CULCAIRN defender Jesse Sutherland likes to have a good time over the off-season.
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Always has, always will.
But Sutherland also prides himself on playing good football and the thought of struggling for fitness in the early rounds of another season got the better of him.
So on January 2 he started running.
Sutherland soon set himself the daunting challenge of competing in his first marathon with the 29-year-old targeting last weekend's Murray Marathon in Albury.
"I've had pretty shocking history with pre-seasons over the years so it was two-fold," Sutherland said.
"Firstly I didn't want to turn into a slug and secondly it would keep me in good nick for round one.
"I wanted to get the monkey off my back.
"Normally I'm still blowing a gale until round six or seven of the season and I thought this would be a good way to keep on top of that."
Sutherland admitted Josh Hillary had a slightly bewildered look on his face when he first broached the subject of running a marathon.
The fact the 42.2-kilometre race was only a week before Saturday's season opener against Osborne complicated matters.
"I've been at Culcairn since 'Bocky' (Adam Eady) was coaching and my history off the track is horrendous," he said.
"I get on it, carry on, put the weight on and enjoy Christmas a bit too much.
"I just said to Josh that it was a perfect opportunity for me to prove myself that I can stay true to myself and focus on footy.
"He was great, he was all for it."
Sutherland finished the race in 3 hours, 22 minutes and admits seeing some of his Culcairn teammates cheering him on near the finish line was a huge boost.
He has dropped from 89kg to 77kg in the past 12 months.
Sutherland is far from finished with running with the Lion entering the Great Ocean Road Ultra Marathon during the inter-league weekend in May.
He has also put his training blog - Marathon-Me - on facebook.
"I was a bit ginger on Monday but went for a run on Tuesday," he said.
"When everyone is blowing on Saturday hopefully I'm feeling alright.
"I'm still under 30 so I want to do well why I have the mechanics."
Originally from Walla, Sutherland moved to the Northern Territory through employment with the army before returning to the Border and aligning himself with Culcairn.
He played in division one NT side Banks Bulldogs' flag in 2015.
Sutherland's focus has quickly turned to lining up for Culcairn against Osborne at Osborne on Saturday.
"He's an 11 out of 10," Hillary said.
"Jesse's one of those blokes who has a lot of respect.
"He's got right into his running because he wanted to get the best out of himself and you've got to admire that."
