I think “Front of Pack” means that, at some point, you have to be “A Person to Beat”- maybe “THE Person to Beat.”
I can’t see how you can be the Front without actually having a chance to be at the front of something.I agree with this… the difference between top 5% and top 15% is huge and if you’re just inside the top 15% you’re usually nowhere near the front of the race. I’ve been top 5% in IM and an hour behind the winner - so even there calling myself front of the pack would be quite the exaggeration. I think FOP are the group of people contending for the podium (in a race with many participants).