Probation, Sheriff’s Teams Compete in “Baker to Vegas” Relay

Runners make their way through the desert during the 2011 relay.

It’s not obvious why anyone would run a race 120 miles through barren desert, from nondescript Baker, Calif. to Las Vegas.

But a team of 20 runners and about 20 volunteers from our Probation Department and a separate Sheriff’s Department team will head to the high desert this weekend to join thousands of members of law enforcement from around the world in the “Baker to Vegas” relay race challenge.

When the Probation team starts running about 4 p.m. Saturday, the forecast says it will be 103 degrees. Most of the team will stay up all night running, too.  They won’t sleep, but at least it’ll be cooler.

“This is like the craziest thing I’ve ever done with law enforcement people,” said Linda Yoakum-Latimer who is Probation’s team captain. The Senior Probation Officer said she’s spent much of the year organizing fundraisers for the team’s entry fee, transportation and other costs.

The chance to meet peers from around the world and the grueling format makes Baker to Vegas a uniquely absurd, fun and competitive race, Yoakum-Latimer explained.

“It’s very positive; it’s very upbeat,” she said.

The format of the race sees 20 runners each passing a baton for 20 different legs of the 120 mile race. Not all legs are equal, with the longest 10.7 miles “straight uphill,” Yoakum-Latimer said, and the shortest, about 4 miles.

Volunteers in cars follow each runner and deliver runners to the start of the next leg, where the baton is passed.

“The volunteers are as important as the runners,” Yoakum Latimer said. And, she said, logistically the volunteer end and driving are almost as frantic—and a great time.

“This is what we do for fun; we go out in the desert and we drive like crazy,” she said.

Yoakum-Latimer said Probation has participated in the relay race for 14 years and has gotten pretty competitive.  Time trials at Miramar Lakes decided which members of the department would run. The team’s fastest runner, James Parison, a Deputy Probation Officer who works at East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, did a 6.9 minute mile in his time trial. He’ll take the 10.7 mile leg.

The team will compete in the “mixed” category, with six women and 14 men.

Not everyone in the department understands why their colleagues participate. Some people think it sounds too grueling, too crazy. But Yoakum-Latimer said, no matter how you view Baker to Vegas, the event generates a lot of conversation in the Probation Department and creates a common interest outside the usual workaday subjects. Friday, members of the department wore any “Baker to Vegas” team shirts they had from past events and showed their support for this year’s team.

The race weekend culminates in an awards ceremony and party in Las Vegas Sunday night.

“The energy there is amazing; people have been up all night and yet, there’s so much energy,” Yoakum-Latimer said. “It’s all about what they’re going to do next year, how they’re going to do even better.”