This past fall, the Web site dyestatcal.com declared the Foothill League “the deepest league in the state” in boys cross country.

In the site’s preseason state rankings, three of the top-10 girls teams in CIF-Southern Section Division II hailed from the Foothill League.

While preseason predictions are largely guesswork, a simple truth remains.

The Foothill League is given the benefit of the doubt because its cross country prowess is recognized statewide.

The quality of local cross country courses, however, is not.

That stands in stark contrast to the accomplishments of the local schools.

The Saugus girls are four-time defending CIF state champions. The Hart boys won three state titles in the early 1990s. The Canyon boys won a state title in 2001. Three girls have been individual state champions since 1998.

This past fall, five total boys and girls teams from the Foothill League made the trip to Fresno for the CIF state meet.

The course at Woodward Park in Fresno is considered a top-tier cross country course.

But what about the courses in the Santa Clarita Valley?

“What we’re running on for cross country was never intended to be run on,” says Golden Valley co-head coach Rob Evans. “ ... It’s not ideal at all.”


Where to go

The local options include Castaic Lake, which is hilly and winding and features different types of terrain, characteristics associated with a more traditional cross country course.

Some local coaches and runners say they like the course at Castaic Lake, although it isn’t very spectator-friendly.

That’s one of the concerns of Paul Broneer, a longtime member of the Canyon cross country coaching staff and the Santa Clarita Valley running community.

He says an ideal cross country course would have a good place to run but also take into consideration those in attendance, with amenities including parking, restrooms and places for spectators to watch the race.

Castaic Lake has most of those amenities.

Another local option, Central Park, is a different story.

“We’ll never use Central Park, if at all possible,” Broneer says. “It’s like a track meet only sharper, and it’s totally flat. The course is a joke.”

Central Park has a combination of hills and flat areas, but under the current course layout, there’s at least one hairpin, 180-degree turn that the runners and coaches don’t like. The layout also takes the runners on a course that overlaps itself periodically and features stretches of solid dirt and even gravel.

Still, two of the three Foothill League races last fall — including the league finals — took place at Central Park.

And according to Saugus head coach Rene Paragas, the league has had to push to even use it.

“There’s times where we basically have to beg for Central Park,” he says. “We want to use it one or two days a year, and we’re told we’re behind Pop Warner (football) and other things.”

But the scope of the running community in the Santa Clarita Valley is deeper than the local high schools.

It’s deeper than running, period.

Evans points to the wealth of people who exercise by walking at parks and at the bike paths that have been implemented recently.

“Santa Clarita has set itself up as a city that prides itself on physical fitness and well-being and a healthy lifestyle,” Evans says.

Local youth running programs such as the SCV Warriors organization, which Broneer says has 270 athletes out this season, could use a new or improved course.

Other groups such as the Santa Clarita Storm would benefit, as would the cross country programs at College of the Canyons and The Master’s College.

Additionally, Canyon High puts on the Santa Clarita Valley Invitational cross country meet every year, and local running devotee Don McLean believes an improved cross country course could help bring in more revenue from youth meets and other organizations.

“We’d like to get something good because it would be something that could bring income to the city,” he says. “It would attract people from all over Southern California.”

When Central Park first opened, it attracted Paragas, who ran there regularly.

“I remember thinking this could be one of the best cross country courses in California if it was done right,” he says. “I’d go on runs and think how great it would be to have the starting line there, and the concessions there, and things like that.”


What to do

Given the area encompassing Central Park, the running community and the city representatives agree it would be a great site for a redesigned cross country course.

Since the park opened a few years ago, that seems to be all they’ve agreed on.

The local high schools previously used the cross country course at College of the Canyons. But when new buildings went up on campus and the course closed, the issue regarding a new cross country course flared up, according to Pat Willett, spokeswoman for the William S. Union High School District.

Rick Gould, Santa Clarita’s Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, says the high schools approached the city and asked for a cross country course to be crafted into Central Park.

“My staff and I spent a significant amount of time to find one,” Gould says. “We presented the high schools a course and they rejected it. … We were not happy after the amount of time and effort we put into it that was not in our program.”

According to Willett, none of the school district officials with knowledge of the situation were available to comment.

But McLean says there was almost no input from the running community on how the course at Central Park was to be structured.

A longtime resident of the Santa Clarita Valley, McLean has no specific affiliation with any of the high schools but took the reins of getting a new course implemented, along with Broneer.

McLean says he attended the Parks, Recreation and Community Services meetings every month and was periodically joined by other figures from the running community.

But modifying the course is not a simple task.

Gould says that Central Park is owned by the Castaic Lake Water Agency, and that the city just leases the land. He also says the hills behind the park — a target for proposed course expansions — are under restriction from the Department of Homeland Security because of their proximity to a water-treatment plant.

“It’s not a slam dunk to just say, ‘Hey, I want to go here,’” Gould says. “Expecting us to fall all over ourselves just because they say it ought to be so is unrealistic.”

Additionally, Gould says that the city’s funding has been hit due to the economic downturn and the next three major recreational projects have been on hold for two years.

The running community, on the other hand, feels that a course redesign has been on the backburner for years.

“A dog park and then a skate park in the city both became high priorities,” McLean says. “A sand volleyball course … Who the hell cares about a sand volleyball course?”

Then again, Central Park is used for a lot of different local sporting events, from soccer to football to baseball.

Broneer suggested other potential sites like Lombardi Ranch and Crescenta Valley Park, although those parks are more remote.

Therefore, Central Park seems to be the most logical site for a redesign.

“Even with what we have at Central Park, it could be made into something,” Paragas says. “It’s just they would have to change plans and bring people in and we’d have to find funding.”

Thanks to renewed cooperation, a redesign may come about sooner rather than later.

A couple of years ago, then-Valencia High track and cross country coach Pat Connelly expressed his desire to spearhead the quest for a course redesign. He had just retired from the Los Angeles Police Department and had more time on his hands.

After years of pushing for a new course with nothing to show for it, Broneer was fine with Connelly taking over.

“He’s more of a negotiate, let’s-go-to-a-city-council-meeting guy,” Broneer says. “I said, ‘If you put it together, I’ll be glad to join.’”

Connelly says he submitted plans to the city but was told money was still an issue with the redesign.

Last October, Connelly sent a letter to the city outlining the plans for a new cross country course, which Broneer endorsed along with Paragas, Evans, West Ranch head coach Randy Smith, Hart head coach Larry David and Valencia head coach Jeff Gilkey, among other members of the local running community.

Last week, Gould sent Connelly a new proposal for Central Park.

Gould says his proposal is a 3.1-mile loop that includes a trip up into the hills. A meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Parks and Recreation Department at City Hall to discuss the proposal.

“What we’ve attempted to do is lay out a proposed route that would add elevation to it,” Gould says. “The incentive with getting together with the coaches next week is to see if it meets what they’re hoping for. If it does, the next step is to see how we can make this a reality.”

If the two sides were to reach an agreement, it would be the end of a long process that could ultimately benefit both sides.

“It’s not just about the runners,” McLean says. “I’d love to see something really nice, and capture it and tie it down before the opportunity passes.”