TOM Bugg, Nathan Jones and Alex Neal-Bullen have finished first, second and third respectively in Melbourne’s first three-km time-trial of the pre-season.
The run was held at Princes Park in Carlton North on Wednesday morning.
For Neal-Bullen, it was his best result yet at Melbourne.
“It’s the first one for the pre-season and it’s probably the best one I’ve had at the club. It’s always good to get it over and done with because there are always a little bit of nerves before the run,” he told Melbourne TV.
“Tommy Bugg set a good pace to start with, so it’s always good having someone in front that you can chase.
“[Bugg] and the skipper, Nathan Jones was out the front and they set a good pace and [I] ended up at the 1.5km [mark] running 4:55 and then I came home strong and finished with a sub 10, so it was a good run there.”
Neal-Bullen said the mental battle was the biggest hurdle in the time-trial.
“You go into the run [thinking] that you’ll be able to do it, but it’s always going to be a hard run,” he said.
“There is never an easy three-km [run], so it’s more the mental ability you have to keep pushing when you’re feeling very fatigued.
“[Elite performance manager] Dave Misson said that when he was at St Kilda, some of their boys used to get more nervous for the three-km [time-trial] than for the Grand Final, so everyone’s different.
“It’s more a nerve-racking experience than anything. You don’t really doubt yourself – it’s more about getting out there and pushing through.”
Several big men were rested from the time-trial.
Key defender Tom McDonald, who normally finishes in the top three, was one big man who didn’t run it, due to a modified program.
Neal-Bullen said McDonald was usually 20 metres ahead of the pack.
“It was a bit more of an even race [without McDonald running],” he said.
“It was good to be able to have a few out the front, pushing each other along.”
Neal-Bullen also had some support at the finish line with his mum Sharon watching on.
“Mum came down – she always loves these events, so it was good for her to show some support down here,” he said.
