In 1971 Sørnes overtook Ståle Engen as Norwegian record holder in the steeplechase, running 8:26.4 at Bislett stadion. He improved to 8:26.0 at Stockholm Olympic Stadium in June 1972. Sørnes lost his record to Knut Kvalheim in 1973. In the other running events, Sørnes clocked 1:51.3 in the 800 metres (1971); 3:42.9 in the 1500 metres (1971); 4:07.2 in the mile run (1969); 8:01.6 in the 3000 metres (1970); 14:04.0 in the 5000 metres (1973) and 30:54.8 in the 10,000 metres (1973).
