diff --git a/src/backend/scheduler.cc b/src/backend/scheduler.cc
index fcff134..2d34a40 100644
--- a/src/backend/scheduler.cc
+++ b/src/backend/scheduler.cc
@@ -205,14 +205,15 @@ Scheduler::step_forward(History& history, Policy& cpu_policy) throw(UserInterrup
 			// its allotted time
 			if(current.get_state() == Schedulable::state_running)
 				{
+					assert(running_thread == NULL); // ... and one to bind them all.
+					running_thread = &current; // Even if we change its state to terminate
+
 					// increasing the time elapsed of the running thread + process 
 					// should  be done here as the first thing, instead than 
 					// directly after selecting them
 					if(current.get_total_cpu_time() - current.get_elapsed_time() > 0)
 						running_thread->decrease_remaining_time();
 
-					assert(running_thread == NULL); // ... and one to bind them all.
-					running_thread = &current; // Even if we change its state to terminated
 					// 2. mark threads that used all their allotted time as terminated
 					if(current.get_total_cpu_time() - current.get_elapsed_time() == 0)
 						current.set_state(Schedulable::state_terminated);