Page 8 April 17, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE TerriAnn of Torrance Baker to Vegas Every Year By TerriAnn Ferren When I hear the phrase Baker to Vegas, I have visions of police officers running through the desert but I never knew why they ran the race or for how many years the race has been held. This prompted me to visit with Torrance Sergeant Robert (Bob) Watt, Chief’s Adjutant, and Sergeant Ryan Peterson, Research and Training. Was I in for a surprise! Bob and Ryan acted as co-captains of the race this year and Ryan was an alternate runner on call. The Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay began 30 years ago in 1985 by the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, Inc., and the Torrance Police officers have entered a team in the race (which begins on a Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and finishes on Sunday between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.) for 28 years, missing only the first two. This year, out of 262 Law Enforcement Agencies, the Torrance team finished 13th overall--and first in their division for the fifth year in a row! That is six minutes faster than last year and the fastest ever in 28 years! That is remarkable considering the size of our department competing against huge departments in this 120-mile footrace. “It is more to build morale and camaraderie amongst the troops and promote physical fitness,” said Bob. But another incentive developed in 2010 when Officer Steve Kroesen died of cancer. “Steve was an officer here and we went through his battle with him and the year he died was the year we decided we’re gonna run this race for Steve. That was in 2010. We were gonna fight as hard as he did and that was the first year we won our division and we haven’t lost since,” said Ryan. Since then, Torrance has been TEAM KRO. In the beginning the number of teams participating was small, but the race has grown to international proportions including teams from as far away as Canada and New Zealand. Another great thing about the race is that rank and age are thrown right out the window. The desert is the great leveler and everyone works as a team in their unit. I learned that the race used to start at the school (grades K-12) in the town of Baker, California. The school has been most accommodating from the beginning, so a monetary donation is made to the campus every year from the team. This year, over $10,000 was donated even though the race now begins 25 miles north of Baker on Highway 27. The 120-mile route travels along Highways 178, 372 and 160, finishing inside the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. I asked to see a map of the course and it became obvious why every team has 20 runners (plus alternates). It is because of the length of the race. There are 20 points designated on the map where a change in runner occurs. This is where the baton they are carrying is handed off to the next runner. I imagined lots of runners in marathon style all crunched together running down a road, but I was wrong. I asked Bob how the race is organized and he told me that each runner runs one leg of the race, and alternates step in if needed. Not all the lengths are the same distance. Sergeant Peterson told me the logistics of getting the runners to their assigned spot involves a lot of planning. The starting race times are staggered and the course takes 14 hours and 44 minutes to complete. This year, Torrance’s start time was 5 p.m. on Saturday. Faster teams start at the end, so everyone ends the race around the same time. Runners technically finish every two to three minutes during a four-hour period. As you can imagine, the highway gets pretty congested with all the vehicles. No, the roads don’t close--so it’s obvious why the race takes place on remote highways. And remember, this is the desert, so the temperatures can be brutal. This year the high was 85 degrees, which was much cooler than last year’s sweltering 107 degrees. The runners run through the night and the desert can get cold. Each runner is assigned a ‘leg’ of the race and must coordinate how to get there and be ready to run and accept the baton an hour before they actually take off. Most of the runners use a sort of buddy system with a ‘follow vehicle.’ The runners are competitive so the follow cars make sure the runner is safe, hydrated and not pushing him/herself too much. Ryan explained, “They have it very well organized and there are a lot of rules. You have to have a follow vehicle and a whole list of rules on equipment. It [the vehicle] has to have rotating amber lights on the back and reflective stuff and you have to be behind your runner protecting him. They have motorcycle officers--not police officers per se, but basically race safety officers that are going up and down the course the entire race looking for violations, making sure everyone’s abiding by the rules. And runners have to wear reflective vests that have blinking lights. If you go out there it looks chaotic, but it really is a well-oiled