Member Esmeralda Bernal was featured in an article featured in the weekend Wednesday, July 4, 2001 Burbank Leader. The following is the article in its entirety.

A Different Kind of Police Chase - Weekend program beats county lockup for offenders, builds revenue for Burbank
By Josh Goldstein, Photo by Conrad Lau

Caption under picture: Burbank Police Sgt. John Dilibert, right, and police technician Dawna Brown train for the Baker-to-Vegas Challenge Cup Relay, which starts today.

As an aerobics trainer, DAwna Brown pushes her students to give it their all.

Brown, a Burbank police technician, will rely on that same discipline as she runs through Nevada's high desert Sunday morning, trying to get air to her lungs at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet.

Hitting the ground running, Brown will be part of the Burbank's Police Department's team for the Baker-to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay.

Brown, a second-time runner in the relay, has spent extra time in the police and fire building's gym recently, getting ready for her 6.5-mile leg of the race.

The event, a 120-mile race from Baker, California to Las Vegas, includes runners from police departments across California.

The Los Angeles Police Department founded the race in 1985 as a way for police departments to mingle with one another and build team support. This year, police officers from Canada and Australia will join the relay, said Burbank police Sgt. Frank Reilman, the team's captain.

Burbank's 10 runners and two alternates will join forces in the run with athletes from the Monterey Park Police Department.

A runner's biggest aid is not their shoes or their will, but their support crew, Reilman said. About 20 police employees will serve as a health, communication and cheering squad for Burbank's runners, Reilman said.

"Without the support team, the race would not happen," said Reilman, a team captain since the department first joined the relay in 1991.

Burbank's team runs in memory of Danny Crawford, a Burbank officer who died in 1995 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

In addition to training with a running Coat, Burbank Police Det. Matt Miranda arrives at work several hours early to get a treadmill work-out in before he begins his work day. Miranda, who will run in his ninth relay with Burbank, runs for a definite purpose, he said.

"I run for the department," Miranda said. "But I do it for (Crawford's) memory."

A list of runners from the Burbank Police Department who will take part in the Baker-to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay law enforcement run that starts later today: