Cursebreakers: CHP Elite and their Road to Success

On March 23, Black Box Safety, Inc. had the honor of sponsoring the California High Patrol's running team for the Baker to Vegas (B2V) relay race. With plenty of road to cover, CHP Elite found themselves placing second overall out of 258 other competing teams also looking for glory. The team is overjoyed at their accomplishment but, the road to success is never easy.

The B2V is a 120-mile relay race that begins in the city of Baker, Calif. to Las Vegas. With teams from all over the world eligible to compete, it is the second largest law enforcement event in the globe. As the city of Claremont stated in their “Baker to Vegas Run” article, the run itself is held to promote, “… camaraderie and awareness of physical fitness for all law enforcement.”

From the relay race being broken up among 20-legs that can vary in distance, the mileage runners were expected to trek sat between 3.2 miles to 10.7 miles. Within this journey, the teams must also cope with the physical environment around them as part of the difficulties that make up the race. From hot, blazing deserts where the race’s roads can elevate the climb of the runners, the CHP Elite team had to endure the brutal nature of the Mojave Desert. Facing its extreme hot and cold temperatures, and its sand that can affect the runners on their trek.

“The extreme measures of the desert were something we expected. But unfortunately, it was something we could not prepare for,” said CHP Elite runner, CHP Officer Bert Diaz.

Assigned to Leg 7 of the B2V relay race, Diaz recalled being aware of the weather conditions at the start of the run. However, the weather is rather unpredictable in many scenarios. For on the day of the race when reaching 2,369 feet in elevation, Diaz stated the winds were strong enough to make him lose balance.

“I had never experienced anything like it,” said Diaz. “The wind and elevation combined made running a bit more challenging. I was able to persevere and finish strong.”

For his Leg 7 run, Diaz is recorded to have the fastest time for his portion of the relay race where he even surpassed the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) team.

To find a spot on the CHP Elite, Sgt. Caleb Miller of the CHP Academy’s Physical Training Unit explained the process all were required to make. Individuals were required to compete in a 10K time trial held by the CHP Academy’s Physical Training Unit. From here, the team could finally be assembled. Preparing for the event, the team members were officially assigned a leg of the relay race under the coaching of Lt. Kris Rolin.

In 2018, the Los Angeles Police Department set the highest record for the relay race with a total course time of 12:37:29, averaging the team to a 6:18 mile pace. With the CHP Elite having officially began participating in the B2V in 2017, the team had always placed fourth overall.

This year, CHP Elite finally beat their long-fought record.

Under the leadership of Sgt. Miller, the fastest CHP Elite team ever recorded in the agency took second place at the 2024 B2V relay race. Running the course in 12:27:11, averaging a 6:14 mile pace.

The CHP Elite team’s 2024 relay race record was only 4 paces behind the NYPD, whose average mile pace set to 6:10.

CHP Officer Robert Zidek, CHP Elite runner who ran the fastest recorded time in Leg 6 of the B2V race, feels very fortunate to have been part of the team. “We all put in the work to race at our highest caliber,” he said. “We performed the way we wanted to. We may not have taken the win. But, we shattered our CHP Elite prior B2V record time.”

Zidek feels great in knowing that the CHP Elite team will be wearing the #2 BIB’s for the 2025 race where they plan to come back tougher and faster than ever.  

To support the group on their road to success, Black Box Safety had the privilege to be a sponsor of the CHP Elite team for this year’s B2V relay race.

Sgt. Miller is expressive in his gratitude for Black Box Safety’s sponsorship in aiding the CHP Elite team for this year’s relay race. “We could not have been as successful as we were this year without the support from those who donated,” he said. “As the team captain, I am incredibly pleased with the performance of our runners and the hard work, dedication and sacrifice they all made while training and preparing for the event. Your donations truly eased some of the burden for our team and allowed them to focus on the training.”

Amazing work to all of the members of the CHP Elite team who made this year’s B2V race one to remember!

This includes runners:

Sergeant Marc Peachy
Captain Eric Zivic                              
Lieutenant Erik Egide      
Officer Brett Brown         
Officer Gary Robinson                    
Officer Robert Zidek                        
Officer Bert Diaz                               
Officer Nathan Burd                       
Officer Sean Dundon       
Officer Miguel Camarena
Officer Alex Armando     
Officer Andrew Ashley   
Officer Brendan Scanlon                                
Officer Robert Lucke                       
Officer Brian Baker                          
Officer Jesse Mullens                     
Officer Raymond Chavez                               
Officer Shaun Conner                     
Sergeant John Richwine                 
Lieutenant, Robert Brunell   

And alternate runners:

Officer Joseph Gutierrez                               
Officer Enrique Rivera                    
Lieutenant Kris Rolin 

A huge congratulations to the CHP Elite team on their astounding, record-breaking relay race in the B2V this year!

About Black Box Safety, Inc.

Black Box Safety, Inc. is a leading provider of advanced defense solutions, dedicated to delivering high-quality equipment to support the needs of military and law enforcement agencies. With a proven track record of innovation, Black Box Safety is committed to protecting those who protect us.