April Sorensen run takes its mark for 10th and final year

By Tyler Julson

Saturday morning marked the 10th and final April Sorensen Memorial Half Marathon.

Runners from all over the state and a handful of others came out early Saturday morning to pay tribute to April Sorensen. The race started in front of Country Inn & Suites in Albert Lea and continued for 13 miles, finishing in Hayward.

Around 160 people showed up to compete in the half marathon, whether it be as a team or individually. Just over 120 competed as an individual, with the rest running on relay teams.

Sorensen’s sister, Holly Beenken, talked about the turnout of the race and why it will be the last one.

“Turnout was great,” Beenken said. “But really, anything is great for us. We’re just out here to keep April’s memory alive and the more people that come the greater.

“The main reason that this is the last one is that we had the course certified for 10 years. We said when it needs to be recertified then we’ll decide then, and we kind of just decided this would be it. This year, it’s been very bitter sweet.”

The race is set to to memorialize Sorensen, who was found dead in her Rochester home in April 2007. Sorenson was 27 at the time and is thought to have died in an apparent homicide. The case remains unsolved to this day.

The first half marathon male finisher was Marco Santos, 28, of Northfield with a time of 1:16:52. The first female to cross the finish line was Kelly Boler, 36, of Eagan; she finished with a time of 1:21:57.

The relay teams were split into three categories, male, female and coed. The winning coed team was Kendall Pfrimmer and Chad Couser with a time of 1:29:00. The winning male team was Blake and Bradley Haugen, finishing in 1:54:28. The first female duo to cross the finish line was Katie Falk and Jade Claasen with a time of 2:00:12.

Look to the Tribune for more results from the race as they become available.