BALTIMORE -- Thousands of people take part in the Baltimore Running Festival each year, and several Baltimore city police officers will be taking part this year.
"We started a campaign to get officers running in the Baltimore Marathon. Last year, we had about 12 officers run. This year, we have about 60 running," said Chief of Patrol Col. John Skinner.
The men and women have been training for the marathon for months. Skinner said he and his colleagues have been clocking off the miles and building confidence.
"We really wanted to kind of energize the Police Department and use it as a way to encourage physical fitness among officers, and camaraderie," Skinner said.
He said he's taking that camaraderie a step further with Baltimore's sister city in Piraeus, Greece. The Sister City Committee in Greece selected Skinner to run in the 2010 Athens Marathon.
"For me, personally, it's just an amazing opportunity to represent the city of Baltimore and the Police Department and my family," the colonel said.
The race on Oct. 31 will mark the 2,500th anniversary of Greek messenger Philippides' running 26.2 miles in 490 BCE from the Battle of Marathon to the battlefield in Greece.
Skinner said while he's battled many challenges in his 17 years on the force, the marathon training regiment is something entirely unique.
"It's been a lot of time and commitment to get conditioned up to that level," he said.
He said he's running 35 or more miles a week, cross-training and doing interval work that's helped refine his fortitude.
"My personal goal is just to finish. I think marathon running is all about showing your internal determination just to finish," he said.
(source:wbaltv.com)
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