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Molly Bohrer missed out on a softball and kickball tournament held in honor of a girl who died of cancer in order to run Saturday’s 7 @ 7 race at Seven Mile Creek Park.
The Mankato native and Golden Valley resident decided her tribute would take place on the park’s muddy trails.
“I’ve never ever won a race before,” Bohrer said.
The women’s and men’s winners of the second annual 7-mile race each got to choose a charity to receive $500 in their name. When Bohrer crossed the finish line in 58 minutes, 51 seconds, she knew where the money would go, the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.
“I decided if I was lucky enough to win, I’d make that donation in her honor,” Bohrer said of her co-worker’s daughter.
The 27-year-old finished 20th overall.
Nearly 300 people registered for the 7-mile and 5-kilometer races that took place on a drizzly morning. Despite Friday evening’s heavy rains, runners said the conditions were better than those of last year’s inaugural race, which were affected by spring flooding.
"It was a lot better than last year,” Bohrer said. “Last year, the hills were like a Slip ‘N Slide.”
Dan Ristau, 27, of Blue Earth was the overall winner, finishing in 44:44. Upon finishing, he said he hadn’t decided on a charity yet but was excited about the opportunity to pick one.
“I’ll see what my options are,” he said. “Maybe the Humane Society, something like that. … But that’s a great prize, getting to donate to charity. It’s a great idea. You don’t see that too often.”
The race is the top fundraiser for the Greater Mankato Multisport Club. The club also commits $2,000 of the event’s proceeds to charity. During the club’s quarterly meeting, members voted to give $1,000 to the Project for Teens peer education program. The race winners got to disperse the other half.
“We wanted to let the runners decide,” the club’s founder, Chris Crocker, said. “Then people feel like they’re running for something.”
Ryan Slack, 25, of Mankato finished second in the 7-mile race with a time of 46:39. North Mankato’s Todd Landgraff, 35, was third in 47:24. T.J. Jeannette, 37, of North Mankato (48:33) and Matt Lutz, 26 (52:04) of Mankato rounded out the top five.
For the women, Mary Jane Lund, 28, of Maple Grove was second in 1:00:05. Leah Hartung, 25, of Fairmont was third in 1:00:31, followed by Suzie Olsen, 42, of Blue Earth Area (1:00:45) and Tonya Klunder, 36, of Lewisville (1:00:53).
“Everything was great,” Bohrer said. “There are two monster hills at about 4 1/2 miles and 5 1/2 miles. But it was really fun.”
In the 5K race, Devan Strowder, 22, of Mankato won with a time of 19:07. Richard Templin, 32, of Mankato was second in 19:42, and 10-year-old Brady Olsen of Blue Earth wowed the onlookers by coming in third with a time of 23:24.
Kris Anderson, 36, of Mankato was fourth overall and was the top female finisher with a time of 23:29.
Jill Graham, 28, of St. Peter was the second woman to finish (25:24), followed by Sonja Monsen, 39, of Apple Valley (26:12).
Strowder took a nasty spill on the race’s final turn, right after he crossed the bridge over the creek. He received medical attention and had his scraped-up knee wrapped.
“They said that the bridges would be slippery, and they weren’t lying,” Strowder said with a laugh.
But he was happy with his finish.
“I expected to run in 20 (minutes), and I ran under 20,” said, Strowder, who is in training for October’s Mankato Marathon. “It was very hard, very mental, but I’d definitely do it again.”
After the race, Strowder planned to go home, rest his knee and play “Call of Duty.”
“Hard work first, then video games,” he said.
For complete results of the 7@7 races, go to onlineracersults.com.
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