machine.” Can you imagine all the teams running in this remote area? “We couldn’t do this without our sponsors. Our main sponsors are the TPOA [Torrance Police Officers Association], which pays the entry fee every year; Village Runner; Van Lingen Towing; Pelican Products; Martin Chevrolet; Albertsons; Dr. James Deutsch; Dr. Stuart Gold; South Bay BMW; and California Barber,” said Bob. Bob has been involved with the race for 20 years. He told me that the team has gotten faster as the years have gone by and planning the race is 10 times more work than running in it. But the runners do a great job and their results show all their hard work. And they do this completely voluntarily and train on their own time. “The first year I participated was in 2001 and only one year since then I have not either been a runner or alternate or co-captain,” said Ryan. Both Ryan and Bob told me this isn’t your ‘typical Vegas vacation,’ so they usually don’t bring their families because they hardly see them. Either they are running the race, driving one of the follow cars, or shuttling the runners, which leaves little family time. The awards ceremony takes place Sunday night in the Convention Center and winners are presented with giant mugs and plaques, and of course, bragging rights on their place. Sergeants Watt and Peterson both said their challenge is to be in the top 10 overall, regardless of how big the other departments happen to be. Ryan explained, “We are in what is called the ‘300 Division’ with 300 or fewer sworn personnel and have won our division the last five years in a row!” Bob added, “Ultimately, we’re working together. It’s satisfying when you see the end result – the successes we have had over the last five years especially.” Team KRO is named after Torrance Police Officer Steve Krosen, who passed away from cancer in August 2009. Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Badge. Photo by TerriAnn Ferren. Lieutenant Scott Doukakis of El Segundo PD. Photo by TerriAnn Ferren Torrance Baker to Vegas Team 2014. Photo by Christina Szczypkowski Ryan continued, “I do it for the same reason I became a police officer. The reason I got into law enforcement is just ‘cuz I was played sports my whole life and was always part of a team and it was really important to me and was something I didn’t want to give up when I was done with college, so law enforcement ended up being a great fit. A police officer is part of a team and competing and so the same kind of thing is rolled up in one weekend.” He went on to say, “I don’t want to embarrass him, but Bob has got to get 99.9 percent of the credit… Bob has been the driving force. This is a lot of work…there isn’t anyone above Bob saying, ‘Hey, make it happen,’ and Bob is the guy on the phone begging sponsors and making sure we have runners.” But as soon as those words left Ryan’s mouth, Bob chimed in, “But it doesn’t matter what I do because it’s the runners--because they could walk the race and I’d still have to do the same stuff. We finish in the mix with large, large agencies!” Listening to the history and explanation of the Baker to Vegas Relay, I finally understood why the teams run and how the race operates. Little did I know that one day later I would run into members of another team just as dedicated and determined as Sergeant Peterson and Sergeant Watt. Lieutenant Scott Doukakis and Sergeant Rex Fowler of the El Segundo Police Department both ran in the Baker to Vegas Relay. Scott told me, “This is the 10th year we have been involved and it wasn’t as hot--in the mid-80s. We came in third in our division, which is the 99 and under for police departments--which is fantastic. We cut an hour and a half off last year’s time.” Scott ran 6.1 miles and told me it was a team effort. Rex added, “I ran it nine times. Now I do it out of stubbornness. It’s always hard and I always feel as I am running as hard as I can. The guys worked so hard. Kim [his wife] goes along and she is my whole support team--picks me up, drops me off, makes sure everything is good. She takes care of me. Especially a department like ours, it’s so small. Out of a 60-man department, we have to have 20 guys run, plus extra runners, alternates and working all the extra shifts. It’s a complete team effort and I think it’s fantastic our department can do that.” Yes, I agree. Bravo! The same words were coming out of the El Segundo team as I heard from the Torrance team and I imagine the same would be true for any other team I questioned. Somehow I don’t think I will be able to pass Baker now without thinking of the yearly race in the spring where police departments come together for a friendly, but very competitive race in the desert. Baker to Vegas, baby. • Enjoy a good read with your morning coffee... Subscribe to one of Herald Publications weekly newspapers. El Segundo Herald, Torrance Tribune, Hawthorne Press Tribune, Lawndale Tribune or Inglewood News Only $50.00 for a yearly subscription. Call 310-322-1830
Torrance 04_17_14
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