I did my first mass start race in 2 years yesterday. Considering I really haven't even done any group rides in that time (maybe 3 times with 3 or 4 guys) either the race went about as well as you could expect. I actually won this race a few years ago in a lower category by lapping the field in a 3 man break, but yesterday was very different. I did the 45+ and spent most of the race trying to get some race/pack skills back and wasted so much energy. I can't count how many times I moved up on the outside instead of up through the pack. We've only had 3 mass starts in our district this year, so the group was a mix of those who had traveled to race and those of us who hadn't. There ended up being one crash and what looked like a broken collar bone and a few sketchy corners, but I managed to stay upright and finish mid-pack.
And that was the last race of the season as well, so it's on to the offseason.