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Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

About 30 people — including parent volunteers, members of the Blacksburg High School cross country team and coach James DeMarco — work on the team's new course behind Blacksburg Middle School.

Zenah Orndorff (left) and daughter Travertine Orndorff, a member of the Blacksburg High School cross country team, remove a giant rock from the new course.

Blacksburg High School cross country coach James DeMarco marks and measures the field behind Blacksburg Middle School. "We have been really limited where we can run, and now we have a place of our own to run without having to schedule around other people," DeMarco says.

| Chuck Altizer

Special to The Roanoke Times

It is recognized as one of the best cross country programs in the nation and is ranked No. 1 in the state in all classifications in both boys and girls.

Their trophy case at the school is so full they need to build another, and yet the Blacksburg High School harriers have never had a full-time home -- until now.

The Bruins are preparing to unveil their new home cross county course Oct. 24, when they host a junior varsity. The course is on land purchased by the county next to the new Bill Brown Stadium at Blacksburg Middle School on Prices Fork Road.

The course was an idea that hit Blacksburg cross county coach James DeMarco almost as soon as the county bought the land for a future new high school.

"When Montgomery County purchased the land and I saw how big it was, I got the idea of having our own course because the plan to build a new high school may be 10 or more years away," DeMarco said.

"We looked at a lot of designs and plans and built the course so when the time comes for a new high school, the course will still be there as well."

The course currently covers 3,000 meters, but as early as next year the plan is to have the path cover three miles. The goal is to make the new home of the Bruins one of the most fan-friendly courses around.

Even at its current state, the course has already benefited the team.

"We have been really limited where we can run, and now we have a place of our own to run without having to schedule around other people," said DeMarco, who also coaches indoor and outdoor track at the school.

"It is important to have a place to train where we don't have to rely on the help of others. If we want to continue our program's success rate, and with the program getting bigger and bigger, it is going to be a great fundraiser for us."

Once approval was met to build the course, the athletes, parents and volunteers lined up to begin the yearlong process of making the course a reality.

Sponsors have helped limit the cost of building the facility, as have parents, each with a variety of skills that were helpful in building the Bruins' field of dreams.

"I think it is going to be a great asset for BHS," said Total Lawn Care owner Kevin Carter, whose company helped with topsoil and fertilizer, along with equipment to grade the course.

Carter also volunteered his time to help with the project.

"I don't think James even asked me to help," Carter said. "He is a really inspiring guy and a good coach. I consider his kids the cream of the crop, and anything I can do to help is great.

"The kids are pretty excited about it. When the kids come out and work on the course you can see the excitement in their face. They feel like they have some ownership in it."

While Carter's expertise was in the yard work that a course calls for, another parent's hobby provided a nice touch to the layout of the course.

Frank Locascio's job at Kollmorgen, a company that deals with server drivers and motors, allowed him to help in his own way.

"I have a bad back and was not able to spend hours picking up rocks and cutting brush, so I was like, 'How can I help?' " said Locascio, whose son Frank is on the team.

"So I made a sign in school colors that said, 'Please stay off the course,' and showed it to James and he had me make some more.

"It is a continual thought process while picking James' brain to come up with ideas. Things keep evolving, and the parents have different talents and different ideas to help this project."

Locascio said he noticed the excitement in the kids when they would visit as he was making the signs with a homemade device out of spare parts.

"Kids would come to the house and see the signs and ask how I did it," he said. "Some kids are interested in the machine itself and how it works, while others are excited about the signs in their school colors."

There is still work to do on the course to get it ready for it grand opening next month.

Some small legal issues also are slowing the planned expansion of the course and alternate routes for training. But come next season, the runners at Blacksburg will have something to really call their own.

Goals for the new course include community running events, hosting district and region meets and allowing the public to use the course.

The team also wants to give back to Virginia Tech's cross country team for allowing them to use their facilities. The high school team wants Tech to host meets and maybe even the Atlantic Coast Conference championships after the course is ready.

"This is a great spectator course," DeMarco said. "You can see 90 percent of the course from the top of a hill, plus we have a plenty of parking with the football stadium and, of course, restrooms and a place to sell concessions.

"It is definitely something we needed because we have been at the mercy of other cross country programs because we didn't have a consistent home facility. And this place when it is finished is something the whole community can use and be proud of."

DeMarco also said he hopes the course attracts the top teams, starting with the first event in October.

"We have to make sure that everything is done by that first meet," DeMarco said.

"You only get one chance with coaches to make a good impression, and that isn't going to happen if they come here and get kids hurt because they stepped on a rock or in a hole. We don't want to interfere with some of the great events around in our sport but we want to be able to host two or three events a year here.

"And I think once people see our course, they will want to come and be a part of it."