By Daily Press staff
A recent footrace through the desert has proven Santa Monica’s cops are some of the fastest in the country.
Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr., has announced that the SMPD’s 2005 Baker to Vegas Team finished in fourth place out of 23 teams entered in the under-300 division. The team’s overall time was 16 hours and two minutes.
On April 23-24, 2005, the SMPD participated in the 21st Annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay. The Challenge Cup Relay is the largest and most unique law enforcement race in the world. It is a 120-mile, 20-stage, footrace beginning at Baker, Calif. and finishing at Las Vegas. The relay racecourse runs from Baker through the Mojave Desert to Shoshone, Calif., then north to Pahrump, Nev., over the Mountain Springs Pass (5,600 feet) and down to Las Vegas. More than 213 teams of 20 runners entered this year’s competition.
The runners are followed by a van driven by a volunteer support staff member. Support staff provides transportation to and from each of the stage points. The staff has rotating shifts, since they work around the clock for the duration of the race. Legal ease: Santa Monican nabs scholarship
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 26, 2005. Read the original PDF.