Medal contender Jessica Hull knows she needs to be ready for anything as the world's best middle-distance runners search for a way to take down the remarkable Faith Kipyegon in Budapest.
The Kenyan is the prohibitive favourite to do the 1500m-5000m double at the world championships, having smashed the world records in both of those events - along with the mile - in a remarkable seven-week stretch earlier this year.
Hull was in the field in Florence on June 2 when Kipyegon became the first woman to break the 3:50 barrier in the 1500m, with the Australian dragged through to a national record.
The 26-year-old from Wollongong will double up in the same events as Kipyegon in the Hungarian capital, but her clear priority is the 1500m, beginning with the heats on Saturday.
"It's incredible what Faith is doing, but we have to try, we can't just let her run away with it, although being the athlete that she is right now the reality is she is going to run away it," Hull told reporters in Budapest.
"But I think what you're starting to see from the likes of Laura Muir, Ciara Mageean, myself and definitely the Ethiopian women is we're not afraid to have a go, even if it means our last 400 is pretty rough and pretty painful and not very glamorous.
"Championships racing is very different and we haven't seen Faith race tactically for a long time; she's always been out the front so I think she'll run like that here as well.
"But at a championships with the tactics involved, anything can happen."
A case in point was last year's world championships final in Eugene, when the Ethiopians led the field through the opening lap in a blistering 58 seconds.
Dual Olympic and world gold medallist Kipyegon was still able to regroup and take the win - with Hull back in seventh.
But the message was clear - expect the unexpected.
"I would not be surprised if the Ethiopians went down the route of not necessarily boxing (Kipyegon) in, but just working really hard together to put a bit of a chaotic race together," said Hull.
"That's been the trend from Ethiopian competitors over the last two years; it's not very calculated.
"It's very chaotic and it just kind of disrupts the whole field."
Hull is in the last of four 1500m heats on day one of the championships, with the first six runners in each race advancing to the semis.
Current national record holder Linden Hall and Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell are also targeting spots in the final in an event where Australia boasts enviable strength in depth.
