Duluth Man to Run 13.1 Miles In Kevlar Vest For Fallen Officers

Austin Lauridsen Has Big Plans For the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in June

A respect for law enforcement has inspired one Northland man to go above and beyond to help the families of fallen officers.

Austin Lauridsen is raising awareness for them by taking on a physical challenge, sacrificing his own comfort for 13.1 miles.

He’ll be wearing a Kevlar vest that weighs an extra 30 pounds during the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in June.

For Austin, it symbolizes a memory that’s weighed on him since he was a kid, when a family friend lost his life in the line of duty.

“Being a kid seeing people in uniform at the funeral it stuck with me,” said Lauridsen.

In April 2006, Police Chief Scott Sumner of Chelsea, Michigan headed out on the job, not knowing that call would be his last. He died in helicopter crash while in pursuit of a suspect. He left behind a wife, and two sons.

“You see how much it affects that family, and that family is still close to us,” said Lauridsen.

All these years later Austin wants to become a police officer himself, but first he wants to help kids of fallen officers.

The organization Concerns of Police Survivors sends families and kids of fallen officers to a camp to help them grieve and heal, and Austin will be running to raise money for them here.

He got involved first by becoming a charity runner for the Duluth YMCA.

“We’re excited for all our runners, Austin stood out because he is running for a cause personal to him,” said Alisha Bradley, the YMCA Director for Healthy Living. You can find out more about the YMCA’s Charity Runner’s Program  here.