With the unusual batch of unseasonal warm weather that has engulfed the early parts of winters, there should have been plenty of incentive to embark on a run or walk.

It provided most of us with a comfortable start to the often cumbersome task of training through the cold for our spring and summer events ahead. If you’re not a runner but thinking about it, this period should have provided you the extra boost.

Well, we’re not in the South, and winter apparently has found its course upon us. If you got an early start, keep it going. If you were out there for the first time, don’t let the cold discourage you.

Once you begin running, your body will adjust and you tend not to feel it. Once you’re finished, quickly find some warm clothing.

In keeping with this thought, a handful of races already have begun the 2016 race calendar.

A few weeks ago, more than 1,000 runners participated in the annual Christmas City Classic 5-miler and Candy Cane 5k in downtown Bethlehem. It proved once again to be a challenging race on a mild, 50-degree morning.

Jeremiah Reinhart was the top male finished in the 5K in a time of 17:48 and Edann Brady toped the women in a time of 18:28 in the field of 527 runners.

In the five-mile race, Matthew Lutcza was first in the male field in a time of 25:44, and Cassandra Tripaldi took home top honors among the women in a time of 30:06 among the field of 566 runners.