OREM — Orem police officers participating in a 120-mile relay foot race took home divisional gold recently — providing perhaps a timely reminder to law-breakers that trying to outrun the long arm of the law in this Utah County town might not be the best strategy.
"Overall we finished 22nd out of 218 teams," Orem Police Lt. Bob Conner said. "In our category, the 150 Division, we finished first."
It was the third gold-medal performance in four tries for the Orem team, which competes in the division for law enforcement agencies with fewer than 150 sworn officers in the competition that is considered a law enforcement "Super Bowl."
"At first (when Orem entered the competition four years ago), no one knew who or what Orem was," officer Kirk Denning said. "Now they're gunning for us."
The only other Utah team in the contest, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, placed 195th.
Bucking the Hollywood stereotype of overweight doughnut-eaters prevalent on TV and in movies, police officers in the competition are among the most physically fit in the world, according to the race Web site — www.bakervegas.com — where the results are posted.
The Orem police team joined police agencies from around the country along with several international teams for the Challenge Cup Relay held over two days, April 24 and 25. While the bulk of the police agencies were from California, at least five teams were from outside U.S. boundaries, with Canada fielding two teams and Germany, Wales and Australia adding one team each.
The race uses a staggered starting time, and the Orem team headed out about dusk on April 24 and ran through the night. A support vehicle follows each team.
"Sometimes you feel like you're out there all alone . . . because you're so spread out," said Denning, who ran the seventh leg for the Orem squad. The race is divided into 20 six-mile stages.
Denning said the best part was beating nemesis Newport Beach, a California squad that won the division last year. For the first 18 stages, it was looking like "deja vu all over again," as Yogi Berra would say, as Newport had built a four-minute lead heading for the final 12 miles.
Enter Orem officer Mike Sanderson.
Sanderson, who arrived late after competing in the inaugural Salt Lake City marathon the previous day, took the baton to start the 19th stage and quickly erased the four-minute gap and actually reversed the situation, pushing Orem out to a four-minute lead heading into the home stage just outside Las Vegas. Denning said Sanderson is one of the Orem team's strongest runners and made short work of the time deficit.
Orem finished the race in 15 hours and 32 minutes, just over two hours behind the overall champs, the San Diego Police Department, which finished in 13 hours and 23 minutes. The Salt Lake Sheriff's team finished in 20 hours and 15 minutes. The Orem effort bested many police agencies that boast more than 1,000 officers from which to select their teams.
The Orem Police Department currently holds the division record for the race — 14 hours and 59 minutes set in the 2002 race. It ran a then-record 15 hours and 5 minutes in the 2001 contest.
The race begins 19 miles north of Baker, Calif., at about 700 feet above sea level. It wends its way through rural desert towns along state highways in California and Nevada to reach the finish line at the Silverton Hotel in Las Vegas. The course includes rolling hills, desert and an initial climb to Ibex Pass at 2,090 feet above sea level. The high point is at Mountain Springs summit, some 5,600 feet above sea level. From there, it is all downhill to the Las Vegas finish line.
The Challenge Cup Relay, which started in 1985 with 19 teams, is touted as the "largest law enforcement race in the world."
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com