TURLOCK, Calif. — Turlock police officers are preparing to a Los Angeles half marathon, with more than 120 fallen officers in mind. Those 120 lost their lives in 2018 - with the late Newman Police Cpl. Ronil Singh and Deputy Tony Hinostroza among them.
Below is a photo of Lt. Neil Cervenka of the Turlock Police Department. Altogether, his uniform weighs about 25 pounds.
"Long sleeve shirt, tie, wool, bulletproof vest, duty belt, gun, bullets, everything," Cervenka said. "A half marathon takes us about two and a half hours, that's only a few hours of pain for us, the people left behind have to live with a lifetime of pain."
Each officer in uniform will do the "Run To Remember" LA half marathon next week with a thin blue line flag that they will then bring home to the families of fallen officers.
"By running and in a lot of these races, carrying these flags and being able to pass on these flags, and say, 'I struggled and I sweated and I was in pain and I have bruises in memory of their officer who died,' we hope that eases their pain a little," he said.
Cervenka will be holding the flag for his friend and former Turlock Police cadet, Cpl. Ronil Singh, who was killed while doing a traffic stop the day after Christmas in 2018.
"This is definitely going to be a part of my healing process because I can do something. I couldn't do anything that night," he said.
"Being able to run for somebody that I know, maybe it won't hurt as bad, maybe there won't be as many blisters, maybe there won't be as many bruises or if there are, I'm not going to care as much."
This race is also meant to bridge the gap between the community and police.
"We're sweating, and we're huffing and puffing, and we're going through the same pains as they are, and we're on the same course as they are, we paid our entrance fee just like they did, and we're all doing the same thing so it's very bonding with the community, it makes us very human," he said.
The "Run To Remember" half marathon takes place in LA on April 7, 2019.
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