A Course Dunn Well

In a few days, a man will step onto familiar terrain where the views are pristine, the air dewy. He will press the toe of his Nike Zoom Elite sneakers into the ground. Before he takes off, he will give his signature half smirk, the typical reservation of emotion. Then he will pace himself as he takes a nostalgic journey.

The man is Jason Dunn, associate head coach for cross country at the University of Oklahoma. The place is Panorama Farms, the home course of the University of Virginia cross country teams. It is also the Dunn's former home as he coached in Charlottesville for eight years.

For most coaches, including Dunn, it is normal to visit a place they have previously worked, but it is not typical for it to be a place that one has created. The nine-mile grassy trail with its splendid views of the Blue Ridge Mountains might not exist without Dunn's effort. He designed the course at Panorama Farms in hopes of having a consistent place for his Cavaliers to run. His Sooners will compete on the course on Saturday.

 Third year cross country and track and field associate head coach Jason Dunn established the picturesque Panorama Farms Course for the University of Virginia.

"It's one of the things that, if there's an established course already when someone arrives, then maybe a coach wouldn't need to worry about that. It's important to have a place to train," Dunn said. "I think cross country is a little different than say track or football, sports that have a more of established facility. Sometimes, for cross country, it's based on what's available.

"There are very few schools that have dedicated cross country courses," he continued. "Sometimes you have to be creative. You get out and hustle, then try to find what works well."

It was Jason's vision that allowed us to do it. It started with a phone call from him and the 'Field of Dreams' was born. I'm very proud.
Steve Murray, Panorama Farms Owner

It took less than a year for him to find an opportunity and seize it. In his search for a workable location, Dunn met Steve Murray, who owns the 850-acre land that rests six miles from Virginia's campus. After getting to know Dunn and traveling to the NCAA Cross country Championship with the Virginia team, Murray began to manicure the land for a cross country course.

"He took an existing 5K course for high school and was instrumental in twisting and tweaking the course to a 6K and 8K course," said Murray, a retired conventional agriculturalist. "Those cross country guys, they just see it. It's not something I could do myself.

"It was Jason's vision that allowed us to do it without increasing the maintenance," Murray continued. "It started with a phone call from him and the 'Field of Dreams' was born. I'm very proud of the way things are going."

Panorama Farms has been the site for the 2006 and 2007 ACC cross country championships and the 2013 NCAA Southeast Regional.

The Panorama Farms course was not the Sooner coach's first experience with building his course of dreams. Dunn had become familiar with the labors of course designing after establishing a trail during his one-year stint at Kentucky. The Wildcats' site, located at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, has been the host of several cross country meets.

"It's nice to see places continue to have success or continue to benefit from some of the work we did during our time," said Dunn, a two-time ACC coach of the year for men's cross country. "I guess I always wanted to leave a place better than I found it. There's a sense of that with Virginia and at Kentucky. I felt like we got some things established pretty quickly."

While the Kentucky course was his first self-driven project, Dunn learned the blueprint for crafting courses as a graduate assistant at Arizona State.

"When I was at Arizona State, my boss started one at a park in Phoenix and I helped him lay it out," Dunn said.

I always wanted to leave a place better than I found it. There's a sense of that with Virginia and at Kentucky.
Associate Head Coach Jason Dunn

"That's how I learned to find a place that would work, get access, measure things out, mark and paint it."

Even with the recognition from his other projects, Panorama Farms is still Dunn's favorite.

"I think that Panorama Farms is the quintessential cross country course," said Dunn, who designed the course to be challenging. "It's true cross country. A lot of cross country courses have become sort of like track on grass and they're just really flat. I don't think that's the way cross country should be.

"It's very rolling and a very picturesque setting," he added. "It's a unique place for sure."

Dunn will get to share those sentiments with his OU teams on Saturday as the Sooner men and women cross country teams will compete at the Panorama Farms Invitational. It will be the first time since Dunn arrived in Norman two years ago that he will take an OU team to the meet.

"I think it's nice to go back there and I'm sure the student-athletes will get a sense that it's a place that I have a great appreciation for," said Dunn who constructed the sign for the course in his basement. "I know it like the back of my hand and I've measured it many times.

"Ultimately, it's a race. The gun is going to go off and then who can get to the finish line first," he continued. "I'm not going to make too big of a deal about it. They're our competitors now."

 OU Coach Jason Dunn constructed the Panorama Farms Course sign in his basement.

Two Sooner runners are already familiar with the terrain. Brandon Doughty and Dan Schubert competed at Panorama Farms in 2012 when the OU men won the invitational. Doughty was a redshirt freshman and placed 39th (25:41.0). Schubert, competing as a true freshman, finished 43rd (25:46.9).

"Knowing that our coach designed it gives us an edge," said Doughty, who will be opening up his season at the meet. "But [Coach Dunn] is all business and doesn't bring a lot of extra fluff. I'm really excited."

It will be the first time for the OU women to compete at Panorama Farms and that is added motivation.

"It's definitely motivation to see that [Coach Dunn] is excited about it and to so we want to also do well for him," said junior Brittany Tretbar, who will also be opening the season at Virginia meet. "He's been preparing us for the hills on the course with good workouts."

Panorama Farms has been the host site for the 2006 and 2007 ACC Cross Country Championships and the 2013 NCAA Southeast Regional. The course will also be the site of three consecutive Southeast Regional Championships starting this season.

"The course is different depending on the race distance, and that's the one nice thing about it," Dunn said of the course that has hosted 3,000-meter to 10,000-meter distance races.

In 2012 the Sooner men's cross country team won the Panorama Farms Invitational. Dunn was a coach at Kentucky who also competed at that meet.

Dunn's coursework has made significant impacts on his previous programs, which is no surprise for OU track and field/cross country head coach Jim VanHootegem.

"Everything he puts his stamp on is going to be quality," said VanHootegem. "He does everything with a great amount of pride. I'm definitely going to run the course when the teams go to review the course. I think it's exciting for the team."

As memorable as his return to the Virginia course will be, Dunn is happy to call Oklahoma home. He has helped lay the foundation to build a strong running program at OU. The Sooners do not have a dedicated cross country course but that has not stopped Dunn in the past. In fact, Dunn is ready to leave his trademark on the Sooners.

"I'd like to have one established here in Norman and hopefully be able to host meets," Dunn said with his well known half smile.

If there is anything his past record has proven, once he says it, it gets Dunn.