MONTREAL — They may never write stories about her health again.

Bleary-eyed and freezing, a group of journalists was forced to follow Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois for her regular morning walk under a dark pre-dawn sky.

Marois had been frustrated by stories that she was too tired to run a decent campaign, and that she had cut back on evening events to deal with her fatigue.

So she challenged her tormentors to join her for her daily walk -- and they were compelled to oblige.

The 59-year-old politician was followed by a group of reporters and camerapeople as she began her march up Montreal's Mount Royal at 5:45 a.m., with only the moon piercing the near-total darkness.

It was a surreal scene.

Marois put on her iPod and listened to tunes while several panting members of the media struggled to keep up with her brisk pace.

She occasionally tossed a taunt their way during the half-hour walk.

"I'm still here!" she shouted back at one point.

When someone asked why she was doing this to them Marois replied: "Because all of you thought I was sick."

At the end of the walk, she told the assembled throng that she hoped their little field trip would turn the page on any questions about her health.