I know that not all of you are racing this one but these ideas still apply to other 5K’s. My friend Tara had a race last Wednesday evening but was not optimistic about racing in the evening after a hard days work. I recommended that for the first mile that she just concentrate on form and fluidity and forget everything else. Then at the 1 mile mark pick up the effort and again at the 2 mile mark and finally an all out drive for the last 1/10 of a mile and past the finish line. She wound up beating her pre-race goal by 1 minute and 17 seconds.
The Master’s Challenge course starts near Parking lot 6  and heads north towards Rt 202. I would guess that the mile mark will be near Parking lot 4 so there is a tough hill at the end of that 1st mile. Relax don’t race up that really tough hill. There will be a turnaround and my guess is that it will be near Parking lot 1. Immediately after the turnaround take 3 quick strides to get you back to race speed more rapidly. The two mile mark should be back near Parking lot 4 so after that use your downhill form going down that that hill and try to keep that faster pace when you get to the bottom and to the 3 mile mark. The last 1/10th has a short but nasty hill going up into Parking lot 6. Drive with your arms and pick up your knees, it will only hurt  for less than a minute.
Remember, relax that 1st mile and let the other racers pull you along then start picking them off after mile 1.