Orienteering has seven standard courses, shown below. At local recreational meets, you may do any course that’s within your navigational and physical abilities. At national A-meets, you run in your competitive age class (award-eligible) or an open class (all ages). Distances shown are for national competitions. In the Bay area, due to our steep terrain, course lengths are usually shorter. In general, beginner courses are on or near trails (or other linear features, like fences), and you look for large, distinct features, such as trail junctions or hilltops. The four advanced courses all have the same level of navigational difficulty (looking for small point features, such as boulders or lone trees) but differ in their distance and climb. Blue is the “elite” course for men, and Red for women, both requiring optimum mental and physical conditioning.