend, boss, mentor. It’s another motivator for us.” Unlike the LAPD, the San Bernardino County Probation Department just wants to finish in the top 199. Team captain and Proba- tion Officer Chris Hernan- dez runs the longest leg of the relay race – some 10.4 miles. He says it’s not so much about the race itself but building morale and having some fun. “It definitely draws us closer together. It makes us work together better be- cause you are able to form that friendship outside of work,” he said. One of the challenges of the desert race is the weather, which can do al- most anything at any time. The 1987 relay race was interrupted by a blizzard. Current temperatures are in the mid 90s. Officers running for the challenge Baker to Vegas 2017