Yay, finally a classic race! We raced after sunset starting at 5pm on the lit trails. They needed some more climbing to create a race course, so they added two big hills using supplementary lighting. One of the generators died just before the start, so one of the swooping downhills corners was totally dark. I made it through that section in warmup by snowplowing, but I wondered how I could carry speed through there during the race. They ended up parking two snowmobiles so that their headlights illuminated the trail, and I easily got through there during the race.
Just before my start time, I went inside to get changed into the clothes I was going to race in. I used a borrowed Casco visor since I didn't have a clear lens for my glasses and it was snowing lightly. I had turned down the offer of a good quality headlamp, thinking that it would be uncomfortable and would only help a little bit. But, in a quick decision, I grabbed my Tikka 3-LED headlamp and wore that for the race. It was useful since there were some dark sections and it also helped me see the track better. The track was not very solid, and as more skiers stumbled around in the dark it only got worse.
My first two laps of 3.9km went exactly as planned, except for the starter sending me early. My start time was 5:45:15, but the starter began his countdown at :05; 5,4,3,2,1,GO! I hesitated slightly since the clock was showing 5:45:10, but then figured I might as well go. I heard the starter say "oh, I started that guy early". He might have been thrown off slightly since the guy in front of me did not show up. Half way up the first climb, I got a split that I was the leader, which was no surprise given that I started 5 seconds early! I was still the leader at the next split station and soon I was through the traffic of early starters that were a lap ahead of me. I had started controlled, which is exactly what I wanted to do.
At 6k I got a split that I was 14 seconds off the lead and in 3rd place. But, a lap later, at 10km, I got that down to 9 seconds and I pushed a little harder up the next hill. Unfortunately, I started to tire, and it really showed in the easier parts of the course. I didn't carry my speed as well and I started losing time to the others. The last lap I had a good push up the hills, but was wobbly on the downhills and fell on a tricky corner in the last kilometer. I probably lost about 10-15 seconds, but I still managed to finish ahead of a group of guys by only a few seconds.
Overall it was my best distance race so far and showed signs of good things to come in classic races. Two minutes behind the winner in 11th place was a decent showing.
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