This was kind of silly, but in 1989 there was this road race in Atlanta called Run for Life. It's usually a 5k/10k (still, I think), but this year was only a 5k and had a good bit of prize money. It was probably one of the best non-Peachtree races in the state ever.
Anyway, guys were milling about at a fairly chaotic starting line scene just a few minutes before the race and the starter is giving instructions. Only problem is that his megaphone was on the "whisper" setting and almost no one was hearing it. I was one of the very few that was paying attention (he was standing close to me). In these final seconds, I got a nasty and rather stupid notion.
So he ends up giving a "ready, set, go" or something that hardly anyone hears and I sprinted out ahead of everyone. This field included guys like Brantley, John Tuttle, local star Arega Abraha and a bunch of good SE runners, but for several hundred yards I was kicking everyone's butt. I heard later that Branley had his BACK to the starting line when the gun went off.
Fortunately, I reined it in soon enough so my race wasn't totally ruined. I let the pack pass me before the mile (4:37 for me) and wound up 18th in 14:37 (still a PR!), while Tuttle set a state record 13:45 (four at 14:01 or better and many more under 14:10).
No big deal, but it was just a hoot that it happened like that. I probably shoulda said something to the starter, but I got greedy.