County Law Enforcement Race in the Desert

Despite temperatures that reached 111 degrees in the day and 127 degrees on the blacktop, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies and San Diego County Probation officers put on their running shoes for a nonstop 120-mile “Baker to Vegas” relay race through the desert last weekend.

The official time for the Probation Department was 17 hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds, while the Sheriff’s Department time was 17 hours, 19 minutes and 59 seconds. Official individual runner’s times have not yet been posted.

Members of both teams said the heat was incredible.

“It’s never been this extreme,” said Probation team captain Linda Yoakum-Latimer. “I don’t think we beat our time from last year — which was our goal, but not in 111 degree temperatures.”

Yoakum-Latimer said they were just happy that none of their runners or volunteers required medical attention for heat stroke or dehydration.

The heat did sap one of the probation team’s runner, who was replaced by Probation Chief Mack Jenkins. The chief was more than happy to step in as an alternate. He has run  for the San Diego Probation team in previous years and he has a competitive side.

Before Jenkins came to San Diego County, he served as the team captain for the Orange County Probation Department team. Well, that just means the Orange County Probation team had extra fun ribbing Jenkins about the fact that their team beat San Diego County last year -- and this year too unfortunately.

Yoakum-Latimer said they plan to come back strong for next year’s race and strip Orange County’s team of bragging rights. Jenkins is also planning on running a leg on his own next year, not as an alternate, she said.

Despite the pulverizing heat, the Sheriff’s Department team actually bettered their final time from last year’s competition by 2.5 hours, said Sheriff’s team captain Denese Deal.

The team captain said their volunteers had to be really watchful of their runners to make sure that no one started weaving or showing other signs of heat illness. They caught one team member just in time and replaced the runner with an alternate.

“The heat was incredible. Hundreds of people went down because of the heat,” she said.

So, why would thousands of law enforcement officers from across the nation, including teams from Berlin and Hamburg Germany, take part in this punishing course?

“It’s challenging. If you enjoy running, it’s tough,” said Deal.

Team members train to run on the team. They must also take into account the harsh conditions including terrain, altitude and extreme temperatures, she said. The course even includes a 10 mile uphill segment, but Deal said her runner was “outstanding” this year, just like he was last year.

In the end, she said it’s all about teamwork.

“It’s the camaraderie,” Deal said. “You get to show your pride as a San Diego Sheriff’s deputy.”