Every shift, first responders run toward the call nobody else wants to take. On October 12, a few hundred of them will run toward a finish line instead — together, as teammates, along the California coast.
The First Responders Relay, a 30-mile team relay built exclusively for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, customs officers, and correctional officers, is relocating this year to Ventura, California, with the race starting and finishing at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach hotel, according to Sports Destinations and the City of Ventura. Six-person teams will run north along the Promenade and Pacific Coast Highway to the Rincon Point Beach parking lot before turning back for the finish — a scenic, out-and-back course that trades a desert backdrop for ocean air.
A Race Built Around the Job
The relay is organized by the California Police Athletic Federation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and it is designed around the realities of shift work rather than against them, as the Ventura County Reporter notes in its coverage of the move. Teams split the 30 miles across six runners, so no single athlete has to carry an ultramarathon's worth of pavement alone, and departments can field a crew whether their strongest runner works patrol, dispatch, or the engine company.
Competition is organized into nine divisions — Open, Mixed, Women, Senior, 500, 250, Station/Division, Support Services, and Support Services Mixed — so a rookie-heavy team and a department's all-star relay squad aren't lined up against each other by default. Entry runs $800 per six-person team, with registration capped at the first 100 paid teams to lock in a spot.
A Field That's Still Growing
What stands out about this year's race isn't just the new coastline route — it's the turnout. Early registration numbers suggest the field has roughly doubled from last year, with organizers expecting somewhere between 50 and 60 teams, or close to 360 runners, lacing up for race day. For an event built entirely around first responders competing against — and for — each other, that kind of growth says something about how much departments want this outlet: a shared physical challenge that has nothing to do with a call sheet.
That's a dynamic Operation WarriorFit sees constantly in the athletes it supports. Endurance events like this relay give first responders a goal that's entirely theirs, built with teammates who understand the job without needing it explained. It's the same reason OWF covers race entries for eligible veterans, service members, and first responders nationwide, including a growing slate of California races — because a start line can do real work for someone carrying the weight of the job. If that's you, see if you qualify for a free or discounted entry at your next race.