Every year in late April, law enforcement officers run a relay race (B2V) from Baker, CA to Las Vegas, NV. 20 legs. 120miles.
Lots of cops. (This is a friendly term in the B2V vocabulary).
241 teams x 20 legs = 4,820 cops.
Hosted and operated by the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club (LAPRAAC), the B2V race dates back to the early 1980’s.
The race route starts 24 miles North of Baker High School, runs North on Hwy 127 to Shoshone,CA. It then winds NE to Pahrump,NV on Hwy 178/372. It then rolls through the mountains SE on Hwy 160 into Las Vegas. The finish line is inside the Rio Hotel.
In one sentence: The cops run across the Mojave desert, up over a mountain, and finsih at the Rio Hotel in Vegas. Brutal.
Why do they do it? Two reasons. First, it encourages fitness. Second, cops are ferociously competitive. Especially among themselves.
The official times from the 2025 race are here.
You can see from the results, the winner was the CHP Elite team that completed the trek in 12:31:55. The final team to cross the finish line was Lodi PD at 22:36:29
This year, I was privileged enough to be a member of the Orange, CA police department (OPD) support team. Our team finished 119th. (17:36:22)
What does this have to do with Ham radio?
Ham radio has a long history in the B2V race. Traditionally, there has been very little cell phone coverage in the Mojave desert. Volunteer Ham radio operators have provided medical personnel and race team comms for many years. Repeaters and large antennas across the desert were common fare.
In recent years, cell phone carriers, particularly Verizon, have provided portable cellular towers along the race track. This has been a big help to the teams. The OPD comm support team, under the excellent leadership of Scott MacGillivray (KM6RTE), deployed Starlink devices to most of the mobile support team this year. This provided Internet WiFi access to all of the support vehicles in the desert. Game changing technology.
I do not want to focus on the comm tech here. That is for another blog post. I would rather focus on the brotherhood.
Each team deploys a “Follow vehicle” (FV). This is usually a minivan or SUV that follows the runner. @7 MPH for 120 miles. It is packed with all of the things needed to support the team.
First aid kit, water, snacks, timing devices, comm gear, GPS location tech, all the needed stuff. Some teams even have video feeds of the runner posted on the Internet in real time.
I was assigned the (FV) comm operator role in the OPD FV for legs 14-20. This was the middle of the night shift. Although I was responsible for the comms, I was taken aback by what I experienced.
Each team in the race is given a team number. This number is highly visible on each FV. There is a required, and disciplined protocol among FV drivers, to ensure the runners are always safe. Each FV is required to have an FRS radio tuned to a common channel.
This channel allows the FV operators to communicate with other FV’s.
Why is this important? Because there is an orchestated “ballet dance” when runners pass each other. The highways in the Mojave desert are quite narrow. And very, very dark at night.
As the runners run along the course, they may pass other runners. When they do, the FV’s must ensure this is done safely.
Here is a typical encounter of the runner passing procedure.
OPD’s team number was 73. Garden Grove, CA PD team number was 83.
This is a typical radio conversation when team 83’s runner is about to pass team 73’s runner.
Team 83’s follow vehicle and runner are approaching our FV from behind. (Radio comms are in quotes).
“Team 73, this is Team 83. Our runner is on your right.”
“Team 83, this is Team 73, your runner in sight. Free to pass”
Team 73 FV moves left to allow the team 83 runner to pass on the right.
Team 83 runner passes Team 73 FV and runs alongside Team 73 runner.
Team 73 FV moves right behind both runners.
Team 83 FV loses sight of their runner.
“Team 83, this is Team 73, we have your runner.”
Team 73 takes responsibility for Team 83’s runner safety.
Team 83 runner passes Team 73 runner.
When the gap between runners is safe, the FV’s change position.
“Team 73 to Team 83, Ok to pass and collect your runner.”
Team 83 FV passes FV 73 on the left and pulls in behind their runner.
“Team 83 to Team 73 – thank you.”
This scenario happens countless times during the race.
To see this ballet in action is an amazing experience. Safety. Trust. Respect. Comradery. Honor. Service. Fitness. All the things that form the foundation of police work.
In the middle of the night. In the middle of the Mojave desert. Surrounded by public safety patriots.
One other note. As I looked at the roster of runners for my shift, I noticed something special. One of the runners happened to be the Orange PD Chief of Police! Whoah.
The OPD Chief of police ran a difficult 01:04:00 leg alongside his troops. At a pace that never wavered. This was amazing to witness. Very inspirational. A definitive example of true leadership.
How many of you have a boss that would train for weeks to get in shape. Then run across the Mojave desert in the middle of the night to support you?
This is what makes the B2V race so special.
5,000 cops. One of the world’s most beautiful and unique places. The honor to witness it all. What a weekend.
N1SPW