For one morning, instead of running after bad guys, cops will chase a record

Spectators could see an official world record set at the Oct. 1 Peace Officer Memorial Run in Modesto: highest number of uniformed officers to run a half marathon.

More than 40 officers — local and from elsewhere in the state and nation — are registered to run the race in full uniform, said Turlock Police Department Lt. Neil Cervenka. He joined five fellow peace officers for a training run Friday morning at the Ray Simon Regional Criminal Justice Training Center off Crows Landing Road in Modesto.

Organizers contacted Guinness World Records, which currently has no official record for largest number of uniformed officers running a half marathon, Cervenka said. The unofficial record is about 20 officers who ran the Blue Stampede full marathon in Dallas in December, he said.

But setting a record is just a byproduct. The goal of the run is to honor the officers from Stanislaus County who have been killed in the line of duty and to benefit the Peace Officer Memorial Group. The group has a fund that assists the families of fallen officers, Cervenka said.

The lieutenant is a member of Project Remember, a nationwide group that will have 12 active-duty law enforcement officers and one retired officer running in full uniform in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22.

Some of his Project Remember teammates also will run the Peace Officers Memorial Run, including Sean Dodge, detective with the Modesto Police Department; Anita Finner, physical training coordinator with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and retired Los Angeles police officer; and Jim Gordon, captain with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

Dodge, a veteran of uniformed races, has been in constant contact with the dozens of runners who will participate in the Modesto race, Cervenka said. He's talked with them about how they should train and what they can expect.

"The first time is difficult," said Cervenka, who's also raced in uniform. The big challenges are the boots and ballistic vests, he said. "Technology has come a long way, but it's still a boot, and it's not meant for running long distances.."

The vests are designed to stop a bullet, not breathe, he said. And they have to be worn tight so as not to move around during the run. That leads the core temperature of the body to rise. "We've had some heat stress issues, but all of us are very avid runners and athletes, " Cervenka said, "so we're well aware of those conditions as they start and take actions to mitigate — dumping water on ourselves, slowing down, walking, whatever it takes. "

For greatest visual impact in the Peace Officer Memorial Run, the uniformed officers plan to run as a group, not spread out among the civilian runners. The aim is to run a pace of 12 minutes a mile, slower than most are capable of running, but taking the heavy gear into account.

Rather than seeing who's the quickest cop, then, "the idea is no one is left behind."

The Peace Officer Memorial Run's half marathon starts and finishes in front of the Gallo Center for the Arts downtown. The Oct. 1 event will start at 6:45 a.m. with a short ceremony honoring Stanislaus County's 17 fallen officers. A 5K race will start at 7:20, and a kids fun run at 9:30.

For more information or to register to run, go to peaceofficermemorialrun.com/race.

To donate to Project Remember, go to youcaring.com/projectremember.

And to give to the Peace Officer Memorial Group of Stanislaus County, go to www.pomgsc.com.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 12:56 PM with the headline "For one morning, instead of running after bad guys, cops will chase a record."