Learn English – What exactly is a run-on paragraph

At least for technical documentation, and probably for other situations where it is similarly important to be very clear:

1. Use named thingies (e.g., your A, B, and C), and do not hesitate to refer to them by name each time: Example 42, Figure 27, Section "Whizbang Overview", and so on.

2. Avoid relying on general, positional references such as this; that; the following, the previous, above, and below.

Those are not really two separate rules; they are two sides of the same coin.

It is especially important to name sections and refer to sections by name (and perhaps page number) if the target locations are not adjacent or nearby. But it is clearest to do so even if they are.

In sum, my answer to your question about distance is that there is no distance that is small enough that you should use a general reference such as this, if you really want to be clear.

And yes, enhancing clarity this way (by being specific, over and over) comes at the cost of sometimes sounding a bit unnatural or long-winded.