User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 388: Erza vs. Minerva, Review and Commentary/@comment-77.195.192.29-20140613095302/@comment-7418318-20140613100250

The Exceeds are probably the reason why the Dragon Slayers arrived ahead of the other Sabertooth members.

Flying is faster than running unless you have a magic or magic item like Jet and Coco.