Young runners conquer Mt. Noodle hill at Amish Country 5k

Friends that run together stay together.

While that may not exactly be the case among a group of five local young runners who participated in the Amish Country 5k on Saturday, Sept. 6 in Berlin, since they ran at their own pace, they did make a beeline to congregate once they completed the race, and the tales they will tell should live long after the race’s completion.

Cooper Stoltzfus, Keegan Coblentz, Wyatt Miller, Skyler Miller and Benson Stoltzfus are all classmates at Berlin Elementary, where play on the playground and plenty of activity at school or otherwise prepared them for the challenge of the Amish Half Marathon 5k.

The entire crew of youthful runners age 8-12 participated in the 5k and looked none the worse for wear following the grueling run.

Coblentz got second in his age bracket and said he likes running.

“I really wanted to run in this one because my friends were doing it,” Coblentz said. “I like to run a lot.”

The youngsters tackled the hills of Amish Country in fine fashion, showcasing running skills that certainly beckon bigger things in years to come, including one day trying to tame the Amish Country Half Marathon.

“The hills were really hard,” Benson Stoltzfus said. “Going up Mt. Noodle, it is a massive hill.”

Event organizers wanted to create some memorable catchphrases and terminology for the race and quickly tied in the race’s passion for handing out noodles to every runner after they finish.

The boys talked about the joy of reaching the water stations littered throughout the course, one of them talking about how dumping it on your head to stay cool during the race isn’t wasting water and another saying he nearly threw up after taking in too much water at once.

Once the race ended, the youngsters were eager to catch up to one another to share their race journeys together, something they said will certainly be retold when they reconvened at school.

For Skyler Miller, this day was truly a special one, marking his 12th birthday.

“What a birthday present,” he said, noting this was his first time running a bona fide race. “One of the guys we ran with is actually my best friend, and he encouraged me to come out and run. I was happy I could get out here and run with him.”

He said the group participates in other sports together, and they love to compete with one another and tackle challenges.

While competing is great and completing the task at hand is a challenge, the true joy for this group was the excitement of doing it together, one step at a time.