Each cross-country running course is different in composition. Distances are generally standardized, however there will be little in common between any two courses other than their distance. As such, accurate comparisons cannot be made between performances on different courses or even on the same course on different years as the weather and underfoot conditions can be significantly different.
Races are started en masse, sometimes each team having its own pen or box along the start line. A gun or horn is then sounded, and runners have a few hundred metres to converge from the wide starting line into the much narrower path that must be followed until the finish.
The runner is responsible for staying within a specified distance of the marked path. Courses may be marked using various methods, such as tapes and flags. Ground markings are also used, usually a solid or dashed painted centerline.
The course usually ends at a finish line located at the beginning of a funnel or chute. The chute is a long, roped walkway that keeps athletes single-file in order of finishing. Scoring is done by the noting of a number, or the issuing of a tag with the runner's position stamped on it which clubs use to compose a return for the race organisers. This helps the people running the meet make sure everyone is scored correctly.
Cross Country Scoring
Cross-country running is normally scored on a team basis. Points are awarded to individual runners equal to the position in which they cross the finish line (first place gets 1 point, second place gets 2 points, etc). Only the first five on each team are counted towards that team's score. The sixth and seventh runners on each team are sometimes called "pushers" or "displacers," because while they do not earn points for their team, they sometimes (depending on the league or championship rules) push up the point score of each opponent after them.
The lowest possible score is a 15 (1+2+3+4+5), achieved by a team's runners finishing in each of the top five positions. The opponents would have a score of 40 (6+7+8+9+10), which is considered a "sweep" for the winning team. Of course, if the winning team's 6th and 7th runner's came in 6th and 7th, the opponent's score would be a whopping 50 (8+9+10+11+12).