Bolton in name and in deed - that was the case for the Bombers' number 23 at Princes Park this morning. Mark Bolton looked supremely fit and ran accordingly, bolting in the team's 3.2km time trial which was staged at 8.00am today. Close behind him in second position was the skipper James Hird and spearhead Matthew Lloyd. Adam McPhee, Jason Winderlich and Jason Johnson also recorded fast times. The surprise packet of the time trial was the performance of ruckmen Matthew Allan and David Hille.

Those who didn't see the start of the run may have thought Allan and Hille had recorded the fastest time given they crossed the finish line first. However, the duo started in the first group, one minute ahead of the group containing Bolton, Hird, Lloyd and the like. According to fitness coach John Quinn it was still a fantastic effort by the two ruckmen. ""We set the players off in two groups one minute a part. Even though Allan and Hille started in the first group, they still recorded times in the top 10, which was impressive,"" Quinn said.

Allan is no stranger to running around Princes Park and he was pleased with his performance in the time trial. ""I have done a little bit of work over the break, but I still have a lot of work to do though. Coming to a new club it is not easy and there is a lot of people you want to impress, so as I said I am just going to try and fit in as best I can and get the work done,"" Allan said. ""The facilities at Essendon are fantastic and if I could have picked a club it would have been Essendon and I am just absolutely thrilled to be here. The people have been fantastic so far.""

Other news from the time trial:

Adam Ramanauskas completed the time trial. He ran in the second group and finished midway in the pack.

New recruits Justin Murphy and Mark Alvey both ran well and finished in the top 15.

After being sidelined for most of 2002, youngster Jason Winderlich finished in the top five, which capped off a good week for the 19-year-old, who recorded one of the fastest times in the speed test on Tuesday.

Dean Solomon, Damien Peverill and Marc Bullen were the only three players not to run. Solomon returns from London at the end of this week and will commence training on Monday. Bullen and Peverill are both on modified programs for the interim.

James Hird has finished second in the time trial in consecutive years. Last year rookie Scott Howard took the honours and this year he was pipped by Mark Bolton.