The length of the wire run does no affect the maximum current that can be carried, it does however cause a voltage drop which needs to be calculated, if the run is too long the voltage under full load will drop, this can be very bad for electric motors if the voltage drop is too much. There are calculators out there that allow you to figurethe voltage drop at a rated current over a given size of wire.
smanches to think of the reason why the wire length doesn't effect the current they figure the thickness of wire for the wire based on power dissipation over a small length of wire. If that power dissipation is too high the wire will melt, if it's in the right range it'll just heat slightly, how long the wire doesn't matter, though the increased overall power dissipation will cause the voltage to drop. The amperage ratings for housing wiring are based on standard home construction methods to keep heating in the walls from getting too high.
Higher pulse currents will not harm an outlet or the wiring as long as they are short, however they may trip the breaker, the higher over 100% of a breakers rated current you go the faster it will trip so it depends on what your starting current actually is. Since this is a starting current issue I'm assuming the load is a motor? You have to keep in mind what might happen if the motor is stalled with a locked rotor, basically the starting current would be stuck on. If your buildings electrical system is designed properly it should do nothing more than trip the breaker, but do not allow this to occur.