the first few races I entered were informal affairs so places werent that important. I wish it was still that way sometimes. no turbo trainers and heart monitors etc.
my best result in a proper race was 34th out of 100 or so, beating Rob Warner and a few other 'big' names. but only because it started pissing it down about 2 minutes after my run and everybody else crashed.
I used ride with a guy who was nicknamed DNF because he never once made it to the bottom of Fort Bill or Dunners. Well, people who liked him called him that. the rest werent so kind.