asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program
established 2012
established 2012
 February 29, 2020 - Atlanta, GAASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Joe Niemiec and Cristina McKnight will toe the starting line on February 29th in downtown Atlanta, GA for the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon. Both meet the qualifying standards for one of the most prestigious events in US running after relocating to Greenville to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The current weather forecast is sunny and cool with a high of 46-degrees. Starting times: men at 12:08 and women at 12:20 pm.  Cristina McKnight during California International Marathon. McKnight, who did not compete at the collegiate level while studying at Michigan State University, was accepted to the program with a personal best of only 1:18:41 for the half marathon (not quite meeting the program's qualifying standard of 1:18:00). She has since improved to 1:16:04. After she and her coach Laura Caldwell mutually set a goal of running her first marathon under the qualifying standard of 2:45:00, they targeted the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA. In early December, 2019, Cristina debuted at the marathon distance with a time of 2:40:41, and placed 11th among women. That qualified her for the Atlanta event, where she is seeded 128th among the 513 women qualifiers and 463 actual "declared" entrants. In 2018 Niemiec contacted the ASICS GTC-ELITE coaches about the possibility of "qualifying for the Trials." After visiting Greenville and interviewing with the coaches and athletes, Joe decided to relocate from Michigan to chase his dream. With abundant support from his wife, Jasmine, they moved with their two young children south. (They welcomed their third child a little over a year ago.) Although he had some success at the USA 25K Championships, Joe had not run an actual marathon. He picked the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon to be his first. After running at a Trials qualifying pace for 25K, he slowed considerably over the last 10K and finished in 2:26:46--well off the 2:19:00 needed to qualify for the Trials. Joe and his coaches then decided to run the Chevron Houston Marathon in mid-January, which would be the final opportunity to qualify. With only nine weeks between marathons, the plan was to recover from Chicago first and then use a shorter build-up for Houston. Joe was able to increase his fitness due to some increased-volume workout sessions and a few marathon-specific long runs. On January 19th, Joe achieved his dream as he ran 2:17:23 in Houston, placing ninth overall and being the second American finisher. He is seeded 126th for the Atlanta Trials in a field of 242 "declared" entrants of the 265 qualifiers.  Joe Niemiec finishing 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon. (photo by Jack Thompson/Runner's World) Highlighting Atlanta's Olympic history and legacy, the course for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon will take athletes on a tour of some of Atlanta's most important attractions and neighborhoods. Competitors will begin their race in front of Centennial Olympic Park – the crown jewel of the 1996 Atlanta Games – and head down Marietta Street toward Peachtree. They will proceed three miles north on Peachtree until they pass the intersection of Peachtree and West Peachtree, then turn around and head back down Peachtree in the opposite direction, loop through Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and return to downtown. The runners will complete this loop three times before heading on a 2.2 mile final loop that runs under the Rings and Torch structure from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, goes by the Georgia Capitol building and passes by the sports stadiums that house the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta United FC. They will then reach the welcome sight of the finish line inside Centennial Olympic Park.  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 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, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 Eddie Garcia (78) taking the early lead. On a sunny, but cold, Saturday morning ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 1:05:25 over a hilly course to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Half Marathon in Columbia, SC. He returned to the state's Capitol city after winning the MCG Long Run 15K three weeks ago to post a similar winning result. The Atlanta Track Club's Robert Stone was second in 1:08:00. Garcia's pace was a quick 5:00 per mile and earned him a nice payday. The overall winner's award was $1250 with additional $300 bonus for first American and $300 for first South Carolinian. He also earned the 2020 Road Runners Club of America South Carolina State Half Marathon championship. It was a personal best by 12 seconds for the former Southeastern Conference 10,000-meter champion while a student at the University of Florida. Eddie is currently ranked first in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings.  photo: JEDIrunnerphotography 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 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, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran 4:54 to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Main Street Mile in downtown Columbia, SC on a cold and windy Friday evening. She earned $500 for her efforts. Rodenfels' current, and former collegiate, teammate Victor Pataky placed second in the men's division with a time of 4:26. He finished two seconds behind the Atlanta Track Club's James Dwyer (4:24) and earned $400. Both Rodenfels and Pataky are graduates of Kentucky's Centre College. The race had previously been held in the month of May, but was moved to February in conjunction with Saturday's Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Road Races (Half Marathon and 5K). The temperature after sundown dropped to under 40 degrees with gusting winds.  Rodenfels winning Main Street Mile photo: JEDIrunnerphotography 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 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, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels are the new leaders in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings announced today. Garcia won the MCG Long Run 15K in Columbia, SC last Saturday after placing third in The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K in January. Those were his first races since placing 12th at the Pan American Games Marathon with a time of 2:19:12 last July in Lima Peru. In the Columbia race, Eddie finished 27 seconds ahead of Rock Hill's Jonathan McGinnis, who is second in the current rankings. Rodenfels won the women's title at The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K with a time of 16:44, where she bested the former rankings leader Alyssa Bloomquist. Bloomquist ran a personal best of 16:54 in that event and is now ranked second in the standings. Rodenfel's teammate, Cristina McKnight, is ranked third following her SC State 15K record (52:47) at the MCG Long Run. Bloomquist, McKnight, Joy Miller (4th in rankings) and Esther Atkins (5th) are all qualifiers for this month's USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, which illustrates the current talent level. Garcia's teammates, Joe Niemiec (7th) and Victor Pataky (9th) are also among the top ten men. Garcia, Niemiec, James Quattlebaum (3rd), Cole Atkins (6th) are also 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifiers.
