Tag:athletics=cross_country
 athletics = cross_country
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A sport in which competitors race by running a long-distance course on natural terrain  
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| Group: sports |
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| Status: undefined |
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Cross country running, commonly referred to as cross country or XC, is a sport where runners compete over unpaved surfaces. Cross country falls under the larger umbrella of Sport_of_athletics . Cross country races may take place on dedicated courses or may be routed through other property like parks or golf courses.. Some common distances include 5k, 6k, 8k, 10k, 12k.
Confusion
Cross country may refer to either Cross country running or to Cross-country skiing. It is important to tag cross country running features using sport=athletics and athletics=cross_country. It is discouraged to use sport=cross_country as it may cause confusion between the two disciplines.
Mapping
Mapping a cross country course will depend upon the specific circumstances. Consider dedicated land to be a piece of land set aside specifically for cross country. A dedicated piece of land is likely owned by a college or university. An undedicated piece of land would be something like a golf course or park which a course runs through. A dedicated course is a course that is maintained and clearly marked year-round. An undedicated course is a course which is only marked for a few days a year, when races are held.
| Dedicated Course on Dedicated Land | Dedicated Course on Undedicated Land | Undedicated Course on Undedicated Land | |
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| Course Grounds | leisure=sports_centre | N/A | N/A |
| Running Area | leisure=track | leisure=track | N/A |
| Linear Way | highway=path | highway=path | highway=path |
As cross country features fall under the umbrella of athletics, they should all be tagged using sport=athletics and athletics=cross_country.
Dedicated land should be marked as leisure=sports_centre. This sports centre will likely have a name=*, owner=* and operator=*. If the course is on undedicated land, then the course grounds do not merit an additional polygon.
The running area for dedicated courses can be marked using the leisure=track tag. The running area should form a polygon which maps the area where races are ran. This will include the wide paths around the course as well as the large starting straightaway and finishing chute. The running area can also use the name=* tag for the name of the course. The running area can also use the surface=* tag. Undedicated courses which are not marked year-round should not have an area for the running course, since it will not be apparent year-round.
While it may be considered mapping for the router, courses should also have linear ways drawn. These ways should be tagged using highway=path. For the actual race course, these ways should be drawn roughly down the centerline, similarly to roads, and not cutting the tangents. In addition to the actual running course, there will likely be other smaller spectator trails, used for getting around the course. These paths should also be tagged using highway=path. The ways should be connected to the greater routing network, since there will typically be trails which can be ran on to reach a cross country course.
Rendering example
