[jlmcguire]

When I ran cross country in high school our coach always said to go on the sight of the smoke not the sound of the shot. This was when the starter was in front of the whole mass of runners. Not sure if it ever helped me given we were mass starting a race that lasted for 3ish miles.

[mattkrause]

If you were by yourself, that would only shave a fraction of a second off your 5k time. However, getting out in front of a big mass start also helps you avoid getting caught in "traffic", which can really bog you down.