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Sub-guides

What the PAPO course colours mean

How to plan challenging (red) courses

Summary

PAPO uses 4 colours (white, yellow, orange, red) to indicate the level of difficulty of different courses. Typically, the orange and red courses are also split by length (orange short, orange long and red short, red medium, red long). For a more detailed description of the type of difficulty these colours represent, see What the PAPO course colours mean.

The main aim of planning is to give the competitors a course that is correctly designed for their capabilities, is fun and challenging, and above all that it is fair.

Course planners should start by reading the page linked below. It is a guide for planning challenging courses, but many of the concepts in this guide can be used to also plan interesting courses of easier difficulty.

Order to plan courses

  1. Plan the white course first. White courses are often the most difficult to plan, as they need to follow linear features the whole way around the course and there are often limited places on the map that this can be done. This will then establish where a likely finish control can be placed, and for smaller events where separate starts are not viable, the start control as well.
  2. Establish parking and access to the start and finish. Make sure there is a viable plan for parking and for a route to the start, if necessary, before you plan any more courses.
  3. Plan the longest red course. For a guide on how to plan challenging red courses, see How to plan challenging (red) courses
  4. Plan the shorter red courses. Often, you can reuse parts of the longer red course, but create some shortcuts and some alternate legs to prevent runners following each other. Red short is designed to be physically easier but not technically easier, so ensure the shortest red course is not too steep or physical.
  5. Plan the intermediate courses (yellow, orange short, orange long). You can typically share a few controls between the orange and yellow courses, as well as the red and orange courses.

Other things to consider

Start Location & Radios