asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program
established 2012
established 2012
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ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 1:05:35 to place second in the Greenville Half Marathon on a cool, damp and misty Saturday morning. Garcia, the 2020 USATF South Carolina Long Distance Runner of the Year, finished behind only Greenville's James Quattlebaum--the 2019 USATF SC LDROY--who ran a course record 1:03:59. The course started in Travelers Rest and finished in downtown Greenville and was run mostly on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The course is not record eligible due to the net downhill. Garcia's time was his career third best behind his SC State Records of 1:05:25 and 1:04:32 from 2020. His effort earned $400 from the event's prize purse. His teammate, Mackenzie Lowe, placed sixth among women with a time of 1:20:36 in her third race since joining the program. She just missed the fifth place prize money by one second. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 Rodenfels leading the Low Country Elite Invitational Annie Rodenfels of ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE continues to lead the South Carolina Road Rankings that were published on February 11th. Rodenfels set a SC state record for the road 5K of 16:09 back in September at the Mortgage Network Low Country Elite Invitational, which earned her the Top Woman's Performance of 2020 for South Carolina road racing. She followed that up with an outstanding 15:35 for 5,000 meters on the track at the Five & Dime Athletics Meet in Columbia, SC in mid-December.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 Eddie Garcia, Calista Ariel, Mackenzie Lowe, Emily Forner, Annie Rodenfels and Victor. The first question I was asked upon making the move to Greenville, SC was, “What does being a professional runner mean to you?” Bill Keesling (president of ASICS GTC-ELITE) presented that to me during our first meeting. I was stumped for a second and answered with what many think: treating it like a full-time job and representing sponsors in an extremely positive light. While this answer is not wrong, I have learned that it is not completely correct. It does not grasp the many facets and intricacies involved in the profession. During my 2.5 years on the ASICS GTC-ELITE team, I grew to fully understand and comprehend just what being a professional runner is.
Priority As a professional athlete training is the priority. For me, training was a lot more in-depth as a member of ASICS GTC-ELITE than my prior experiences post-collegiately and collegiately. While in college, I considered myself “training” for about 2-3 hours a day. I don’t imagine that to be overly crazy or too little for any collegiate athlete. Once you make the decision to put everything in, that is what your life revolves around. Training as a professional took up all 24 hours of my day, 7 days a week. I was constantly thinking about what I needed to do to prepare for the next session--whether it was seeing PT, massage, recovery boots, part-time job schedule, what foods to eat and when, and sleeping schedule, amongst the countless things that everyone has going on in life. And this is what a lot of people don’t understand about professional athletics. Everything you do has an effect on performance. At times it is hard because you just really want to watch one more episode of a TV show before going to sleep or just swing by that fast food restaurant so you don’t have to cook. Priority on training and performance is tough, and it takes a lot of sacrifices in other parts of life.  3000m Steeplechase at the Portland Track Festival Consistency and Patience Nothing happens overnight. On race day we don’t just wake up and decide to have an amazing performance. For peak races, that moment is created from weeks on weeks, months on months, and years on years of work. Consistency was never something that was emphasized to me as an athlete until arriving in Greenville. It was a concept I understood but was never truly taught. It is amazingly important, especially if you want to succeed. Our emphasis is being consistent. A ruthless consistency. A mind boggling consistency. A consistency that only comes through pure dedication. A consistency in everything. And it is through stacking those weeks, months, and years that dreams and goals come to fruition. Patience during this whole process kept me grounded, calm, and happy. Many athletes, especially runners, have an image of what they want to be. Everyone has their dreams and goals. More times than not, people forget where they are in the present and can only see what they dream of. Patience means to have the self awareness to recognize their current capabilities. Patience means to accept yourself as you are. Patience is finding joy in the small improvements throughout the whole process. I see consistency and patience as huge pieces of finding success--whether it is as an athlete or anything else.  L to R: Pataky, Annie Rodenfels, Eddie Garcia, Calista Ariel and Mackenzie Lowe Gratefulness No one achieves anything without opportunity and a support crew. Being grateful for these things shows that you have a deep appreciation for what you do. I consider my time with ASICS GTC-ELITE a blessing. I wasn’t even sure if I would get on the team. The organization took a chance on me, and gave me a great opportunity to pursue my dreams. For that, I am extremely grateful. I made many friends, enjoyed many experiences, and truly grew in my 2.5 years on the club. I want to take this opportunity to thank all my past teammates, friends, GTC, my coaches--Mike and Laura Caldwell, the staff at Performance Therapy--especially Tiffany, Elite Stretch and Strength, and the many others for trusting in me, believing in me, aiding me, and giving me one of the best experiences of my life. Special shout out to the current iteration of the team--Eddie, Annie, Emily, Calista, and Mackenzie. We built a fantastic culture in, arguably, the toughest time to be a dedicated athlete. I made lifetime friends, learned so much about not only the sport but also myself, and chased my ambitions and dreams without regret.
