As any distance runner will tell you, having a strong kick to close out a race will more often than not be the deciding factor.
For Peacock’s Ashton Woodley in the Moose Jaw Invitational boys 3,000 metres on Saturday, it led to one of the most impressive finishes of the day.
Running among a group of four frontrunners that included Central’s Alex Fish and Kal McGillis, Woodley put together a remarkable surge through the final turn and down the stretch, turning a close race into a solid blowout, crossing the line in 10 minutes, 53.37 seconds. McGillis was second in 10:56.34 and Fish third in 11:25.77.
“I definitely love the kick. That’s my power in this and if I can maintain and stay with everyone right to the end I know I’ve got it,” Woodley said.
“Going in, you want to stay focused and I thought I was able to really maintain it this race. I was prepared for it, and kudos to all the guys in the race, especially the top four guys. We all worked together and then when it came time, the last two laps, that’s when we really had to give it.”