Colour Coded

Many events offer “colour coded” courses. The colours refer to a roughly standardised range of course lengths and technical difficulty (there is always some variation because no two event areas are quite the same). The colours most often seen are:

Colour	Length	Difficulty
White	1-2 km	very easy – suitable for children 8-10
Yellow	2-3km	easy – suitable for children 10-12
Orange	2.5-3.5km	medium – suitable for adult beginners or children progressing beyond the novice stage
Light Green	3-4km	hard – suitable for improving orienteers
Green	3.5-6km	very hard – aimed at experienced orienteers
Blue	5.5-8km	very hard – aimed at experienced orienteers
Brown	7.5-10km	very hard – aimed at experienced orienteers

Note that the distances quoted for courses are by the most direct route possible, and in reality you will always run significantly further (allow at least 20%).