Newport cops are tops in relay race

Deepa Bharath

They didn’t have to endure swirling sandstorms or guard against enemy

missiles.

But the desert laid out a tough challenge for 20 Newport Beach

police officers who ran the Baker to Vegas 120-mile relay for public

safety agencies over the weekend.

Temperatures vacillated sharply from extreme heat to freezing

cold. Winds gusted from 30 to 50 mph. But the Newport Beach officers

trampled through these adverse conditions and were the first to cross

the finish line. Newport Beach beat the Orem, Utah, Department of

Public Safety by 3 minutes and 11 seconds to grab first place in its

division, which comprised departments with 150 employees or fewer.

It was sweet revenge for the officers, too, because the Orem

department had edged them out last year, even beating a race record

that Newport Beach had set and held for several years. This year, the

team from Newport finished the race in 15 hours and 43 minutes.

“It’s always nice when we win,” team co-captain Lt. Mike Hyams

said. “It takes a lot of teamwork, energy and enthusiasm.”

Hyams said the team of 20 had about five officers who were running

the race for the first time. It also featured veterans such as

co-captain Sgt. Ron Vallercamp and Capt. Paul Henisey, who have

participated in the competition since the department’s first team in

1982, back when the contest was held in Death Valley.

The conditions are always “pretty arduous” in the Mojave Desert,

but this year, the biggest challenge runners faced was the wind,

Hyams said.

“It was a true test of endurance,” he said. “The win was pretty

satisfying.”

Also noteworthy is that the team stood third overall. More than

200 teams from throughout the country participated, and several of

them had 1,000 or more employees, Hyams said.

Sgt. Rob Morton went with the team as part of the support crew.

“We’ve always had a great running team,” said Morton, who has run

the race thrice. “We don’t have the record now, but we’re going to

get it back from Utah.”

Costa Mesa Police Department, also a regular in the race, did not

participate this year. In 2001, Newport Beach came first in their

division, and Costa Mesa came second.

“There’s always a lot of healthy competition between us and

Newport,” Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Bob Sizek said. “We’re glad they won

this year. Good for them.”