> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.estela.co/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.estela.co/tracking-races-with-estela/setting-up-a-race-course.md).

# Setting up a Race Course

While setting up a race course is not required for a tracking session to run, it’s an essential step if you want to enable features like:

* Real-time classification
* Start time animations
* Post-race analysis and insights

### Creating a Course

If you already know the exact location of the marks for your regatta, use the web course editor under the `Configure > Course` menu to define your course.

If you don’t have precise mark positions in advance, we recommend:

1. Creating an approximate course using the web editor
2. Updating mark positions later using Course anchoring (the `Use phone GPS` tool) — see Adding and Editing Marks

### Web Course Editor Overview

The course editor is a map-based tool that lets you place and configure race marks. There are three types of marks — rounding marks, waypoints and doors — described in detail in Rounding Directions and Waypoints.

With these, you can design anything from a basic windward-leeward course to a complex coastal route. We suggest spending some time exploring the tool to understand all its features.

The editor supports entering coordinates in:

* Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS)
* Degrees Decimal Minutes (DDM)
* Decimal Degrees (DD)

### Reusing Courses and Waypoints

* You can save commonly used setups as Frequent Courses, which makes it easy to reuse the same layout in multiple sessions. See Creating and Saving Courses for the full set of course-reuse tools (clone, inverse, load from another session, Frequent Courses).
* Use Frequent Waypoints to store named positions (e.g., common rounding marks) that speed up course creation.

If you're setting up a race with a staggered start instead of a single start line for the whole fleet, see [Pursuit Races](/tracking-races-with-estela/pursuit-races.md).

If you need assistance while setting up your course, don’t hesitate to contact us.