By AUBRIE GEORGE | The Medford Sun
The 2010 Police Unity Tour, which will take participants from East Hanover to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., is scheduled to kick off on May 9.
Before the six Medford police officers participating in the tour leave, they will hold the South Jersey Law Enforcement Challenge on April 10 to raise money for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum.
“It’s kind of like an adventure race,” Cpl. Jason Deroian, one of the participating Medford police officer, said.
The outdoor challenge, he said, is open to civilians, law enforcement members, firefighters and members of the military, who will all compete for awards in their respective divisions.
The challenge course will begin at 9 a.m. at Camp Ockanickon. The course consists of single, double track and includes groomed trails, gravel, sand, dirt, and roots.
Teams of two are eligible to register and participate in the event, made up of four stages, including a 5K run, a ten-mile mountain bike course, a two-mile canoe course, and another 5K run. Teams of two have to finish each stage and the entire race together.
A $200 participation fee for each team includes an event t-shirt, an award ceremony and a barbeque after the race, Deroian said.
Family and friends are invited to watch the race, which is spectator-friendly, and are welcome to join the barbeque afterward. Tickets for spectators will be available on the day of the race for $10 for adults and $5 for children.
All of the proceeds raised through the challenge will be donated to the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum through the officers’ participation in the unity tour. Each officer participating in the tour has to raise $1,700 for the cause.
Four Medford officers, Deroian, Justin Chase, Jeffrey Wagner, Christopher Walsh are riding in the tour. Two officers, William Knecht and Thomas Switick, have volunteered to join the race as support staff.
“The support guys will be getting us from point to point, moving our luggage, getting all the logistics worked out,” he said.
This is the first year Medford police officers are participating in the 320-mile, four-day tour, Deroian said.
“This is a huge organization that raises money for the law enforcement memorial, which is ultimately the reason we’re all doing this, for our fellow brothers and sisters who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives and leave behind wives, husbands, children, dads, moms,” Deroian said. “This is something for us to honor their memory for their dedication.”
Wagner also said participating in the tour is a way to honor the lives of fallen heroes.
“We felt that, as police officers ourselves, we should honor the fallen heroes that have served out communities over the past years,” Wagner said.
The unity tour, Wagner said, raises money to support fallen officers’ families as well as to promote awareness about safety in law enforcement.
“Certainly, these officers have made the ultimate sacrifice, so we could sacrifice a couple days of our lives to raise funds to help support the national law enforcement memorial and all of the projects they do to help support officers’ families as well as raise awareness of safety in law enforcement,” Wagner said.
The officers will leave for the race on May 9 and will arrive at the memorial on May 12. The tour will end with a candlelight vigil to honor the lives of the fallen members of law enforcement on May 13, Deroian said.
For more information about the South Jersey Law Enforcement Outdoor Challenge or to register, visit www.active.com.
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Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 11:39 am
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