A bowl filled with steaming Pho broth.
Thinly sliced steak bubbling underneath the surface. Thin rice noodles mixed between. Lime wedges. Sprinkles of scallions and cilantro trimmed to perfection. Sliced Jalapeños.
And the cherry on top: Sriracha mixed with Stir Fry sauce.
That's this week's Tasty Race Tuesday: a meal that's both sweet, and spicy. A meal that makes your mouth water from the first scent, and to the last bite.
A meal that's making my mouth water just writing it out.
And that's the 300 hurdles from the 24th Mullen Invitational.
There's the sweetness of the early strides that make you want more. And then there's the spicyness of that final 100 meters that'll leave a ting in your mouth because it was blazing.
Kimora Northrup found herself in a very unfamiliar position.
Three hurdles into the 300H and she was being passed on the inside.
Mullen's Kilah Freelon and Valor Christian's Kylie Bahr had already made up the stagger, and were gliding by the defending 4A state champion.
By the fourth hurdle Northrup was eyeing the backs of Freelon and Bahr, and Freelon only extended her lead heading into the fifth hurdle - she was nearly a full stride ahead of Northrup.
But Northrup did what every state champion knows: you've got to keep your cool when the race heats up.
(When you take a bite out of hot jalapeño, quickly fill your mouth with a load of rice noodles and thin steak.)
The Niwot junior went to the arms, pumping furiously into the final straight like a prizefighter. Northrup torched the last 100 meters - with three hurdles - just over 14-seconds.
The reward?
A state-leading 43.87.