Runners Needed for Sheriff’s Relay on Sunday

Calling all runners, joggers and even cyclists. The Sheriff’s Memorial Torch Relay takes place this weekend and Capt. David Silversparre is inviting you to participate on Sunday May 22.

The run begins at the at 1:45 p.m. and ends four miles later at La Cañada High School. Capt. Silvesparre will be running at a pace of 11 minutes per mile. The event is open to anyone. Bicyclists and skaters will be permitted to follow behind the group of runners. The group will be escorted by the sheriff’s department.

“This run memorializes not only the officers who were lost during the last calendar year but all the officers lost in L.A. County since the sheriff department’s inception,” said Capt. Silversparre.

This local four-mile leg is an addendum to the larger Memorial Torch Relay, which spans 313 miles, 56 legs and travels from sheriff’s station to station all weekend long with various law enforcement members participating. The C.V. Sheriff Station’s leg begins Sunday morning in the Angeles National Forest, and will end with this final leg, which was added by Capt. Silversparre so the public could participate.

“The more the merrier,” said Capt. Silversparre. “This is going to be a group run at a slow pace.”

Capt. Silversparre has ran the annual relay multiple times, since he was a youth participating in the LASD Deputy Explorer program.

“I’ve lost many friends and partners over the years,” said Capt. Silversparre, stating that he participates in order to honor their memory.

Participants are asked to show up Sunday by 1:30 p.m. at the C.V. Sheriff’s Station, 4554 North Briggs Ave. in La Crescenta. The run ends at La Cañada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Ave. in La Cañada. Capt. Silversparre advises people to bring their own water because it will not be provided. He also suggests that participants arrange to have someone drop them off at the station and pick them up at the end of the relay.

For more information, contact the Sheriff’s station at (818) 248-3464.