Barrie Police Constables Sarah Bamford and Lindsay White hit the pavement today, trading their police uniforms for running gear.
The officers are taking part in The National Peace Officers' Memorial Run to Remember, a 460-kilometre, three-day relay from the Police Memorial at Queen’s Park in Toronto to the Police Memorial on Parliament Hill.
"This is our third year taking part in the Run, which is followed by the 40th Anniversary of the Police Memorial at Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Sunday," said Bamford.
"Hundreds of officers from across the province make the trek to Ottawa each year. The long and sometimes gruelling hours of running give us the chance to reflect on the sacrifices of our brave brothers and sisters whose names are etched on the Memorial Wall in Ottawa."
Bamford has attended four funerals during her ten-year policing career.
Every loss is significant and each death leaves scars on surviving officers who will never forget the sacrifice.
The Memorial Run is a tangible way for police to fulfil that pledge to remember and a chance for the public to show support along the route if people are unable to attend the event in Ottawa.
White was a rookie cop in 2004 when Const. Chris Garrett was lured to his death in Cobourg by a deranged teenager pretending to be a victim of robbery.
Another loss that changed White was the 2007 death of Const. Rob Plunkett in Markham who was run down by a vehicle while doing undercover surveillance.
"Because of his death and going to his funeral I ended up taking on a very big part of the Torch Run here just because it did land with me so much and the Law Enforcement Torch Run was so important to him. I sorta wanted to take up the torch from him," White told us in a previous interview.
Bamford and White are running with as many as 300 police, corrections and border officers.
The Run climaxes with surviving family members greeting and running with participants on Parliament Hill.
More than two dozen police agencies take part in the annual Run that began in 2005 with just 24 members of the Peel Regional Police running team.
To date the Police Memorial has distributed almost $270,000 to various families, memorials and memorial services.
You can follow the Barrie officers' journey live on Barrie Police Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
