Find time before contest (5)
I believe the answer is:
trace
'find' is the definition.
(I know that trace is a more specific form of the action find)
'time before contest' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'contest' becomes 'race' (race is a kind of contest).
't'+'race'='TRACE'
(Other definitions for trace that I've seen before include "a little bit" , "Skimpy garment" , "Discover whereabouts" , "description of some elements?" , "Make a copy using semi-transparent paper" .)