diff --git a/initialize/config.go b/initialize/config.go
index 68391c2..448632e 100644
--- a/initialize/config.go
+++ b/initialize/config.go
@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ func Apply(cfg config.CloudConfig, ifaces []network.InterfaceGenerator, env *Env
 		}
 	}
 
+	for _, cmdline := range cfg.RunCMD {
+		prog := strings.Fields(cmdline)[0]
+		args := strings.Fields(cmdline)[1:]
+		exec.Command(prog, args...).Run()
+	}
+
 	lockf := path.Join(env.Workspace(), ".lock")
 
 	if _, err = os.Stat(lockf); err == nil {
@@ -72,12 +78,6 @@ func Apply(cfg config.CloudConfig, ifaces []network.InterfaceGenerator, env *Env
 		log.Printf("Set hostname to %s", cfg.Hostname)
 	}
 
-	for _, cmdline := range cfg.RunCMD {
-		prog := strings.Fields(cmdline)[0]
-		args := strings.Fields(cmdline)[1:]
-		exec.Command(prog, args...).Run()
-	}
-
 	for _, user := range cfg.Users {
 		if user.Name == "" {
 			log.Printf("User object has no 'name' field, skipping")