Mindset Through it all, mindset has been the key factor in finding, not only success, but also joy in being an elite athlete. I looked to embrace each and every experience. Good or bad, happy or sad, bitter or sweet. The mindset of embracing allowed me to open my mind and find meaning and value in all experiences. It’s simply amazing what a change in perspective and mindset can do. I found that I am able to be more accepting, more understanding, and able to take steps and progress towards any goal I have. If someone’s mindset was negative in any way, there is no way they would get through the thralls of this lifestyle successfully. My time at ASICS GTC-ELITE taught me that being a professional athlete was about embracing the priority, embracing consistency, embracing patience, embracing gratefulness, and embracing the run.
Victor Pataky joined ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE in August of 2018 and departed in December of 2020 to accept an assistant coaching position at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. During his time with ASICS GTC-ELITE he ran personal bests in the 3000-meter Steeplechase (8:56.67) and the Half Marathon (1:07:05). He also coached the GTC's Youth Running Program--the GTC Rabbits. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance) , On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
South Carolina USATF Record Keeper Bill Marable has published the 2020 South Carolina Open and Age Group rankings and the year's Top Performances. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eduardo Garcia and Annie Rodenfels were honored with the Top Performances for men and women, respectively. Garcia's performance was his Half Marathon State Record time of 1:04:32, set at December's Mortgage Network Half Marathon in Hardeeville, SC. Rodenfels' performance was also a South Carolina State Record when she ran 16:09 for 5K in the Low Country Elite Invitational in Bluffton. Garcia also was ranked first in the Open category for the Age Group rankings, where the top three performances for each athlete were used for comparison. Eddie's top three performances included a 14:17 5K (1st place) at the Low Country Elite Invitational (Bluffton); a 1:05:25 victory at Columbia's Governor's Cup Half Marathon which was a State Record; and a 1:04:32 State Record effort at the Mortgage Network Half Marathon (Hardeeville). Garcia was also recently awarded the 2020 SC Long Distance Runner of the Year award. Rodenfels did not have three road performances of at least 5K in distance, so was not included in the Open rankings. However, she did set the aforementioned State Record of 16:09 for 5K and also won the Greenville News Run Downtown 5K back in January 2020 with a time of 16:44. It should be noted that she also won the Governor's Cup Main Street Mile in February with a time of 4:54. Annie's focus was targeted toward the track where she ran personal bests over 5,000 meters of 15:49.53 (Nashville, TN) and 15:35.18 (Columbia, SC). GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance) , On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
The information below was provided by Bill Marable, the USATF South Carolina State Record Keeper. Competing in the state’s toughest events Eduardo “Eddie” Garcia won 3 of 6 races he participated in 2020, with major wins coming at The Long Run 15K (Columbia) in 46:32, the Lowcountry Elite Invitational 5K (Hardeeville) in 14:17 and the Governor’s Cup Half Marathon (Columbia) in a state record of 1:05:25. He lowered that record at the Mortgage Network Half Marathon (Hardeeville) to 1:04:32, finishing eighth in the state’s most competitive event. On the track he ran 10,000 meters in 29:48.56 placing runner-up at the Under 30 and outside of South Carolina at the Music City Festival he ran 5000 meters in 14:20.37. A native of Jacksonville, FL, Garcia has dual citizenship with the United States Virgin Islands. Competing at the University of Florida his top accomplishment was winning the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship at 10,000 meters in 2015. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in in Sports Management. In 2019 he represented the Virgin Islands at the Pan-American Games in Lima. Peru placing 12th in the marathon in 2:19:12. He ran 2:18:50 that same year in Houston which is one of a total 10 national records he holds. In March of 2018 Garcia joined ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE and works as a sales associate at Fleet Feet Sports. He is coached by the club’s director Mike Caldwell, who is a former Furman athlete and has an extensive background in the running industry. Their goal is for him to compete it to the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The 28-year-old athlete in currently engaged to Sydney Sibner. Other contenders for this award were Chris Bailey, Jonathan McGinnis, Brett Morley and James Quattlebaum.
 GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance) , On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE, a non-profit post-collegiate, Olympic-development program, has added Dr. T. Dane Pierce to its Board of Directors.
