Jenny Kincaid Boone

Jenny Kincaid Boone has been running since she was in eighth grade. She competed in cross country and track at Fort Defiance High School (Fort Defiance, Va.) and at Roanoke College, where she was all-ODAC in cross country for four years. When her knees and legs aren't aching from the wear of years of competition, she hits the 19 to low 20-minute range for a 5K.

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The fields at Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park are wide and bright green this time of year, showcasing a peaceful and scenic landscape. Those fields also are hard to navigate if you’re trying to figure out what path to run for a set number of miles.

Try following a 3.1-mile route that J.J. Wimmer already has mapped out.

He’s the race director for the Fab 5K that will be held at Green Hill Park on Aug. 20.

Park your vehicle in one of several lots once you drive into Green Hill Park. Start the run at a straight asphalt road located to the right of the park’s main entrance. Run down the road into the park, and veer to the left toward a makeshift stage area. Loop around the back of the stage and keep running to the left. You’ll enter a forested area.

Continue down a dirt path and turn right to cross a small footbridge.

After crossing the bridge, keep running through a thick, grassy field that leads to the back area of the park. Circle left around several baseball diamonds, cutting through a gravel parking lot. Follow the asphalt road as it loops around the park, traveling around several athletic fields, some picnic shelters and even an old red caboose on the right. The road leads back toward the front entrance of the park.

Follow the road back to the main park entrance and on to the straight road where you started the run. Then, retrace some of your steps, running down that road and to the right side of the Berglund soccer field in front of you. Turn left onto a short dirt path, as you near the finish area. Run around a power pole, make a loop around the soccer field, and you’ll be at the finish, which is in front of the stage.

On a nice day, this park is a great place to run. Though the route essentially loops around the park, you’ll hit a variety of surfaces, including grass, dirt and asphalt.

But on a hot day you won’t find much shade here unless you’re running in the woods. And for this route, there’s only a short stretch of trees at the area where you cross the footbridge.

The park’s surface is smooth and flat, and there’s evidence in the Fab 5K that those characteristics improve the run. At the annual race, runners log some of the fastest 5Ks in the Roanoke Valley.

The park also is a peaceful place to a run without much traffic.

But beware of the busier days when there are multiple sporting events taking place at the soccer or baseball fields there.

Fab 5K Race Information:

Saturday, Aug. 20

8 a.m. at Green Hill Park

Entry fee: $17 before Aug. 10

Packet pick up for pre-registered runners: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19 at Green Hill Park stage

Prizes: $600 distributed among the top 4 overall male and female finishers, and the first male and female masters finishers Race proceeds will benefit the Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism and Project 50

2004 results

Top finishers in the 2004 Fab 5K:

Male: Lee Bradshaw, 16:30

Female: Mary Jane Harrelson, 17:27

Upcoming Races:

Aug. 13: Lewis Gale Foundation Salem Distance Run, 5K and 10K, Salem,

Aug. 20: Lynchburg Half Marathon and 5K, Lynchburg, www.riversiderunners.com

Sept. 10: Danville Virginia Bank and Trust Running and Fitness Festival, Danville, 434-797-8470; River City 5K, 434-793-3409

For even more, click here and search the Recreation category