Wellington Firebirds have been put through their paces during their annual 'Mt Vic Burn' fitness test in the capital.
The test requires the players to do a 20km bike, followed by an 8km run around Oriental Bay, then to the top of Mt Victoria.
"It's a great opportunity to have a shared experience and everyone bonds a bit," Firebirds captain Michael Bracewell tells Newshub.
"It's one of those ones you've just got to try and get through, and you sort of black out and there you are at the top."
Friday's event was the fifth time the Firebirds have participated, with batsman Andrew Fletcher taking out honours in just over an hour.
"It was pretty tough," Fletcher tells Newshub from the top of Mt Victoria. "They are never easy, but always good to be finished."
The Firebirds play their first pre-season matches next week, with some inter-squad fixtures, as they prepare for the Plunket Shield.
"The schedule coming out does give us some certainty," Bracewell says. "In the world that we are in at the moment, anything can change.
"We've had a long pre-season - a lot of net training, a lot of indoor work," says batsman Devon Conway. "It will be really awesome to have that opportunity to get out into the middle.
Conway, who is now eligible to play for the Blackcaps, was the standout batsman of the 2019 domestic season, but he's not thinking too far ahead on national selection.
"I just want to stay in the moment," he says. "I'm looking forward to that first Plunket Shield match and then we take it step-by-step from then on."
