DON McDERMOTT / PVT A runner in the 23rd Baker-to-Vegas Challenge Cup Relay heads for Shoshone, Calif., at mid-afternoon Saturday. DON McDERMOTT / PVT Another team raced through Pahrump that night, en route to the finish line in Las Vegas. Team 191 was from Alhambra, Calif.; team 143 was from the Cops Bureau in the LAPD. Advertisement

From 15 miles north of Baker, Calif. ... to Shoshone ... through the Pahrump Valley ... up the pass in the Spring Mountains and past Red Rock Canyon ... to Dean Martin Highway ... and the Czarnowski Building, along I-15.

That's the 120-mile route -- from desert lowlands, up the Ibex Pass, to the urban crossroads in Pahrump, to the heights of the Spring Mountain, to the crowded city streets of Las Vegas -- more than 4,600 law enforcement agency personnel ran in the 23rd annual Baker-to-Vegas Challenge Cup race Saturday and Sunday.

And when it was all over, only 90 seconds -- less than a second a mile -- separated the first- and second-place teams.

Winning in 13 hours, 3 minutes, 40 seconds -- 6 minutes, 31 seconds per mile -- was the Sacramento headquarters of the California Highway Patrol. Second in 13:04.50 (6:32 per mile) was the Men's Central Jail of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Third in 13:38:18 (6:49) was the San Diego Police Department, winner in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 races.

"The top two teams took turns holding the lead all night long," said Chuck Foote, who along with Larry Moore, organized the first Baker-to-Vegas run in 1985. "And it was the same way in the women's race.

"The L.A. office of the FBI was originally ruled first, but they lost a runner along the way and were penalized 10 minutes," said Foote, who is the general manager of the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, Inc. "The winner was from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department."

The winning time was 17:08.26 (8:34 per mile), with the FBI clocked in 17:12:02 (8:36), including the 10-minute penalty. Third in 17:19:00 (8:39) was the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

"I thought the Canadian team from Calgary did a great job, too," said Foote, who was still in Las Vegas, clearing up post-race details, which is "sort of like cleaning up after a circus.

"There is so much to do; I won't get to go home (to West Covina, Calif.) until sometime Tuesday," said Foote. As for that Canadian team, "they hadn't seen anything quite like the terrain of this race, from the desert to the mountains, to Las Vegas," said Foote.

The team finished 201st overall in 19:35:46. Another Canadian team, the Calgary Police Service, was 181st in the Invitational, completing the course in 18:49.01.

"We had a record number of teams -- 227 -- and a record number of runners, almost 5,000, compete," said Foote, "and we had almost that number in volunteer help -- driving the chase cars, officials, timers, and others who helped each runner."

There were several different starting times at Baker, Calif., all through the day. The first runner came through Pahrump at around 9:40 p.m. and the first runner crossed the finish line in Las Vegas "at 6:03 a.m. Sunday," said Foote. The last runner completed the race at 10:47 a.m.

NOTES -- "Give Alice Eychaner a big salute, for all the help she and her volunteers gave us in Pahrump," said Foote. Eychaner works with the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce and encouraged many area businesses to accommodate the more than 4,600 runners and 227 race teams that trekked through Pahrump Saturday night and Sunday morning ... Larry Moore, who was the athletics director for the LAPD, died in December 2003 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in the Las Vegas area ... The Baker-to-Vegas Challenge began in 1979 as the Death Valley Relay ... 25 to 30 teams entered, according to Chuck Foote, who along with Moore took over the relay in 1985 ... The entry fee this year was $1,500 per team, with the costs ranging from $350,000 to $500,000 to operate the non-profit, not-for-charity event ... Enterprise was the corporate sponsor, providing many of the mini-vans teams used to escort runners ... In Pahrump, Wal-Mart, Smith's, and the Moose women were among the primary people who helped make runners feel more comfortable and welcome as they coursed through the town ... A major obstacle, the construction area between the Tecopa Cutoff and Sandy Valley, was a non-factor, as road crews completed a critical stage of the project on Highway 160 and opened it for all traffic Friday afternoon ... Runners also did not have to navigate the Blue Diamond Road widening project between Decatur and I-15; previously, competitors turned left onto the Industrial Road to get to the Czarnowski Building, or right, to get into the Silverton Casino-Hotel parking lot ... That widening project, incidentally, is far closer to completion than it was just two weeks ago, with the south-bound lanes practically finished to the Silverton.