diff --git a/.github/actions/test/action.yml b/.github/actions/test/action.yml
index 622b934..61dfe13 100644
--- a/.github/actions/test/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/test/action.yml
@@ -66,14 +66,6 @@ runs:
         echo "HTTP_SERVER_PID=$!" >> $GITHUB_ENV
         sleep 4  # give server time to start
 
-    - name: Doctests
-      shell: bash
-      working-directory: ${{ inputs.pyshp_repo_directory }}
-      env:
-        REPLACE_REMOTE_URLS_WITH_LOCALHOST: ${{ inputs.replace_remote_urls_with_localhost }}
-      run: python shapefile.py ${{ inputs.extra_args }}
-
-
     - name: Download wheel and sdist (built in previous jobs)
       uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
       with:
@@ -87,6 +79,13 @@ runs:
         WHEEL_NAME=$(ls pyshp-*py3-none-any.whl)
         python -m pip install $WHEEL_NAME[test]
 
+    - name: Doctests
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.pyshp_repo_directory }}
+      env:
+        REPLACE_REMOTE_URLS_WITH_LOCALHOST: ${{ inputs.replace_remote_urls_with_localhost }}
+      run: python test_shapefile.py ${{ inputs.extra_args }}
+
     - name: Show Python and Pytest versions for logs.
       shell: bash
       run: |
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index caf5f33..a8ed822 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1446,7 +1446,7 @@ ESRI White Paper](http://downloads.esri.com/support/whitepapers/ao_/J9749_MultiP
 The testing framework is pytest, and the tests are located in test_shapefile.py.
 This includes an extensive set of unit tests of the various pyshp features,
 and tests against various input data.
-In the same folder as README.md and shapefile.py, from the command line run
+In the same folder as README.md and shapefile.py, from the command line run:
 
 ```shell
 python -m pytest
@@ -1455,12 +1455,21 @@ python -m pytest
 Additionally, all the code and examples located in this file, README.md,
 is tested and verified with the builtin doctest framework.
 A special routine for invoking the doctest is run when calling directly on shapefile.py.
-In the same folder as README.md and shapefile.py, from the command line run
+In the same folder as README.md and shapefile.py, from the command line run:
 
 ```shell
 python shapefile.py
 ```
 
+This tests the code inside shapefile.py itself.  To test an installed PyShp wheel against
+the doctests, the same special routine can be invoked (in an env with the wheel and pytest
+installed) from the test file:
+
+
+```shell
+python test_shapefile.py
+```
+
 Linux/Mac and similar platforms may need to run `$ dos2unix README.md` in order
 to correct line endings in README.md, if Git has not automatically changed them.
 
@@ -1497,8 +1506,6 @@ REPLACE_REMOTE_URLS_WITH_LOCALHOST=yes && python shapefile.py
 The network tests alone can also be run (without also running all the tests that don't
 make network requests) using: `pytest -m network` (or the doctests using: `python shapefile.py -m network`).
 
-(*) The steps to host the files using Caddy for PYthon 2 are in ./actions/test/action.yml.  For reasons as
-yet unknown, shapefile.py's Reader class in Python 2 Pytest, can't connect to a Python 2 SimpleHTTPServer.
 
 
 # Contributors
diff --git a/pytest.ini b/pytest.ini
index dbc031b..39fbfae 100644
--- a/pytest.ini
+++ b/pytest.ini
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 [pytest]
 markers =
     network: marks tests requiring network access
+    slow: marks other tests that cause bottlenecks
diff --git a/shapefile.py b/shapefile.py
index 1f8bbf8..4d5ad68 100644
--- a/shapefile.py
+++ b/shapefile.py
@@ -2979,10 +2979,14 @@ def summarize(self):
     return failure_count
 
 
-if __name__ == "__main__":
+def main():
     """
     Doctests are contained in the file 'README.md', and are tested using the built-in
     testing libraries.
     """
     failure_count = _test()
     sys.exit(failure_count)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/test_shapefile.py b/test_shapefile.py
index 5f9b855..04994af 100644
--- a/test_shapefile.py
+++ b/test_shapefile.py
@@ -982,6 +982,7 @@ def test_record_oid():
             assert shaperec.record.oid == i
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_iterRecords_start_stop():
     """
     Assert that Reader.iterRecords(start, stop)
@@ -1850,3 +1851,9 @@ def test_write_empty_shapefile(tmpdir, shape_type):
         assert len(r.records()) == 0
         # test shapes are empty
         assert len(r.shapes()) == 0
+
+
+# This allows a PyShp wheel installed in the env to be tested
+# against the doctests.
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    shapefile.main()