Gustavus alumnus James Sorenson ’05, placed first in the inaugural Mankato Marathon held on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. More than 2,100 people participated in races, which included a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10k and a children’s event. Sorenson posted the winning time of 2:37:04.

Sorenson, who ran for both the track and cross country teams during his four years at Gustavus, has continued running somewhat competitively since his graduation, though his last marathon was in 2007. Sorenson said a fellow Gustavus runner came up with a training program for him to get in shape for the Mankato Marathon.

“The race went quite well,” Sorenson said. “The weather was pretty good. Most of the race was on bike trails, and the scenery was gorgeous down toward the river,” Sorenson said.

Gustavus Track and Cross Country Coach Dale Bahr followed Sorenson’s progress at the race. Bahr was in his second year of coaching when Sorenson arrived as a first-year.

“I watched him grow amongst others,” Bahr said. “To see [Gustavus athletes] be successful after they leave is great. It just shows that we don’t beat it into them, it’s not a job for them; they do it because they love it. To see them go on and continue racing at a high level is exciting for us, and we support that,” Bahr said.

“It was fun to come back. The team has a lot of alumni events; they do a good job of getting people back on campus,” Sorenson said.

Though he was the winner with an incredible 6:00 pace throughout the 26.2 mile run, Sorenson was not the only Gustie at the event.

Current students James Ebeling, Lance Dageford and Kristin Olson were among the participants running the half marathon.

Ebeling, a senior biology and art studio major, and his roommate Dageford, a senior biology major, decided to do the marathon together.

“It was kind of out on a limb, but we finally decided to do it and started training a little late,” Ebeling said. A former three-sport athlete in high school, Ebeling began running as an alternative way to work out.

“I think [running] is a good time to have your own space and let go. It’s been really beneficial so far,” Ebeling said. The Mankato Marathon was his second, after recently participating in the Twin Cities Marathon as well.

Olson, a junior biology major, also began running as an outlet after discontinuing high school sports due to a severe knee injury.

“I was planning on playing soccer at Gustavus, but after my knee injury I decided to start running to stay in shape, and I’ve really gotten into it,” Olson said.

Besides being a Gustie, Olson was also among many participants in the race that are originally from Mankato.

“Mankato is such a good town to host [the marathon],” Olson said.

Ebeling agreed.“They really prepared for it well and executed it,” he said.

Bahr was also happy to see Mankato host a marathon.

“I think having a local marathon is a great venue for people to see what southern Minnesota has to offer,” Bahr said.

Another consensus of the participants was the benefit of a local marathon drawing attention to running as a hobby and a lifetime activity.

“It’s exciting to see non-[track and cross country] athletes participating, because running is an activity you can pursue as a lifestyle; it’s not expensive and it’s healthy,” Bahr said.