Amish Country Half Marathon a boon to Holmes County
The lead pack rolls merrily along during early action in the Amish Country Half Marathon. Not only is the race a challenge for runners, but also it provides crucial funding to three area entities including the East Holmes Fire and EMS, Berlin Main Street Merchants and the Hiland Athletic Booster Club.
While the Amish Country Marathon and 5K may be a grueling test of one’s stamina and perseverance, when the race is finally over and a runner has traversed the challenging up-and-down course that features some massive climbs, they have achieved something very worthwhile.
That they are greeted by a bowl of piping hot homemade noodles and a block of cheese from the heart of Amish Country is to be expected as this race continues to be one that allows Holmes County’s hospitality to shine.
This year’s race, held Saturday, Nov. 25, was not only good for the hearts, souls and minds of its participants, but also the race served the county in several ways.
When Mark Fowler started the race several years ago, he wanted to give people a challenging course, but more so he wanted to be able to help area businesses and organizations. The half marathon and 5K do so first by giving back to a trio of East Holmes entities.
According to Fowler, the race will raise in the vicinity of $10,000, half of which will go to the East Holmes Fire Department. The remaining half will be split between the Berlin Main Street Merchants to promote their events and businesses and the East Holmes Athletic Booster Club. Providing income for these various groups has always been a priority for Fowler.
“We really worked hard to minimize our costs this year, which helped us raise more money that we can give out,” Fowler said. “From the beginning, we have made it a priority to support our local nonprofit organizations and the merchants, and we are pleased to be able to do that again this year.”
Fowler said the race has now doled out more than $75,000 to the three organizations over its six-year span.
One other reason the race is invaluable is that it presents an opportunity to bring people to the area who may not have been here before. Fowler said that introducing Amish Country to new runners is a good way to entice them to come back and visit when they aren’t preoccupied with the post-Thanksgiving Day run.
“We run right through the heart of Amish Country, and people get a chance to experience the beauty we are surrounded by,” Fowler said. “The run takes them through some beautiful and scenic places. But more importantly it is crucial that we create an atmosphere that entices people to want to come back and enjoy Amish Country and visit the area when they get a chance to relax and experience it as a whole. We have always felt that this is a unique and fun way for people to experience Amish Country if they haven’t before.”
As an ambassador to Amish Country, the half marathon and 5K sees many people filling vital roles. A number of Hiland sports-related teams help including the soccer, golf and track teams as well as the cheerleaders, who wait all day at the finish line to cheer runners home as they finish. In addition many local business people lend a hand as a number of area restaurants provide food and beverages for the event.
Fowler said the words of encouragement and gratitude he hears from runners always make his heart warm, whether it is 50 F and sunny, like it was this year, or bitterly cold as it has been in the past.
“Much of the talk I hear after the race is about what a great race it is and how polite and welcoming everyone is,” Fowler said. “That is so wonderful to hear because we want visiting people to feel welcomed and appreciated.”
Fowler also said the commitment and support of his volunteer team is always greatly appreciated.
“So much work goes into putting this event on. We are very fortunate that we have so many willing volunteers to step up and fill some key roles. That makes it go so smoothly,” Fowler said.
As for the race itself, everything went very well. According to Fowler, only three people who signed up for the half marathon were no-shows while just 15 no-shows dotted the roster for the 5K. With over 300 runners participating, those numbers are a marked improvement over past years.
This year’s race proved to be a doozy as a quintet of runners stayed within shouting distance of one another in the half marathon. Eventually Brent Martin was able to shake the crowd and roar to victory in a stunning time of 1:15-flat. John Schrock was his closest competition, placing runner-up in 1:19:19, while Kevin Beachy took third place in 1:22:25. Derrick Miller was fourth in 1:22:43 while Jeremy Pope was 1:23.11. Just for comparison, Beachy won the very first Amish Country Half Marathon in a time of 1:22.08.
To nobody’s surprise, sisters Emma and Grace McCarron duked it out for first place, and in the end it would be Emma coming home in 1:25.53 for the win with sister Grace right behind in 1:27.07. Third went to Julie Varner in 1:37.13, fourth to Teresa Ferguson in 1:39.58 and Katie Fosnight took fifth in 1:43.24.
In the 5K male run, Jamie Garber won the race in a time of 20:55 with Jacob Sims taking second place in 21:15. Hiland sophomore Tyler Kuhns was third in a dead-heat 22:14, Joseph Miller fourth in 22:14 and Duane Yoder fifth in 23:28.
In the female 5K, in a tight race for first place, Georgina Richards took home the gold in 30:20, followed by Keri Richards’ second-place effort of 30:25. Wendy Cole was third in 30:33, Linnea Graham was fourth in 30:56 and Betty Sue Kuhns was fifth in 31:06.
For complete race results, visit the website at www.RunInAmishCountry.com.