Holy Hills!

September 9, 2019

This past weekend, my friend Jamie and I headed to Berlin, Ohio, established in 1816 and now is one of the world’s largest Amish communities. We were off to complete the Berlin Amish Country Half marathon as a training session for our 1/2 marathon in Paris in two weeks. Described on the race website as “You’ll experience the gorgeous rolling hills, sprawling Amish countryside, and take in some of Ohio’s most beautiful farmland” we were excited to experience this new race.

After an uneventful 4 hour drive, we pulled into the quaint town of Millersburg and stopped at the Tavern at the Hotel Millersburg for dinner. This hotel and restaurant used to be a Stagecoach stop in the 1800’s. People were welcoming and the food was a mix of comfort food and daily specials, paired with local wines and from scratch desserts. It was a great place to grab a meal.

From there, we drove about 8 miles to our accommodations, Zinck’s Inn, in Berlin. Another quaint town and an old school motel but with modern touches, awaited us.

Up early on Saturday and off to the Grace Mennonite church to get this race started. Fresh doughnuts and coffee awaited us runners and the well organized race started precisely on time. Now, here is where the fun started! Described as “rolling hills,” the hills might has well have been Mount Everest. After the first 3 miles of hills, I was seriously questioning my ability and my desire to actually want to finish this race!

Don’t get me wrong, the landscape was bucolic. The spectators were nice and encouraging and the race was well run. We passed a one-room schoolhouse that still uses outhouses, cows, beautiful wild flowers and lots of horses and buggies.

But , oh my goodness! This race was tough, but we conquered! We were met with cheering at the finish line, yummy food (chocolate milk and noodles) and a great finisher medal!

After much needed showers, we decided to explore Berlin. We walked around town (maybe a little hobbling happened) and checked out Sol’s, a large craft mall. From there, we took a great Amish buggy ride and then I had to try Ginger House Coffee and was rewarded with an amazing Creme Brulee Latte. Then we headed to Wendell August Gift Shoppe & Forge. We had the opportunity to try a hand at metal working.