Didn't quite go as well as I'd hoped, but I'll absolutely take the big pr and top 5 finish. Got off to a really shaky start. Wasn't prepared for the gun to go off, and then I got tripped up from behind and nearly hit the ground during the first 100m. Still got into a good position heading onto the oval, and pushed towards the front going down the frisbee hill. Legs took a big hit coming back up it, and I slid back to the back of the front pack. When we got onto the oval though, the guys in the front were taking it way too slow, so I made an aggressive move around the outside to put myself into the lead. Led us through the rest of the oval and stayed at the front all the way down the path. Legs took another big hit going up the hill right after the sand hill, and I slipped from the front to the back of the pack again. It was here that the front pack started stringing out. Naren and the denison guys pushed the front with Zach and "Mark" close behind. The rest of us were chasing. Those five put some solid distance on me for the first half of the way back, but I started to chip away at it throughout the second. Pushed myself through that final brutal hill before the oval and caught Mark quickly on the oval. Used up all I had left to make a move and catch Zach as we entered the final straightaway, but he had a little bit left to finish me off at the end. I feel pretty happy with this performance. I put myself out there in a position to win just like I had wanted even if I couldn't quite get it done in the end. The 27s course pr feels really good too. Splits: 5:13, 5:09, 5:15, 5:33, 5:14