Australian Lauren Ryan certainly didn't expect to be leading the star-studded Olympic 10,000m final just past the halfway point.
It was something of a shock to her coach too.
In the pack behind her was world record holder Beatrice Chebet - who would go on to win the gold - Dutch superstar Sifan Hassan and the best Ethiopians and Kenyans.
Ryan's turn at the front only lasted for little more than a lap and she eventually finished 13th - still the second-best result by an Australian woman in an Olympic 10,000m.
And she had a ball.
"Everything was in place to have a great race and I feel like that's what we did," said the 26-year-old Ryan, who spent several years in the US college system representing Florida State University.
"We executed the race as well as we could have, except my coach (Lara Rogers) was probably like 'don't lead it'.
"But I felt comfortable enough to do it and I thought it paid off because we lost a bunch of girls and it made the pack a lot smaller when we got to the end.
"So I'm really happy."
Ryan had previously seen herself as more of a 5000m runner, although she showed her proficiency over the longer distance when she broke the national record with a time of 30:35.66 in California in March.
She jumped at the chance to double up in Paris and was also pleased with her efforts in the 5000m, even though she didn't get out of the opening round.
Kenya's Chebet powered home to win the Olympic 10,000m title in 30 minutes 43.25 seconds, just ahead of surprise silver medallist Nadia Battocletti from Italy (30:43.35) and Hassan (30:44.12).
The US-based Ryan - a Victorian who now lives in Baltimore - was 13th in 31:23.15, the fastest time by an Australian woman at an Olympics.
Only Eloise Wellings, who was 10th eight years ago in Rio, has finished higher.
