Butterfly Loops

From Orienteering Wiki

Butterfly Loops are used to separate runners on relays and long distance classic courses to avoid people following each other.

From a set central control, 2 loops of 2 or more controls branch off, with some runners completing loop A then coming back to the central control before completing B, and others doing loop B, coming back to the central control and then Loop A. After both loops are completed all the runners go back to the central control and continue with the course.

The theory is that runners running the loops one way round will be quicker than runners running the loops the other way round, when the slower runner may have just followed on a normal course, hence separating the runners.

The system was used in the UK at CROESO 04 on Pwll Du for the longer courses and at the Chiltern Challenge on Hambledon for a mass start race.