Running to support suicide awareness in Alexandria

Participants of the Matt Kjelland Memorial Run 10K take off from the starting line, which was at Alexandria City Park. The race took place Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.

By Celeste Edenloff

September 26, 2022 at 3:15 PM

ALEXANDRIA — Nearly 100 runners participated in the Matt Kjelland Memorial Run on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Alexandria City Park.

The race, which featured a 5K walk, 5K run, 10K run, family 1-mile run and a kids fun run, helped to raise money for mental health initiatives and suicide prevention programs.

The event is held in honor of Matt Kjelland, who took his own life in September of 2016, along with his mother, Sue, who passed away unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm in February of 2020.

Mike Kjelland of Alexandria, Matt's father and Sue's husband, organizes the event each year.

By Celeste Edenloff

Celeste Edenloff is the special projects editor and a reporter for the Alexandria Echo Press. She has lived in the Alexandria Lakes Area since 1997. She first worked for the Echo Press as a reporter from 1999 to 2011, and returned in 2016 to once again report on the community she calls home.

Running to support suicide awareness in Alexandria

Matt Kjelland Memorial Run helps to raise money for mental health initiatives and suicide prevention programs.