Best way to mark a xc course?

Spray paint AND flags! I once ran a course that was marked very poorly, just with flags, and not even at every turn. I made a wrong turn, and kept running that direction until some random coach corrected me, and j made a U-turn and ran back. This added about 0.07 miles.

Urine.

bread crumbs

Always helpful; never boring

If your racing surface is compatible with them, I'd recommend construction marking flags. (The little 3x4 orange things on 15" steel wire rods.) You can get bundles of 100 for about $6-$12, and with about 500 of them you should be able to mark your loop with a flag on either side of your course approximately every 8-12 yards with increased density around turns.

We got 700 of them 4 years ago and have reused them each year for 2-3 meets. The courses are extremely well marked and no one has ever gone off course. It takes about an hour to lay out 1.5 miles for one person working efficiently. We got a two mile loop marked this year with two people in a leisurely hour.

Why not both? Just needs to be obvious for kids at race speed.

flour

Blood

Flags, chalk and spray paint in grassy areas. Have a lead bike and all is fine.

LoneStarXC wrote:

Spray paint AND flags!

Plus maybe hazard / construction tape to tie-off any trees/corners you don't want people to cut-through. Then of course the use of course monitors on tricky / confusing sections.

ashley madison wrote:

LoneStarXC wrote:

Spray paint AND flags!

Plus maybe hazard / construction tape to tie-off any trees/corners you don't want people to cut-through. Then of course the use of course monitors on tricky / confusing sections.

I should've actually specified "spray chalk". This wears-off in a few weeks. Most venues don't appreciate the use of spray paint.

This is what we do. We put on a multi-distance, multi-race festival, so we also use course marshals with stakes and flagging at our turns and intersections. But if you just have a 1.5 mile loop, a set of 500-700 surveyor flags lining both sides of the course should do it with no additional infrastructure needed (although a few course marshals who know what's going on at their intersection never hurt either).

invisible ultraviolet spray paint, in case they are navigating in the dark by blacklight.

I know how I like to mark my courses.

chalk, tape, cones, and a lead biker

I had very good results by getting the landowner to agree to not cut the grass. All I did was cut the path, and the boundaries had a very cool British Open fescue look. The only thing I used paint and flags for were the starting boxes and finishing chutes.

thejeff wrote:

I had very good results by getting the landowner to agree to not cut the grass. All I did was cut the path, and the boundaries had a very cool British Open fescue look. The only thing I used paint and flags for were the starting boxes and finishing chutes.

This is always the best in my opinion. Looks the best appeal wise and doesn't really cost anything. Flags are ok but sometimes can look trashy, and you always have kids playing with them. Spray paint is a good idea, one line down the middle of the course or two lines on the border of the course depending on which makes more sense where (corners, open fields, turns, woods, trails etc.)

Avoid cones.

Common sense guy wrote:

lead biker

If a lead biker is an option it isn't a real cross country course.

Just run it on a track at that point.

rupp-certified saladbra wrote:

Common sense guy wrote:

lead biker

If a lead biker is an option it isn't a real cross country course.

Just run it on a track at that point.

You can bike any cross country course if you're hardcore enough.