Madison Klein, Ollie Boltz and Tayla Gunton celebrate their success after conquering Cooktown’s Grassy Hill in the Big Run for Little Athletics on Saturday morning. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
There was a look of both immense satisfaction and relief on the face of Ollie Boltz after he conquered the challenging Goliath of Grassy in his best time ever on Saturday morning.
“Oh man, I underestimated that hill,” he told Cape York Weekly after being the first runner to cross the finish line of the Big Run for Little Athletics.
“It’s a lot harder; I did it last year, but this year still felt harder.”
Boltz stopped the clock in the 4-kilometre trip to the top of Grassy Hill and back in a staggering 13 minutes, 54 seconds to claim the men’s Open class ahead of brothers Jake and Sam Turner.
Tayla Gunton was the first woman home in the women’s Open division in a time of 17:45, with Madison Klein and Sophie Kiernan rounding out the placings.
With Grassy Hill behind him, Boltz will return to the United States later this year to compete in cross country for Iona University in New York, something he admitted was on his mind during his preparation for Saturday’s event.
“There’s been a lot of early mornings and, you know, I have bigger goals in mind, so just thinking about those helped,” he said.
“I’m going back to the US in August to race over there doing cross country for Iona University, which is like 30 minutes north of New York City.”
The Big Run for Little Athletics finished on Sherrin Esplanade in the heart of the festival village for the first time at the weekend. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Runners start their ascent of Green Street on their way to Grassy Hill on Saturday morning. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
The event was a celebration of runners of all ages and abilities as participants fundraised for Cooktown Little Athletics. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