"We are excited to add Dr. Pierce to our board," stated Director/Coach Mike Caldwell. "Dane has been a prominent fixture in the Greenville community for many years and adds even more experience to our board. A long-time Greenville Track Club member, he has been a valuable volunteer at many of the GTC events and has also served on the GTC board, so he understands our mission and place in the Greenville running community." Dr. Pierce's bio: A graduate of Wofford College and the Medical University of SC, Dr. Pierce trained in pediatrics at Greenville Hospital System, Baylor Affiliated Hospitals in Houston, and MUSC. He has practiced pediatrics in Greenville since 1978 and is a former Furman University physician. He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and served as a pilot tester for Maintenance of Certification board exams for many years. He is a past president of the SC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Pierce trained in Boston with Dr. T. Berry Brazelton in the Touchpoints Approach to child-care. After football, basketball, and track in high school he ran hurdles for Wofford. A lifelong runner and former marathoner, he enjoys biking, hiking, and skiing. He has been a long-time member of the Greenville Track Club and has served as a race volunteer and a member of the Board of Directors. For more information regarding ASICS GTC-ELITE's Board of Directors please visit: https://www.gtc-elite.org/board-of-directors.html Annie Rodenfels of ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE continues to lead the South Carolina Road Rankings that were published on January 7th. Rodenfels set a SC state record for the road 5K of 16:09 back in September. Her most recent performance was an outstanding 15:35 for 5,000 meters on the track at the Five & Dime Athletics Meet in Columbia, SC in mid-December.
Eddie Garcia dropped one spot, from first to second, although finishing as the first South Carolina finisher at the Mortgage Network Half Marathon in early December. He broke his own SC state record in that race with a time of 1:04:32. Fellow Greenville resident James Quattlebaum is now ranked first.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board and On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 The year 2020 has been like no other in most of our lifetimes. With a deadly global pandemic causing havoc and resulting in many restrictions, etc., athletics events were either cancelled, postponed or formatted differently. Road racing and Track & Field were no exceptions. Even with such uncertainty, ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE was able to perform admirably and sent two athletes to the USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Atlanta (just before COVID-19 shutdowns began) and also set three South Carolina road racing state records and multiple personal bests. Here are the highlights from 2020:  Joe Niemiec's 2:17:23 at Houston qualified him for the USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials. JANUARY
 Cristina McKnight and Eddie Garcia at MCG Long Run in Columbia, SC. FEBRUARY
 Rodenfels, paced by Garcia and Pataky, impressed in 3,000m Time Trial. MARCH - APRIL
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ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Victor Pataky will be departing the program and Greenville, SC as he has accepted a collegiate coaching position at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Pataky joined the post-collegiate, Olympic-development in August 2018 with an expectation of training and competing for two years while pursing his running dreams. His career ambition was and is to coach at the collegiate level and this opportunity allows him to pursue that goal starting in January, 2021.
Victor graduated from Centre College in Kentucky in 2016 and then coached as an assistant at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, before relocating to Greenville in August 2018. He improved his personal best in the 3000m Steeplechase from 9:03.87 to 8:56.67 in 2019 before not being able to compete on the track in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also became the first coach for the Greenville Track Club's Youth Running Program -- the GTC Rabbits. In September of 2020, he placed 4th in the Low Country Elite 5K before running the 7.195K leg in the 2020 ASICS World Ekiden Relay in November, in which his team placed first among USA region teams and won the Retail Partners category while representing his employer, Fleet Feet Greenville. He finished his almost two-and-a-half year tenure in the program by running a huge 64 second personal best at the Mortgage Network Half Marathon, where he ran 1:07:05. He was ranked third in the December, 2020 South Carolina Road Race Rankings.  Pataky steeplechasing at Portland Track Festival. "We going to miss Victor," explained Coach Mike Caldwell. "He was a great teammate and especially a great training partner with Eddie Garcia. Those two have run countless kilometers together over the past two-and-a-half years. Victor was a pleasure to coach, followed our advice, and he'll become a very good coach at the college level." GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board and On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.   Wil Benitez of On Pace Wellness ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE, the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program based in Greenville, SC, has announced a partnership with On Pace Wellness. On Pace Wellness is owned and operated by Wilfredo Benitez and is based in Portland, OR. OPW provides nutritional coaching for athletes looking to improve and/or optimize their nutritional resources. "We are excited to enlist Will and On Pace Wellness in our ongoing efforts to optimize the nutritional choices of our athletes," stated Director/Coach Mike Caldwell. "We believe that nutrition is a vital component in the training and competitive process for every athlete and especially for our athletes at their elite level." Benitez has post-graduate degrees (MsCN and M.Ed) and has provided nutritional coaching to multiple and varied professional and amateur athletes. He is also a USATF Certified Level 1 Coach. For more information regarding On Pace Wellness please visit: https://www.onpacewellness.com. In additional to On Pace Wellness ASICS GTC-ELITE's resource circle includes:
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru and three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board and On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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