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GPD officers continue Mini Marathon tradition
On Saturday, approximately 35,000 runners will take to the streets of Indianapolis for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon, marking the 12th straight year the event has sold out.
For nearly as long, the Greencastle Police Department has been sending representatives to one of the nation’s largest half marathons.
“We’ve had guys going up for about 10 years,” GPD Sgt. Ed Wilson estimates.
Since 2011, though, the GPD team has been fairly well organized, with a team including Wilson, Capt. Chris Jones, Officer Darrel Bunten and Putnam County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long representing the department each year, not only in the Mini itself but also in a competition with other emergency services teams.
“We compete in what they call a badge match,” Wilson said. “We generally place in the top 50 percent.”
With between 25 and 30 teams annually, that means a normal finish in the top 15 and even some single-digit finishes over the previous seven years.
“We’ve gotten top five a couple of times,” Wilson recalled, noting that the top spot is probably out of reach when large departments like Indianapolis Metropolitan Police can field three teams based on ability level.
Regardless, the running has been a nice way to represent the department and as a bonding experience for the officers — both those who make the run every year and those who’ve done it once or twice.
“We’ve been trying to get more guys involved,” Wilson said. “It’s a good time.”
This year the new guy is of particular note, with Chief Tom Sutherlin having his first attempt at the 13.1-mile course.
Sutherlin makes no pretenses about his pace for the race.
“I’m going to be brutally honest. The chief’s not running — the chief’s walking,” Sutherlin said with a bit of a laugh.
Wilson approached Sutherlin in February saying the team needed another runner and he knew the chief had been interested years ago. Sutherlin noted that he had been interested, a decade ago when he was 39 or 40 years old.
However, some family history provided motivation.
“Knowing that my father passed away at age 58 with heart disease and some other medical issues., this was something to motivate me to get moving,” Sutherlin said. “That, along with the support of Chris and Darrel and Ed coming along and saying, ‘We’d like you to do this.’ I told them, ‘There’s no way I can run this.’ Chris said, ‘All we need you to do is complete it. We don’t need you to run.’”
So, that’s what Sutherlin plans, to still be going at the end.
“My goal is to show up Saturday morning. I’m due to take off at 8 a.m. and hopefully in about three, three-and-a-half hours I hope to be done.”
Also joining the GPD guys and Long will be officers Matt Demmings and Brad Williams of DePauw Public Safety.
Wilson noted that both the training and the actual race provide a good chance for bonding between the officers when they’re out of uniform.
“We try to run year-round but we have a hardcore training program that starts in January. We try to run together as much as we can,” Wilson said.
Likewise, race day also starts out with everyone together.
“We try and start out together but we all have our own paces we run at according to the pace that we’ve trained for,” Wilson said.
The officers also want to remind anyone who won’t be making the Mini but would like the chance to get out on a good run or walk for fitness that the Putnam County Law Enforcement Memorial 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by the Putnam County FOP, is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12.
Registration will run from 8-9:30 a.m. at Robe-Ann Park in Greencastle. The cost is $20 and includes a shirt.
Registration forms are available at pcleo5k.com and can be mailed to Putnam County FOP, PO Box 934, Greencastle, IN 46135. Online registration is also available at eventbrite.com.
The FOP is also looking for sponsors for the event. Information is also available at pcleo5k.com.