Joe Kline / The Bulletin file photoRunners leave the starting chute during a cross-country race in Bend last December. The Central Oregon Running Klub is putting on a three-race cross-country series this fall.

The Central Oregon running scene does not lack for events.

Half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, beer runs and ultramarathons dot the race calendar year-round.

But up until recently there were no old-school cross-country races for runners older than school kids.

“We have every other event imaginable,” says Bend ultrarunner Max King, who set up Central Oregon Running Klub’s fall cross-country series two years ago.

The second of three races in this year’s series takes place Tuesday: the series finale is set for Oct. 21. All races are held at River’s Edge Golf Course in Bend.

“Originally, it started as a fundraiser for CORK’s youth runners,” King adds. “And since we didn’t have a cross-country race in Bend, I thought it would be a good avenue to pursue.”

Simple and low-key compared with some of the area’s other running events, the CORK cross-country races are between 3 and 4 miles in length and usually consist of three loops around a designated King-created course at River’s Edge. Race fees are $5 for CORK members and $10 for nonmembers and sign-ups are limited to the day of the event.

“It’s a challenging terrain that really varies,” says Bend’s Jane Cleavenger, who last Tuesday competed in the first race of the series. “A certain level of runner in town wants all the bells and whistles with their races. Well, I’ve been a runner for 40 years and I don’t need any more bling. I just like to come and run.”

King says he usually has between 30 and 50 runners show up each week, adding that the numbers are growing with each race.

At some point, King says, he could see the race growing and being a weekday staple for the area’s running crowd, similar to how the Thrilla cyclocross series has taken off and grown to more than 200 participants in the past few years.

“I don’t know if that’s the goal, but it’d be awesome to see (the cross-country series) turn into something like that,” King says. “That’d be phenomenal. … The Thrilla kinda started out the same way, as a weeknight race, and now it’s a big part of the community.”

That being said, the no-frills aspect of the CORK race is part of its charm, King says.

“It’s super simple,” King continues. “We really want this to be a small, community race and hit that niche of being a classic cross-country race.

“It’s a blast, it’s fun, it’s simple,” he adds, “and it’s something this community needs.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0305; beastes@bendbulletin.com.