Story and photos by Arlene Herrero, Club Vice President of Business Development, and Daniel Wang
T
he 40th annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay grew in its third year after a hiatus during the pandemic, and the Club was there for all the action!
The race was held from the desert to Las Vegas March 23-24.
This amazing footrace is an annual event for public safety organizations throughout the world. The relay race is a 120-mile, 20-stage footrace between Baker, California, and Las Vegas and is considered the “Super Bowl” of law enforcement; the champions are the best, in terms of physical fitness and logistics the police world has to offer. The race was created by and is managed by the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, and the Employees Club is grateful for their leadership.
The 2024 edition of Baker to Vegas – marking the Club’s 20th year sponsoring individual teams – was another outstanding year, with 258 teams participating (up from 230 teams last year, approximately). The New York Police Dept, won the overall race with 12:19:44 taking the title away from LAPD Citywide who took the title in 2023. New York came in second place in 2023. In second place was CHP Elite (12:27:11), followed by LAPD Elite (12:35:36).
The Club once again was on the racecourse to capture much of what unfolded. Runners enjoyed exceptional weather, a stark contrast to the harsh conditions often associated with the Baker to Vegas race. It was a beautiful 65 degrees during the 11:30 a.m. start time with 21%-26% humidity, 18 mph wind gusts and certainly the most ideal weather conditions in the many years that I have seen.
The Club sponsored nine teams from different agencies:
- Team 124 Los Angeles City Attorney (16:57:12)
- Team 22 Los Angeles Airport Police (15:36:31, which took third place in the overall Mixed category, bringing home a trophy mug);
- Team 88 Los Angeles Port Police (16:18:47, taking home a trophy mug) placed sixth out of 27 teams;
- Team 195 LADOT (17:50:16 with 10-minute penalty) placed 19th of 31 teams and shaved an amazing four hours off their final time last year;
- Team 105 LAPD Communications Division/LAPD SECSD (17:50:19);
- Team 130 LA County Probation (17:29:40);
- Team 241 DHCS ID (20:14:37);
- Team 45 LAPD Mission (17:19:08);
- Team 43 LAPD Newton (15:08:22) took third place in their overall Station category and brought home a trophy mug).
Team Reports
Here are some notable takeaways from a few of the Club’s sponsored team:
LA City Attorney
LA City Attorney Team co-captains were David Michaelson and Valerie Flores with Robbie Britton as their support captain. “We are pretty well organized after all of these years, but fundraising is always a challenge every year, and that is why we are so grateful for the Club’s support,” David reported.
LAXPD
LAXPD Team co-captains were: Roxanna Carlos, Daniel Gardea and Greg Iwamiya. “We have around 36 volunteers, and new members meshed very well with our senior runners and they all seemed to have a great time,” Roxanna reported. “Challenges often step in from last-minute injuries, cancellations and making sure our overall equipment and supplies are ready. This year with new last-minute runners added, everyone did an outstanding job, injury free, and we successfully reached the podium for the second year in a row. We plan to organize more training throughout the year to train and prepare new runners for 2025. Having support from our department has allowed us to become successful as we are a very competitive team.”
LADOT
LADOT Team running captain was Officer Antonio Cordoba, and Sgt. LaTisha Vargas is the Support Team Captain. “Our team was four hours faster than last year,” LaTisha reported. “Special thanks to Team Captain Cordoba for the running regimes that helped the team improve. We also extend an invitation for all LADOT employees to participate in next year’s race, both runners and support.”
LAPD Communications/SECSD
LAPD Communications/SECSD Team co-captains were Frank Sarabia, Yvette Castillo and Rickk Montoya. “We are very grateful for the Club’s support year after year.” Frank reported. “Our team went out there and gave it their all, which is precisely what we as captains could hope for. We’re proud of the team and are eager to return next year to do it all over again.”
CA DHCS ID
Team DHCS ID team captain was Brandon Butler, and co-captains were David Perinati and Larry Lising. Brent Kaneyuki, an Auditor with DHCS, dominated his 6.6-mile leg with an impressive 5:57-minute average mile pace. He finished first out of all 258 teams in that leg. “Brent ran like a gazelle, passing any and all runners he came across – our follow van even had a hard time keeping up with him,” Brandon reported. “Brent now sets the record for the fastest Leg 8 time out of all 39 years B2V has been around!
“Despite difficult terrain, extreme desert wind and brutal hills, fluctuating heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night, the CA DHCS ID team successfully completed the Baker to Vegas 2024 race. Many team members stepped out of their comfort zone training for this race despite no prior competitive running experience. Their drive and determination turned into amazing average mile times. Our department Chief even took part, starting the team off strong completing the first leg of the race to set the tone for what was to come. One team member got sick during their run and still finished; another runner finished their leg despite suffering from severe food poisoning the night before and celebrated their victory in the urgent care directly after crossing the finish line – nothing stopped us! Most teams generally had five to 10 alternate runners, while we only had one, a testament to all runners’ drive to complete the race and do their part.
“We plan to have an even bigger team for 2025, holding team training sessions and time trials to compete with the best teams in the race. We look forward to what 2025 has in store for the CA DHCS ID team!”
LA Port Police
LA Port Police Team captains were Officer Jose Verbera and Officer Garbe. Support captain: Christine Pina.
“Our team raced in the Mixed Category and placed sixth out of 27 teams with a time of 16:18:47, our fastest record time in Port Police history,” Officer Verbera reported. “Overall, we ranked 81 out of 256 teams with an average team pace of 8:10 m/s, bringing back home the treasured Baker to Vegas mug.
“Our team represented Port Police well, beating LAPD Harbor Division for the second year in a row in a friendly competition for the Baker to Vegas Bridge Trophy. This trophy is awarded to the fastest B2V team between Port Police and LAPD Harbor Division. LAPD Harbor Division finished the race with an overall time of 16:33:13.
“We look forward to Baker to Vegas 2025, with goals to be top three in our category and sub-50th place in the overall race.”
