The importance of the start comes in when there are 500 clothing bags to
move to the finish. If we have the same start and finish, we don't have to
move them. If the finish is 1K from the start we've got to move them. Not
a major problem but just one more thing to get volunteers for. Also I know
many people like starting and finishing in the same spot. You don't have to
worry about cramming all your gear into a bag that will break, you can bring
an extra pair of skis to test and you can leave your bag-o-stuff where ever
you want. BUT I agree with Jay that no matter what the start is like, there
will likely be some kind of tangle up, the narrower the area the greater the
chance the tangle is larger.

Dave,

Going back to the 23 km Seeley Hills race....the start line is a solid
km from the finish line. They used to start and finish the race in the
same general area (a few hundred feet apart), but some of the starters
were on the flats, and the others were on a definite uphill. Because
of the hill at the old start, they moved the start. Now after
finishing, you have to make an effort to ski to the finish before you
lose your body temp. (Most strip off their warmups at the start
because the lineup starts early.) So no need for you to move the bags,
simply have a few people at the finish reminding people to fetch their
warmups before they freeze their gonads. Nobody blinks an eye at the
separate start and finish at this race. In fact there's no clothing
bags, just warmups tossed in various places. It's a pain to choose
skis 45 min before a classic race with temps rising quick, but people
do it. If you spread the word on the reason for the separate start and
finish at your race, the racers should roll with it.

Jay