Over 100 peoplebraved the chilly morning air Saturday for the largest fundraiser for the Lehigh Gap Nature Center.

The sixth annual 2-mile Scamper and 10K trail run began at 9 a.m. in Slatington on the D&L Trail next to the wildlife refuge.Under the direction of race organizer Michael Martinez, runners took to the starting line, making their way up and over the Kittatinny Ridge section of the Blue Mountain, traversing stones and dirt along a winding 6.2-mile track.Martinez advised runners to "focus on every step. That's the key with trail running."According to registration, volunteers for this year's race had the highest turnout since its creation in 2010."Last year we only had 25. This year we made a bigger effort to promote the event," Martinez said.The organizer said the race date was also changed from the busy month of October to early this month."I was thinking about it last fall. I was running out here and thought, 'November is when we have to have the race.' So I spoke with Mr. Kunkle (center director) and we settled on this date."Experienced trail runner Gary Dorshimer said he has run in every race hosted by the center since the beginning."I like it. The trail changes. It's a great trail run, really technical with rough terrain and lots of ups and downs," he said.Dorshimer practiced the trail weeks ago and worked Saturday morning to beat his previous time of one hour and 10 minutes."It's tough this time of year but it's beautiful out there. Especially when you make that turnaround and see the Lehigh River and the mountains."According to the local runner, the 10K is a great way to support the nature center."I'm a member of the center here, and he (Mike) does a great job. It's always a great race," Dorshimer said.Borough resident Lani Sherman said the hardest part of the race was the Bobolinks section of the track."It's really steep with loose rocks," Sherman said.Amber Breiner, the center's assistant director, said all the money raised will be used for trail and center maintenance.Winners for this year's 2-mile Scamper were Ed Eppler, who finished in 20:07, and Emma Martinez, finishing in 20:36. The 10K winners were Ben Ziegler at 48:07 and Nicole Carrollat 55:30.Martinez told all runners about the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot held in Palmerton and suggested signing up for "a great cause.""I love these trails and I'm incredibly proud to be associated with the nature center, which has done incredible things to bring this mountain back to life."