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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Fall is just around the corner and with it comes a season packed with races.

Here are some suggestions from local coaches and runners on workouts that will get your feet and legs oriented to speed. All workouts include a warm-up and a cool-down of about 15 minutes.

On the track:

Kris Hoey, track and cross country coach at Washington and Lee University:

Four tines 1 mile on the track, with a 400-meter jog after each mile.

If you’re training for a 5K race, Hoey says your average pace per mile should be close to your 5K pace.

Finn Pincus, cross country and track coach at Roanoke College:

“Straights and curves” workout: Run the straight 100 meter parts of the track at a hard pace and jog the 100- meter curves. Repeat this for as many as 12 laps around the track.

Gary Adkins, local runner, member of Star City Striders running club:

Run 12 times 400 meters, and jog 200 meters in between each one.

Off the track, on the road or both:

Kris Hoey, track and cross country coach at Washington and Lee University:

Run 10 times 1 minute hard, with 1 minute of jogging in between each.

You don’t have to be on a track for this workout, Hoey says. You can run it anywhere, on the grass, a soft surface or on the road.

Finn Pincus, cross country and track coach at Roanoke College:

This workout requires having a hill or short embankment beside or near the track. Run about 10 400s hard on the track. But on the even numbered 400s, run the first 200 meters on the track and then, take off up the hill beside the track for the second 200 meters.

Jog 200 meters in between each 400.

Gary Adkins, local runner, member of Star City Striders running club:

Start out with a 20-minute push on the roads. Then, head to the track and run some 800 meter runs, as hard as you’d like and as many as you want.

A workout to test your marathon pace:

Gary Adkins, local runner, member of Star City Striders running club:

Adkins says this workout is cited in Runners World magazine.

Run 10 times 800 meters on the track, and base your pace on your goal time for the marathon. Use the workout to judge how well you can sustain the pace during the marathon, Adkins says.

Upcoming races:

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

Sept. 10: Franklin Community Bank Uptown/Downtown 5K, Rocky Mount

Sept. 17: Marine Mud Run, Greenhill Park, Roanoke County