Each time Kildare footballers run on to the field at Croke Park they create the same impression. Lean and cut, loose and mobile, their fitness never ceases to inspire. Glance around and it looks like any one of them could crack the four-minute mile.
Throughout the 70 minutes, none of them will stop running. Even those suspected of the higher mileage and well-burned engines. The likes of Willie McCreery. He'll be the oldest man on the field tomorrow but if the GAA statisticians could somehow measure the yardage covered by each individual player, expect McCreery to top the list.
Over the last five years of Kildare's magical mystery tour, little has changed about McCreery's feel for the game. He roams the pitch and chases the ball, so much so that he'll even compare himself to the innocent approach of a child. Just follow the ball wherever it goes and try to mark your man when you're off it.
Yet his effect is always the same. Key distribution from the very back to the very front, picking off scores when he can. Against Dublin a fortnight ago, he scored the first and last point, but more importantly, led the second-half turnaround at midfield that ultimately destroyed the opposition.
And of course there was 1998. In the previous few years, McCreery had to be content with a place on the bench behind Sean McGovern but his patience and persistence would now pay off. Against Meath in the Leinster final, he chipped two precious points. Kerry also found his penetration too much to handle. Only in the All-Ireland final, with Galway's Kevin Walsh in total tune with his goalkeeper Martin McNamara, was McCreery's influence restricted for the first time that summer.
The run-up to this championship wasn't ideal. A stubborn knee injury required a few weeks total rest over the winter and it still causes the odd wince. Then word came through that his reliable comrade Niall Buckley was staying in Chicago and the stability of midfield was starting to look suspect.
Yet Louth, Offaly and Dublin all came and went while McCreery is still running. Defying his 32 years, some people might say. But it's not that he's turned back the clock, it's just that his engine has been spared quite a few miles. As a youngster playing with Clane, he impressed enough to be called up for the minors but almost immediately departed to Australia to work with horses. From there, he spent time in Japan and the USA, eventually returning some six years later with all the hunger of a teenager.
Breaking into the Kildare panel after such a long-term sabbatical was greatly assisted by his natural fitness. "From an early age he's been very athletic," says current selector Paddy Byrne. "He is the kind of guy who always takes care of himself and shows 100 per cent commitment to training, even in the off season.
"And a lot of the hard training comes quite easy to him anyway. During those hard stamina sessions over the winter, he would always be out in front, and he has no problem putting in time in the gym as well."
Standing 6 ft 1 ins, yet well under 12 stone, McCreery once tried his luck in becoming a jockey. But he had too much athletic talent to ignore. As a 10-year-old he won a gold medal over 200 metres at the Community Games and a few people around the Straffan region figured he had a future as a distance runner.
"He has the most amazing stamina," says Martin Lynch, one of his revolving midfield partners this summer. "If you watch him in a game, he will always be in the places he is supposed to be, but then pop up again seconds later in a completely different part of the pitch."
Still his love of horses persists. His father, the late Peter McCreery, was one of the country's leading horse trainers and the establishment in Clane is now run by another son, Peter. McCreery now serves as an assistant trainer in the Curragh stables of Charles O'Brien, son of the great MV O'Brien, and he can talk with honest familiarity about winning trainers in Australia, Japan and beyond. He has been forced to back off somewhat from his playing hours with Clane, but he has already helped them to three county titles in recent years.
On the field, when he runs at the defence, anything is possible. At the end of this year's league campaign, when Kildare were battling against Meath to prevent relegation, McCreery was sprung from the bench despite an obvious lack of fitness and made an immediate contribution to the cause. The better memory from that day, however, was how warmly his entrance was greeted by the Kildare supporters.
For a couple years there, he would slot in at half back but now his positioning is perfect. "He has that vision," says Byrne. "No matter where he is on the field he is able to scan around and read the game. Playing at midfield is definitely the best place for him and he is a great judge of the ball.
"But he's definitely the character of the team as well. He always keeps the other players in check, whether it means slagging them off or whatever. If there's any tension in the air before a big match he can break it straight away."
Tomorrow, Dermot Earley will stand beside him for the throw-in - one of his more recognisable team-mates. On All-Ireland Sunday two years back, it was McCreery who chipped the cocky pass over Martin McNamara's head to set up Earley's goal. Ronan Sweeney has also shared his shadow in the championship.
There's a growing white hype around the county these days, but none of it is likely to have an effect on the steely confidence of McCreery. The towering Sean O Domhnaill will be nothing new to his list of opposition but there is more uncertainty about how the young Joe Bergin will adapt to the heat of Croke Park. McCreery anyway is sure to take it in his stride.
