A new path for the Old Mill Pond trail-Old Mill XC Invitational 10/11/25
Updated: 5 days ago
The McKenzie Community Track and Field in Blue River, Oregon, is a unique and cherished location. This track complex emerged from a former lumber veneer mill and a pond adjacent to the property.
The Aaron and Marie Jones Track and Field
Built in 2003, the Aaron and Marie Jones Track and Field has hosted events ranging from middle school competitions to professional-level track meets. This small rural community has embraced the facility, making it a hub for athletic activities.
The Holiday Farm Fires
The Track and Field complex is situated on the old mill property, with the mill pond located on the west side of the track. Over the past few years, the berm around the pond became overgrown with blackberries and other invasive plants. This overgrowth took over what was once a trail around the pond.
In the wake of the devastating Holiday Farm Fire in 2020, which incinerated much of the town, we have gradually increased our capacity to host track meets. This effort aims to bring people back up the river. After the Aaron and Marie Jones Invitational last year, we discussed how to create a safe space for athletes to warm up and cool down without having to venture onto the narrow road next to the track.
Board members Cliff Richardson, Sylvia Dion, Megan and Brett Weiss, along with their helpful children, dedicated several weekends to clearing branches and debris on the Track property. They extended their efforts to the Pond Trail, eager to see what it would take to restore the path.
As news spread about our efforts to clear a path around the pond, local Zach Nastasiuk offered to help expedite the work with a Masticator. This machine would remove the overgrowth along the trail over a two-day period. This initial work allowed us to see the potential of this beautiful trail and how we could create something special.
In May 2025, we began discussing the potential of bringing back Cross Country to the McKenzie Community Track and Field. We started imagining what needed to happen for this to become a reality.
We shared our progress with others in the community and began making phone calls to see what could be accomplished before the Fall XC season. Through my work with IncubatorU and the McKenzie Community Track and Field, I collaborated with Ken Brown of Rexius Landscape Services in Eugene/Springfield. I knew that Rexius had been instrumental in building great trails around Oregon, including the new Dellinger Trail in Springfield and the Hollister Trail at the Nike Campus in Beaverton. I asked Ken how they could help make the Old Mill Pond Trail more runner-friendly.
Ken checked with his team and offered to provide wood chips for our trail. However, the only catch was that our team needed to figure out how to pick them up, deliver them, and spread them. How could we get enough wood chips to make a difference?
John Barnes connected with Virgil Kropf, the owner of Brush Creek Transport in Brownsville (Sweet Home). Kropf made the trip down to Rexius to load as many wood chips as possible into his massive trailer for transport to the track. Earlier in the month, we had been looking for pickups and small trailer loads to bring up, but this beautiful trailer held 260 yards of wood chips for us to create this amazing trail.
Word spread to a few locals who pitched in to help. Sonny Willis spent hours on weekends filling in low spots, removing emerging blackberries, and prepping the pond trail as we mapped out where the wood chips would go.
One of our event directors, Chad Sperry of Breakaway Promotions, offered to lend us a hand with his skid steer during his off-season. He came over from Redmond to help prepare the trail.
Not only has the MCTF Board and their families stepped up to help, but local talent and those who understand our vision for the community through events and sports have joined in.
The course starts and finishes on the Aaron and Marie Jones Track, looping around the mill pond and the 3 Sisters Meadows before concluding on the AMJ Track. We believe this course will be the beginning of more training and walking opportunities within the community.
We are going to have a cross country meet and a course to remember!
As community members and friends coordinated the trail preparation, Cliff Richardson acted as the team's quarterback. Meanwhile, other Board of Directors members began planning the meet.
We quietly but confidently listed the meet on the Athletic.net High School Cross Country Calendar and invited over 40 teams. However, by the time we got it listed, many teams had already committed to other events. This year, we have a half dozen teams participating, but we believe our meet will set the stage for future years. The last time a cross country meet was held in Blue River was in 2013. We are bringing it back with the help of many dedicated individuals.
We moved ahead with planning the course layout, with design and measuring assistance from legendary and experienced track and XC coaches, Kelly Sullivan and Matthew Barreau.
MCTF Board Vice President and school parent Laurel Pfiefer-Meister ordered the awards and began coordinating volunteers for the meet. The collaboration between the McKenzie River Land Trust and other nonprofits in the area makes projects like these worth pursuing.
The entries are in. The course is being prepared. The team is ready, and we hope everyone loves the event as much as we enjoyed organizing it. This marks the beginning of years of growth. I have witnessed similar transformations before when Tom Rothenberger and I started a middle school cross country meet called PDXC, which grew from 40 kids to nearly 2,500 over the course of ten years.
Imagine a course and a Cross Country Meet. Identify each of your resources that has something to contribute. Initiate the work to get it done and reach out to those who have resources you do not. Invite them into the project. Implement the work, the meet organization, and the volunteers to create a great experience for everyone involved, from athletes to parents to coaches and community members. Integrate what we started and learned this year, and grow and improve upon it in the upcoming years. Stay tuned...
The IncubatorU 5-Step Methodology is at work again, transforming another project.
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