diff --git a/pyvows/runner/gevent.py b/pyvows/runner/gevent.py
index 49d3ff6..b317fe2 100644
--- a/pyvows/runner/gevent.py
+++ b/pyvows/runner/gevent.py
@@ -94,13 +94,13 @@ def _run_setup_and_topic(ctx_obj, index):
 
             try:
                 topic_func = ctx_obj.topic
+                if topic_func is None:
+                    return None
+
                 topic_list = get_topics_for(topic_func, ctx_obj)
 
                 start_time = time.time()
 
-                if topic_func is None:
-                    return None
-
                 topic = topic_func(*topic_list)
                 ctx_result['topic_elapsed'] = elapsed(start_time)
                 return topic