And so it was that when the cameras and journalists gathered for Carlton's time trial around Visy Park, Chris Judd dug deep and won it.
It wasn't the first running event of the pre-season, but it was the one that counted most, and so Judd crossed the line first -- as simple as that.
His time of 10m 33s was a fair way short of the record 9m 50s held by Adrian Gleeson, but the position was more important than what was showing on the clock.
Before it began the smart money was on Andrew Walker, the club's best runner. But as Judd explained, he wasn't interested in letting that happen on Monday.
"It was just good that we both ran pretty good times – 'Walks' got me in the other three running tests in the pre-season so far, but there were no cameras there, so I probably shouldn't have mentioned it," he said with a laugh.
"He's come back really fit, and he's got explosive speed as well as endurance, so he's one the players who you'd expected to have a really good year this year if everything goes right for him."
Judd was the big story of last summer as he moved from West Coast to Carlton, but his ability to get stuck in at his new club was hurt by an operation that followed a season of fighting injury.
The 25-year-old said it was great to be able to hit the track at the same time as his teammates this time around.
"When you move to a new club, you want to make a good impression as soon as you can, and probably that was one of the difficult things last summer. But to be able to come back here and do all the running work straight away is a bonus."
Despite the break, the players looked extremely fit and the Brownlow Medallist confirmed that the team was in good nick.
"It was good to get back into it, and to see a lot of the players run PBs (personal bests) was exciting for this time of the year.
"So far everyone's come back in good shape – it makes a big difference.
"Instead of having to flog blokes, it probably gives the fitness staff a bit more flexibility to work on specific areas of focus rather than just trying to get as much work in as possible.
"So it's good, and it certainly makes for a more enjoyable summer."
