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TR · ENTry Orienteering

Route choice in orienteering

How do you choose the best route between two controls in orienteering?

Short answer

The best route is not the shortest one but the one you can complete fastest and most safely. Compare four things. First distance, then climb (roughly 1 m of climb equals 10 m of flat running). Then terrain and vegetation (paths are fast, green is slow). Finally, the risk of getting lost: is there a handrail and a catching feature?

By the coaching and mapping team of Kanyon Orienteering · Updated:

Four questions, one decision

On every leg ask:

  1. Distance: How long is the straight line, and the alternatives?
  2. Climb: How many contours will I cross? Each is usually 5 m.
  3. Terrain: Paths fastest, white forest good, open land good, green slow, dark green nearly impassable.
  4. Risk: Is there a handrail and a catching feature? Can I enter the control from an easy attack point?

The 10-metre rule

1 m of climb ≈ 10 m of flat running. Example:

  • Route A: 800 m, 50 m climb → 800 + 500 = 1,300 m equivalent
  • Route B: 1,300 m, 10 m climb, mostly path → 1,400 m equivalent, but faster running on the path and low risk.

It is often close. Then the safer route with a handrail is usually right: one mistake costs far more than a few seconds.

Kanyon’s route scenarios

The Route Choice Game asks you to decide on three fictional maps and calculates distance, climb and estimated time for each option. Assumptions (min/km): path 5, open land 5.5, white forest 6.5, light green 9, medium green 13, dark green 20; each metre of climb adds 10 m of forest running. Real speeds vary by person and terrain.

Getting better

  • After each race, draw your route and study the split times.
  • In club training, run the same leg by different routes and compare times.
  • Study old maps at home: “Which way would I have gone?”

Frequently asked questions

How much does climb affect route choice?

A common rule of thumb is that 1 m of climb is worth about 8 to 12 m (on average 10 m) of flat running. A route with 50 m of climb should be treated as about 500 m longer than a flat one.

Is going round always better?

No. If there is no climb and no thick vegetation, going straight through white forest is usually faster. Rules help, but every leg must be judged on its own terrain.

How can I get better at route choice?

Analyse your races. Draw your route on the map and compare it with others. Tools such as Livelox and RouteGadget let you compare GPS tracks on the map.

Related guides

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