For lap time I don’t think there’s a difference either way, so the change would only affect full ILs? And for some tracks like Tour 1 Town Center I think it’s actually better for a full level run to start last to get the boost pad. For consistency’s sake, I’d support switching to practice position, but as someone with only unverified runs so far, I’ll defer to whatever you more experienced runners decide.

Yeah, there's definitely merit to both--obviously practice position is easier to practice, but 1st place does have a much lower in-game timer, which is all that matters in the current rules. I noticed that all of the first IL runs from Pokehero are all taken out of a single full-game run, so it makes sense that he'd have 1st place already carried over every time. Separating that run into ILs seemed like more of a way to quickly build out the speedrun categories rather than special dedication to each level.

In contrast, newer runs from Vu16 are all from practice position, since it's easier to optimize repeated runs without worrying about starting placement. And you have some very good runs with each of the two approaches. Personally, I like 10th better because it makes it easier to practice, but I can't deny the difference in time between the two. I think for now I'll stick with practice position, but if a mod confirms that starting 1st is a valid approach, I'll switch over.

I’ve started running a few individual tracks, and was wondering if there should be any specification of which position to start the race in? I’m very new to the community so I’m not sure what the usual protocol is. A few records save a couple seconds by starting in 1st place instead of 10th (Tour 1 tracks 3/4 for example). Not trying to question any runs, just trying to figure out how I should practice these!