By Wandoo Makurdir Five-year-old Jacob Kovacich chases after his mom, Nancy, a volunteer coordinator for the kids, moments after emerging from the pool of water.

The challenge had been set up as a way to provide entertainment to the younger audience for the duration of the 5K race, with a goal of engaging the kids in fun, but active events.

‘‘Some of the children I have seen go through here six or seven times,” said Sandy Fitzpatrick, one of the volunteer coordinators who watched the kids. ‘‘They are having so much fun. And with it being so warm, they are getting wet and muddy, and it’s just one big giggle after the other.”

The mini-obstacle course included the moon bounce, where children went through a series of tubes and a rope climb, a low crawl underneath ropes that mimicked the barbed wire crawl, which was sandwiched in between two hay bale jumps, a run through eight tires and a pool of slippery water.

Fitzpatrick said holding mini versions of events such as the Run Amuck for the kids gives kids a reason to set similar goals for themselves.

‘‘They see mom and dad running three miles,” she said. ‘‘And they think, ‘I just ran a mile, I could probably run three miles in another year.”

Five-year-old Jacob Kovacich was one kid who had breezed through the obstacle course at least seven times. His mom, Nancy Kovacich, said Jacob loves partaking in physical activities, when it involves running, so she takes him to any event that includes racing.

‘‘I was just jumping over the hay,” Jacob, who had no idea how many times he had run the course, said. ‘‘And going through the tires and jumping into the pool,” he added, while getting fidgety, itching to break through to return to the start of the course.