Two races finished north of Brookside Education Center on Saturday, and runners from area high schools won both.

New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva High School senior T.J. Schiltz crossed the finish line first in the 36th annual Fountain Lake 5, and Albert Lea sophomore Herbie Lein took gold in the eighth-annual Tiger Trot.

The Fountain Lake 5 is a 5-mile race around the lake, and the Tiger Trot is a 5-kilometer run.

Click HERE to view results from the Fountain Lake 5.

Click HERE for results from the Tiger Trot.

Schiltz ran one day after winning the 3,200-meter run in 10 minutes, 10.33 seconds as part of NRHEG’s track and field team at the Blue Earth Invitational. Schiltz said he enjoys the diverse crowd that attends the race.

“I really like seeing all the people come out here,” said Schiltz, a four-year veteran of the Fountain Lake 5. “This is a huge turnout for a five-mile run.”

Despite being run at the same time and having the same finish line, the races are organized by different groups. The Fountain Lake 5 is set up by the Albert Lea Family Y, and the Tiger Trot is organized by Southwest Middle School. Four hundred fifty-one runners completed the Tiger Trot, and 56 people ran in the Fountain Lake 5.

Lein competed in the Tiger Trot for the second time and finished the 5K in 19:05. He showed significant improvement from last year’s time of 22:37, which gave him 18th place. The last high school track meet Lein ran in was last Tuesday at Winona, so he said it was nice to compete in another race before Tuesday’s meet at Owatonna.

“It’s just nice to get out and run,” Lein said. “The wind was a little strong, but otherwise it was good.”

The Fountain Lake 5 is the more tenured race, and Tiger Trot organizers at Southwest Middle School decided to have their race on the same day at the same time since it started.

“It’s great to have the cooperation with the Y,” said Tiger Trot volunteer Wendy Greenfield. “They help us out a lot. It would be tough to organize the finish line without them.”

Susie Hulst, the sports and fitness director at the Family Y, sent Tiger Trot runners on their way when she honked an air horn.

The Tiger Trot gets funding in the form of money and food for the race. Water and bananas were available at the finish line, and T-shirts were given to runners who signed up before April 11.

“We couldn’t do it without our community sponsors,” Greenfield said. “That support is tremendous.”

Hulst echoed Greenfield’s thoughts for the Fountain Lake 5.

“I love seeing everyone work together to put on such a fun community event,” she said. “It’s wonderful. My absolute favorite part is witnessing the feeling of accomplishment from the participants, especially first-time participants. It’s great to see them achieve their goals.”

Participants can walk, jog, or even push a baby in a stroller, like Emma and Mark Habben did with their eight-month-old son, Logan.

Otherwise, children were able to utilize a bounce house that was purchased by the Family Y for youth programs, Hulst said.

Greenfield said her favorite part is the start.

“When you see that crowd and they all take off, and they all have smiles on their faces — that’s pretty priceless.”