Chief James T. Butts, Jr., is pleased to announce that the Santa Monica Police Department’s 2005 Baker to Vegas Team finished in 4th place out of 23 teams entered in the under 300 division. The team’s overall time was 16 hours and 2 minutes.

On April 23 ‑24, 2005, the Santa Monica Police Department 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 stages, foot race beginning at Baker, California and finishing at Las Vegas, Nevada.  The relay race course runs from Baker, California, through the Mojave Desert to the town of Shoshone, California, then north to Pahrump, Nevada, over the Mountain Springs Pass (5600') and down to Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 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.