WARSAW —  Winona Lake’s second annual Autumn Harvest Trail 5K and 10K Run begins at 8:10 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, and starts at 410 Boys City Drive in Winona Lake, taking runners and walkers alike through the wooded portions of Winona Lake Trail. Non-perishable food items and gently used running shoes will be collected for Fellowship Missions and monetary donations will go toward trail maintenance.

It is an opportunity for families and the community to join together for a good cause and enjoy the fall colors.

However, the event is also an opportunity for Kosciusko County residents to consider ways of maintaining healthy lifestyle habits through the fall and winter months, a time when it is often difficult to do so.

Health care professionals remain mystified as to the precise reasons fatalities rise so precipitously in the cold seasons. They are also uncertain as to why seasonal affective disorder adds its negative mental effects to the physical threats of colds, the flu and increased incidents of cardiovascular disease.

But what they do know is exercise and a healthy diet is the best defense, along with a flu shot. The trick is overcoming the lethargy brought on by the effects of decreased sunlight combined with the uninviting cold and snow.

An unfortunate effect of setting clocks back an hour is the lack of sunlight available after working hours to get out for a brisk walk or run. Besides discouraging exercise, lack of sunlight depresses serotonin levels in the brain, a possible cause of SAD.

However, studies show working regular walking into everyday activities burns more energy than weekly visits to the gym. A mere 10 minutes of constant motion, including walking, is a beneficial cardiovascular workout. Not only that, but taking a walk, say, during your lunch break, allows one to take advantage of those rare sunny days during the darker months, which is good for both mind and body.

“Staying active helps your mood,” asserted Paula Deming, a triathlete and owner of Green Earth Multisport, one of the sponsors, along with Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club, of the Autumn Harvest Trail Run. “Just getting out and enjoying nature can be a great mood changer.”

Though they will not be taking part in the event, Vivian Eidemiller and Linda Hile are locals — Warsaw and Winona Lake respectively — who regularly take advantage of the benefits of walking in the great outdoors.

“We walk no matter what,” said Hile as the pair strolled beside the canal in Winona Lake. “Not as often as we should,” Eidemiller confessed.

They are part of a group that meets every Wednesday to walk the trails for a couple miles, which usually takes them under an hour. And both get out as often as they can throughout the week as well.

Though Eidemiller does not live in Winona Lake, she finds it is worth the drive. “There’s always something to do,” she commented about Winona Lake. Their walks do not just benefit them physically, they bring them closer to the community and nature, where they enjoy spotting wildlife on the wooded trails.

When the weather does prove too daunting, the Paul Thorn Recreation Center on Lucerne Lake is a convenient alternative.

As simple as it sounds, the point is to just keep moving.