Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 31 WEYBURN POLICEASSOCIATION He is known in the community as the police officer who runs for a good cause Marathon for Mental Health Weyburn Police Service Constable Jeff Bartsch has been making a name for himself running various half-marathons, full marathons and other road races in full gear, or the weighted equivalent, to raise awareness and money for mental health issues. His reputation is stretching across the border, as he is beginning to be invited to a number of races in the United States. Over the past two years Cst. Bartsch’s uniformed running campaigns and events for Mental Health Awareness in police uniform has drawn the attention of law enforcement members in the California area who also run in uniform for charity. Project Remember and The Blue Stampede, founded in California, are uniformed police officers who also run for charity and have partnered with Cst. Bartsch as their “Canadian Contact”. Starting his 2018 running charity year, Cst. Bartsch has run in excess of 120km in his uniform and raised over $6,000 for Mental Health charity. Cst. Bartsch has been in the spotlight of the media by also bringing the family of a fallen RCMP member from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan to have his son partake in the 2nd Annual Saskatchewan Ride to Remember law enforcement cycling ride from Prince Albert to Regina in the fall of 2017 to honour his dad, fallen RCMP Cst. Derek Pineo. These are just a few of the successes of Cst. Bartsch since the inception of his community policing initiatives and Mental Health Awareness campaign entitled, Marathon for Mental Healthwhich was founded in late 2015. In 2018, Cst. Bartsch was personally invited to run the 3rd Annual Run to Remember Los Angeles’ 21.1km halfmarathon in full uniform in Los Angeles, California on April 8, 2018 by the race director Mark Kirunchyk, a retired police officer from the southern California area. This run is held annually to honour those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This race was started by its initial race in Boston, Massachusetts after the tragic events from the Boston Marathon bombings. Run to Remember Boston was created to honour the first responders who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Run to Remember Los Angeleswas then started and is now in its third year. You can find out more about this event online: https://www.runtorememberla.org/uniform-challenge/ Cst. Bartsch was invited to represent the three fallen Canadian Police Officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in 2017: Cst. John Davidson (Abbotsford PD), Cst. Francis (Frank) Deschenes (RCMP Nova Scotia) and Cst. Richer Dubuc (RCMP Quebec). Cst. Bartsch was awarded the formal title of “race ambassador” in 2017. Not only will Cst. Bartsch represent these three Canadian Heroes as the only continued Left to right: Cst. J.R. (Jeffery) Bartsch #83 (Weyburn Police Association Member and founder of Marathon for Mental Health), Officer Joe Cirrito (LAPD), Officer Ryan Gill (San Leandro PD Calif)
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