This race was sizzle-ing!
And when I write "sizzling" I'm hearing a steaming steak buzz in my ears.
You hear it too, don't you?
From the opening strides of the girl's race at the Colorado 5A Region 5 Cross Country it was clear we had a real burner on our hands.
Valor Christian's Brooke Wilson set a hot early and was flanked by teammate Keeghan Edwards, and Air Academy's Bethany Michalak, with teammate Tessa Walter several strides back.
In other words, four of the top-13 ranked girls in Colorado were battling it out on the course.
And this course - the Monument Valley Park - has seen some great athletes.
By the end of this one we'd see a shakeup in the venue records.
Wilson and Michalak had separated from their chasers by mile-two. From the side of the course you could feel the intensity of the battle being waged out on the course by two girls who have raced each other many times over the years.
This race needed some relief, and it would take the entire final 1.1 miles to get it.
As the two pumped their way up the hill just after two miles it appeared that Wilson was stretching that invisible tether that binds two runners together onwards into the final mile.
One stride turned into two, and two in four.
With a quarter-mile to go, Wilson held just under four-seconds of a lead on Michalak.
But Michalak is no stranger to this course. It's her favorite, in fact. And she found another gear.
Literally.
The Air Academy junior torched the final 400 meters. She made up the deficit - she caught Wilson with real estate to spare.
Did someone say Kick of the Week?
When Michalak crossed the finish line she became the second-fastest ever on the course, running 17:07. The time was just two-seconds shy of Katie Rainsberger's course record of 17:05.
Wilson was also rewarded for her efforts, as she finished second in 17:08 for the third-fastest time on the course.
What's additionally impressive is that Michalak and Wilson made up of two-out-of-six to break 18 minutes on this course.
Watch the race play out above!