Baker to Vegas 2009 Update

*if pressed for time: cliff notes are at the bottom of the e-mail*

Good Morning,

As many of you have heard, close to 40 active duty, reserve, and Auxiliary
members from Sector LA-LB and outlying units, Sector San Diego, PSU 311, and
D11 including the Sector LA-LB Commander and Deputy Commander participated
in the 24th Annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup on April 19-20 2008. The
Challenge cup is known as "The Law Enforcement Run" and is a relay race,
which begins outside Baker, CA and ends in Las Vegas, NV. It is one of the
largest law enforcement athletic events in the world. In last year's event,
242 teams from as far away as South Wales and Calgary participated totaling
close to 5,000 runners.

The participation in the 24th Challenge Cup was the first time ever that the
Coast Guard, as a team, was represented in the race. In its inaugural year,
Team Coast Guard represented well running in desert terrain, mountain
passes, and temperatures ranging from 90 degrees to 40 degrees. Team Coast
Guard finished the 120 miles in 17 hours and 41 minutes, good for 5th place
in the Federal Station category and 143rd out of 242 teams. Furthermore, the
team was not penalized for any rule violations and completed the race
without any major logistics problems - almost unheard of for a first year
team. Please see the attached photos for a quick glimpse of action from the
race.

Team Coast Guard is ramping up again for participation in the 2009 Baker to
Vegas Challenge Cup, which will be held 14-15 MAR 2009. We currently have
many members that will be re-running the course-but we are now seeking new
team members! Please respond to Stephanie.m.young@uscg.mil or
Nathan.d.wissmann@uscg.mil by Monday of Next week if you are interested.

There are numerous roles that you can participate in the event including:
running, alternate runner, van driver, shuttle driver, logistics,
communications, radio, medical, public affairs, documenting, and countless
other support roles. Each one is vital to the success of the team.

DC1 Wissmann and I will be co-captaining the team this year and are looking
forward to competing in the 25th anniversary of the race.

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Cliff Notes:
Who-Coast Guard Members (AD, RES, CIV, AUX) and their families (for support
and assistance) What-Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup
When-14-15 March 2009
Where-The desert (Baker, CA to Las Vegas, NV) Why-representing the CG in one
of the largest athletic events in the world
How-email: Stephanie.m.young (at) uscg.mil or Nathan.d.wissmann (at) uscg.mil
------------

Very Respectfully,
ENS Stephanie Young (x. 3610) and DC1 Nate Wissmann (x. 3669)

Who wants a mug?

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Baker to Vegas 2009 is 6 months away! The race date is March 14-15, 2009.

I am attending the first of 5 planning meetings tomorrow in Los Angeles and
wanted to get everyone motivated for next years excitement. As we remember
from last year, the 6 months of preparation can go by incredibly fast.

Here is your initial warning email to start running, start planning, and of
course-buy new running shoes.

I am writing to this list first to see if you would like your spot reserved
again. If you know you will be unable to make it, or would not like to
participate, please let me know so I can remove you from the list.

DC1 Nate Wissmann is co-captain with me this year, so if you have any
questions/comments/concerns, e-mail any of us and we will get back to you.

Look forward to future emails about the run...

Very Respectfully,
ENS Stephanie "we are getting a mug this year" Young