They returned to Barrie tired, a little sore and exhilarated.
Const. Lindsay White and Const. Sarah Bamford recently took part in The National Peace Officers' Memorial Run to Remember, a gruelling three day relay.
But the fact the Barrie officers can come home at all is the point.
Many of their colleagues will not.
"I've been on just under ten years and I've already attended four funerals," said Const. Bamford. "Every funeral has touched me. The thought goes through your head - this could've been me. This could've been my partner at work."
"You're running and you're hurting but you're thinking you're so lucky to be able to be running and hurting," said White, a 14-year veteran.
The Run to Remember is a 460 km relay that starts at the Ontario Police Memorial site in Toronto and ends at the National Memorial on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The main goal is to raise awareness leading into the annual Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Service held on the last Sunday in September in Ottawa.
It's also a way of fulfilling a pledge to never forget.
Every loss of a colleague is significant, the sacrifice immeasurable and the circumstances as unique as the emotional scars each death leaves on surviving officers.
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.
"Chris Garrett was the May I'd just come on and I went to that funeral," recalled White. "That was actually an ambush where somebody had deliberately set out to attack an officer and actually a number of officers and that was thwarted by Chris Garrett. That funeral was extremely emotional."
Another loss that changed White was the 2007 death of Const. Rob Plunkett in Markham.
The veteran officer was run down and killed by a vehicle while doing undercover surveillance during an airbag theft investigation.
"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," she says tearing up, her voice breaking with emotion.
The Run climaxes with surviving family members greeting and running with participants on Parliament Hill.
One image that stays with Bamford is the children of fallen officers, a living illustration of the passage of time and the importance of the public tribute.
"You see how the kids have grown through the years and what's nice is you see the expressions on their faces - nobody forgot their dad, nobody forgot their mom," said Bamford. "We're all here to join together and it still matters. Nobody has forgotten their family."
This year 306 runners from 26 police agencies took part in the annual Run that began in 2005 with just 24 members of the Peel Regional Police running team.
Runners and cyclists raise money for surviving families either through a registration fee or the sale of t-shirts.
To date the Police Memorial has distributed over $230,000 to various families.
This year, Don Cherry was named the Honorary Chair of the National Peace Officers' Memorial Run.
Eight Barrie Police colleagues went to Parliamemt Hill to cheer on Bamford and White as they completed their journey.
"You feel inspired and you remember why you wanted to do this job," said Bamford.
