In praise of broken circles
Condes is the tool we use for course planning. It is awesome software and can do more than any of us know, yet it doesn't take long to learn enough to create most events.
Your finished courses in Condes will be very satisfying to you, but this is not the end product. What really matters is the piece of paper (damp, wrinkled, possibly blood-spattered) in the runner's hand. Good courses can be spoiled unless the printed map gives the runner all possible information.
Condes provides functions to help maximise the clarity of the printed map. This is all explained in the Condes_tips document in the Organisers Toolkit section of the OT website. Unless you are a pro, scan this before you start course planning, and then really read it prior to map printing. If you find anything wrong in it, please tell Jeff. Changes might arise from a software update.
You spent happy hours at the computer, zooming for detail or panning for context, fully appreciating how the course uses the country. The runner is instead struggling to piece together a clean run from the visible clues. They will not be lining up to thank the course planner if critical clues are carelessly obscured.
