Yesterday Lt. Hiltz asked me “what was most memorable about the race?” my initial response was the “Night Stalker” chant and then after some reflection I thought well maybe Mrs. W’s cookies but I though nah too Kevin James-ish (you would have to be a fan of King of Queens to get that...) But I got to thinking about the race and have come to the conclusion that is it 20 different and distinct races with each leg having its own personality just like the runners.
Obviously the start and finish are special. They both generate their own natural excitement. What make Baker to Vegas so much fun are the 20 starts and 20 finishes. I was, along with Capt. W., lucky enough to experience all 20 starts and finishes as well as seeing the reaction of each runner as the Chief Cheerleader (Capt. W) greeted them during their run with words of encouragement and cow bells. In fact one runner was serenaded by Capt. W singing an Eddie Money song (that would also be in the running for one of the most memorable moments)
Most of the team departed Sector L.A. – L.B. on the morning of 13 March (Friday the 13th) I was a late start and didn’t leave until about 1945. In any case reserve Ens. Turner and I arrived at about midnight and went straight to our hotel since we needed to meet the Epperson’s at 0615 to swap vehicles and be at the Command Center at the Las Vegas Hilton at 0700.
The plan was for Mrs. Epperson (Tina) and me to document the race using the various tools at our disposal – more about that later (despite being sick Tina was a real trooper she stayed out on the course until 0100 the next morning – pretty impressive.) Tina and I departed the Command Center at about 0800 and arrived at the Baker school rendezvous location about 0930 where we met up with Capt. W, Mrs. W and their two kids, team co-captain Stephanie Young; the runners for legs 1 and 3 and shuttle 1 drivers . The first chase vehicle had left about an hour earlier and would not return to Las Vegas until 6 or 7 hours later. The first shuttle left at 0800 and didn’t return until 1630. So keep in mind that in addition to running their leg, the first 10 runners spend an average of 8 hours in transit to and from the course.
Baker to Vegas is unique in that the character of the race changes as the race progresses. The race at the beginning is substantially different than it is in the middle and even more different over night when the Night Stalkers ran. During the daylight hours the runners are pretty much spaced out but as the race progresses everything gets bunched up and the parking for shuttle vehicles become very difficult. It was not unusual to have to park ½ mile from the start. After sunset the flashing yellow lights on the chase vehicles become an incredible sight and after dark they become even more amazing. Imagine literally miles and miles of glowing yellow lights each with distinct patterns on top of 248 vans. Because of the course terrain you are able to see several miles ahead of you. Then you have 248 runners with lighted vest.
During the course of the race we deployed 7 different shuttles with two drivers each, 3 two person chase vehicle crews and 4 alternate runners. Because of the distance involved there was on average 4 shuttles, 1 chase and 1 public affairs vehicle on the course at all times. Back in the Command Center Auxiliary Members Trent Kelly and Ray Pages maintained a 24 hour “guard”, dispatching vehicles, supplies and helping to maintain the blog.
This year we had an opportunity to experiment with technology to keep the world informed of our race progress. The goal was to be able to provide as close to real time play by play coverage as possible. One of the tools was the “TACPAC” courtesy of PADET-L.A. The TACPAC is a case that contains a military grade laptop, portable printer and scanner, GPS, video camera, solar panel, 5 hour battery backup to power all of the equipment and a satellite transceiver that provides internet, text and phone capability from anywhere in the world. It is portable command post. Baker to Vegas provided an opportunity to test the TACPAC out and we were able to post to the blog using the satellite capability. Keep in mind that over the 120 miles cellular service is very spotty and in most cases none existent.
The bottom line is like last year it was an incredible experience. I can’t wait to do it again next year.
See you all next year!
Anthony Turner