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 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, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 All smiles for Cristina McKnight and Eddie Garcia ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eduardo Garcia and Cristina McKnight both were victorious at the MCG Long Run 15K on a cold Saturday morning in Columbia, SC. Garcia broke away from Harrison Kirigwi just before the 6-mile mark, after running the fifth mile in 4:34. His finishing time of 46:32 (4:59/mile average) was 27 seconds clear of runner-up Jonathan McGinnis (46:58). Kirigwi was third in 47:07.
McKnight's time of 52:47 broke the South Carolina State record for 15K. The previous record of 53:50 was set way back in 1988 by Megan Othersen. McKnight's time is also a record for the ASICS GTC-ELITE program, besting Dyan Hassett's 53:07 from 2015. Her record-setting effort earned her a $200 bonus in addition to the $500 winner's purse. Joy Miller, a qualifier for the upcoming USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon, as is McKnight, placed second in 53:58. Garcia's time was also a program record, besting Ryan Root's 47:30 from 2017, and also earning Eddie $500 for his win. 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 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, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Annie Rodenfels just before race start. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran to her second win in the past two weeks at the Clemson Indoor Track Facility as she recorded a personal best of 9:18.93 in the women's 3,000 meters. She bested her previous personal best of 9:24.43, set on January 11th. In between those two indoor track victories, she also won The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K last weekend.
Annie took the lead from the start and covered the first kilometer in 3:04.5. She passed 1600 meters in 4:58.5, 2,000 at 6:15.1 and closed over the final kilometer in 3:03.8. Wake Forest University's Hannah Brookover finished second with a time of 9:36.68. Rodenfels was less than four seconds off the facility record of 9:15.01 set by the University of North Caroilna's Brie Felnagle in 2007. 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 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, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
Back in the spring of 2018 Joe Niemiec contacted us regarding his interest in joining our post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. He explained that he, and his wife Jasmin, had decided to actively pursue their dream of him qualifying for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon.
Although Joe did not have a marathon performance on his running resume, he and Jasmin visited Greenville (where their college friends Carolyn and Clay Watson had moved a couple of years previously) and interviewed with the ASICS GTC-ELITE coaches. They soon decided to make the transition from their home in Michigan to Greenville and begin the training necessary to achieve such a lofty goal. Here is the link to Joe's Story describing his performance in the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 19, 2020: Joe's Story.  Joe Niemiec (photo by Jack Thompson/Runner's World) ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Joe Niemiec achieved his dream and goal of qualifying for the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon by running 2:17:23 at the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday morning in the Texas city. He dropped 9 minutes 23 seconds from his debut marathon time of 2:26:46 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. Unofficial results show him placing 9th overall and second among USA citizens (2nd American finisher).
Joe moved his young family including wife, Jasmin, and three childeren from Michigan to Greenville, SC in 2018 to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program and pursue his lofty goal. Unofficial splits from the race indicate that Niemiec passed the 13.1-mile halfway mark in 1:09:12. He maintained a qualifying pace through 35 kilometers and then increased his pace over the final seven kilometers to average 5:15 per mile for the marathon distance (42.2K). Niemiec joins teammates Eduardo Garcia and Cristina McKnight as qualifiers for the Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA on Feburary 29. His time also is a new program record, besting Garcia's 2:18:50 from the 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon. 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 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, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Annie Rodenfels nearing the final turn. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran 16:44 to win the 42nd annual Greenville News Run Downtown 5K. On a cold and grey Saturday morning, Rodenfels ran the second fastest time in the race's long history as she bested Alyssa Bloomquist (who currently leads the South Carolina Road Race Rankings) by ten seconds. Former ASICS GTC-ELITE Kimberly Ruck set the course record of 16:32 in 2015.
Rodenfels also represented her employer Joy Real Estate in the Corporate Shield competition. The event was produced by the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club and runs through downtown Greenville, SC. Annie's teammate, Eddie Garcia, ran his first race since last July's Pan American Games Marathon and placed third with a time of 14:56. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is excited to announce that Mackenzie Donahue will be joining the program in the second half of 2020. Donahue currently resides in her hometown area of Buffalo, NY where she works for Fleet Feet Buffalo as an inventory receiving specialist.
Mackenzie graduated from a small DII school called Daemen College, where she became their first athlete to qualify for an NCAA DII Championship. She qualified in Cross Country as well as Indoor and Outdoor track. She also became their first athlete to earn All-American (second-team) status. After graduating she continued to live in the Buffalo, NY area. Passionate about running, she continued to train and compete at the elite level in road racing and in some cross country and track races. She ran 1:17:09 to place sixth in the 2018 Richmond Half Marathon and attempted her first marathon at the 2019 Chicago event and ran 2:54:42. Her running resume also includes track performances of 16:52 for 5,000 meters, 35:35 for 10,000 meters and 54:47 for 15K on the roads. “We are excited to announce that Mackenzie will be joining our training group in the future,” stated Mike Caldwell, Director of the program. “Coach Laura Caldwell and I believe that Mackenzie has quite a bit of potential and that by training with our other female athletes and utilizing our resources she will be able to develop and achieve her running goals.” Mackenzie plans to relocate to Greenville to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program following her August wedding to long-time boyfriend Greg Lowe. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF. |
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