asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program
established 2012
established 2012
  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE recently participated in the virtual ASICS World Ekiden Relay during the competitive period of November 11-22. The event consisted of six-person teams running the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles). ASICS GTC-ELITE represented Greenville, SC's Fleet Feet running specialty shop in the United States region Retail Partner Division. They competed in the "mixed" category, which required a minimum of two women runners among the six running segments. ASICS GTC-ELITE's total time of 2:12:20 not only placed first in the USA Retail Partner division, but also among all "mixed" teams in the USA region and third in the world among "mixed" teams (over 8,000 teams). ASICS GTC-ELITE had four runners run their respective legs of the relay on Friday, November 13 in their home Greenville, SC area. The other two runners completed their respective legs on Thursday, November 19. For this event, GPS data collected via ASICS Runkeeper app was used for official timing and distance measurements.  Victor Pataky, Eddie Garcia, Emily Forner & Mackenzie Lowe Results for ASICS GTC-ELITE: 5K legs - Matthew Blunden, 15:43; Emily Forner, 17:08; Mackenzie Lowe, 17:25 7.195K leg - Victor Pataky, 22:44 10K legs - Eddie Garcia, 29;22; Joe Niemiec, 30:00 Total Time: 2:12:20 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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 The following is an article published on the website TrackYack.com, which covers many NCAA Division III institution's Cross Country/Track & Field endeavors. Thanks to author Julia O’Rourke for her work in publishing this content. At this time two years ago, Annie Rodenfels was likely hustling around the Centre College campus with schoolwork in hand, trying to squeeze in one of her many commitments before arriving at practice. And once at practice, she was no doubt visualizing herself racing in upcoming championship races, most notably at DIII Nationals. While she didn’t know it at the time, her hard work was about to pay off as she would go on to place third at Nationals. She would then continue to build off her 3,000 Steeplechase victory from the spring before with not one but two titles at the 2019 NCAA DIII Track & Field Championships (3K Steeple & 5K) and a runner-up finish in the Indoor 5K.
While the trajectory for Champion DIII athletes typically includes pursuing a traditional career, perhaps joining a track club, and maybe even taking a shot at an Olympic Trials marathon qualification, Rodenfels has carved her own path in the last year and a half: she decided to risk it all and become a professional runner. “It seems really sexy and fun,” Rodenfels says of her new career, “but most of the time my life looks pretty boring. I work part-time, double twice a week, lift three times a week, and always have to stay on top of [napping] and eating right. It’s just not flashy.” When she was considering “going pro” during her senior year at Centre College in Kentucky, Rodenfels sat down and wrote out all of the times she wanted to hit as a senior. If she could “run these lofty times within the year,” then it would be worth her time and resources to continue at the next level. These targets must have been lofty, indeed, given that Rodenfels had already made enormous improvements over the course of her first three collegiate years. She did not qualify for Cross Country Nationals her first year, and her fastest 6K was 24:22. The following year, she qualified and placed 168th. That spring, she leapt onto the national stage, finishing third in the Outdoor Steeplechase at NCAAs. As a junior, Rodenfels added to her All-American medal rack with a 12th place finish at XC Nationals and her first national title in the Steeplechase. Yet despite this impressive track record, her personal bests in every event (with the exception of the rarely run 2K and 2 mile events) were run in her senior year. She had met her goals, and had thus given herself permission to enter the professional running realm. The path to professional life was not straight-forward. “Groups usually don’t come to you, especially as a DIII runner,” says Rodenfels. “I had to seek out and apply or get in contact with everyone myself.” She dedicated a huge amount of time during her senior years researching online, determining whether or not particular groups still existed, what each one offered, and what their standards were. And that’s only the first step. “You have to be willing to sell yourself,” Rodenfels explains. In her experience, most of these groups don’t know the top DIII runners, so athletes may have to prove themselves to professional squads. Rodenfels urges athletes who are interested in pursuing the same path to advocate for themselves. “I think that DIII runners can actually be pretty successful as elite runners because oftentimes they still have more to give and the mentality to work hard without being given much.” Rodenfels is more than willing to help other DIII runners get in contact with groups because she found it to be a “really hard and tedious process.” Even without guidance, Rodenfels managed to find a great fit. She trains in Greenville, South Carolina with ASICS Greenville Track Club-Elite, a group she was drawn to because of the coaches, Mike and Laura Caldwell. The Caldwells’ knowledge and commitment to track and field impressed Rodenfels, who appreciates the fact that their coaching is rooted in the “most recent scientific knowledge about how to train effectively.” She believes so much in her team’s system that she is “on a mission to build it up to be as well-known as the other developmental running groups,” such as Hansons-Brooks, Zap Endurance, and the Atlanta Track Club. “I’m proud of my group and I want others to know about the incredible coaching and opportunities we have to offer post-collegiate and professional runners.” Under the Caldwells, Rodenfels has already made significant progress even though she had been training by herself for months before Emily Forner, another former DIII National Champion (Indoor 3K, 2019), joined the team. With the benefits of a training partner, she expects to see even greater gains than she already has. Rodenfels jumped straight into the professional sphere after graduating, running at Nashville’s Music City Distance Carnival just one week after her double at Nationals. She went on to run at the US Championship in July before joining her team in South Carolina. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodenfels was able to toe the line with some speedy women at this year’s Nashville MCDC (where global stars like Emma Coburn and Ce’Aira Brown also competed) and take advantage of this singular racing opportunity with an incredible personal record in the 5K (15:49). She finished right behind Saucony’s Sara Sutherland and Team Boss’s Maddie Alm and improved on her college best of 16:35 by almost a minute. Since March, Rodenfels has been utilizing a team gym area in her garage and backyard to focus on building strength and speed. “I focused on improving turnover without doing any real speed work and it definitely showed in practice. I was able to hit 200 meter times at the end of my workouts that I probably could not have touched in college while fresh. It was a really productive time for me.” While racing opportunities have been few and far between, Rodenfels has run a few unofficial PRs which have left her feeling encouraged and hungry for more. Looking ahead, Rodenfels has sat back down and created more lofty goals for herself. She is primarily focused on her upcoming 3K Steeple race at USAs, but also hopes to run a qualifying time for the Olympic Trials in the 5K. “Ultimately, I want to get myself to the starting line of the trials in the steeplechase and give myself the best opportunity possible to try and make a team. I have a lot of work to do to get there, and so this might be more of a several year goal, but you have to start somewhere.” Last year, she ran at USAs for experience, but this time hopes to make the finals and finish in the top ten. Outside of times, Rodenfels hopes to get a brand contract to set herself up for longevity in the sport, “which mostly hinges on making it more financially feasible to do this long-term.” However, she isn’t especially enticed by monetary incentives or even fame. “It’s nice to get recognition for how fast you run or for being a professional athlete, but from the beginning I was never anyone who the larger running community knew.” Accordingly, she is not deterred by her competition and does not need external approval to excel. “My motivation is intrinsic,” something that extends from her DIII roots. “I think that has already proven to be a huge advantage during COVID, but will also contribute to a (hopefully) long running career as well.” Although she owes much of her recent success to her new team, Rodenfels believes that Centre prepared her in ways she had not realized while in college. “As a professional runner, I often have the entire day at my disposal. Learning how to spend that time in the most effective ways is vital to being successful, and Centre definitely taught me the value [of] utilizing my time.” While it’s easy to spend her entire day fixated on running, Rodenfels is careful to find a deliberate, healthy balance, something she learned through her DIII experience. She finds this balance by coaching a high school women’s team, which has developed significantly under her coaching. “I’m more nervous about their workouts and races than my own,” she says. “It’s been incredibly fulfilling to watch them discover running and experience the joy of running their best time yet.” Rodenfels is also “extremely grateful” for her college coach, Lisa Owens, who pushed her without letting her burn out. “The training is similar enough… that I had no problem jumping in quickly, but I also didn’t feel like I had already peaked in college, as I think many do when coming from Division I.” Although the former Centre stand-out is primarily focused on signing a contract and making Team USA, she has some light-hearted goals in the back of her mind, like running faster than DIII legend Missy Buttry-Rock in the 5K (about ten seconds faster than Rodenfels’ current best). “I just think she’s so cool. A truly amazing trailblazer for DIII women wanting to be great,” she says of Buttry-Rock. “She’s still running fast times too, which is incredibly intimidating. I hope I can be more like her.” While Annie Rodenfels looks to those who came before her for inspiration, she will undoubtedly be one who current and future DIII runners look up to for years to come.You can follow Annie Rodenfels on Twitter (@Annie_Rodenfels) and Instagram (@andrearodenfels)  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is excited to announce that Emily Forner will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. Forner is a native Pennsylvanian and graduated from Allegheny College in May of 2019 with a degree in Global Health Studies. Her athletic career at Allegheny was highlighted by wining the NCAA DIII national title at 3,000 meters during the 2019 Indoor Championships. She had previously earned All American honors with her 9th place finish at the 2018 NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championships. Emily has personal bests of 9:39.56 for 3,000m and 16:33.01 for 5,000m. "We are very excited to have Emily join our program," remarked Mike Caldwell, program director and coach. "She will be a good training partner with our other women as she works toward her individual goals and objectives. For event-specific training Coach Laura Caldwell will have her work with Annie Rodenfels, who was a three-time NCAA DIII national champion. It is promising to have two NCAA champions training together." Emily explained her reasons for joining the program. "As a Division III collegiate runner I developed from a fairly average high school athlete into a national champion. But I finished college feeling as though I only scratched the surface of my potential in this sport. After spending a year working and training on my own, I realized I was missing the challenge and camaraderie that comes with being on a team. I was drawn to ASICS-GTC-ELITE because the group creates the opportunity for post-collegiate athletes like myself to continue to develop at the regional and national levels. I get to train alongside teammates with similar backgrounds and aspirations, under the direction of coaches who see my potential and are committed to helping me reach my goals. Add in the beautiful setting of Greenville, and it’s the perfect environment for me to continue my running career." The program now has four women on the roster as Emily joins Annie, MacKenzie Lowe and Calista Ariel.
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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 Eddie Garcia in white singlet. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 29:48.56 to placed second in the "Under 30 Minutes 10K" on Saturday evening. The race was won by Greenville's James Quattlebaum with a time of 29:43.03. The event was produced by Greenville's Cole Atkins, with assistance from Quattlebaum, and held at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, SC. While the initial intent was to run under 29:00, the extremely humid conditions paired with unwelcomed wind gusts from the approaching storm slowed the pace somewhat. The pacers led the small group of runners through the early kilometers on sub-29:15 pace, passing 3K in 8:46, but slowed some before passing 5,000 meters in 14:41. Soon thereafter small gaps developed between the eventual four finishers and each ran alone. Alex Cornwell placed third with a time of 29:56.19 and Atkins fourth at 30:16.89. 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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 Annie Rodenfels took the early lead and never looked back as she set a South Carolina State Road 5K record. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Annie Rodenfels and Eddie Garcia won the women's and men's races at the Low Country Elite Invitational 5K road race in Bluffton, SC on a warm and humid Saturday evening. The race was conducted under COViD-19 policies and no spectators were allowed on the closed, USATF certified course (SC20003BW) with the elite fields limited to under 15 participants per gender. Rodenfels took the lead immediately after the 6:00 pm start and passed the first mile in a quick 5:07. She made the turn-around on the out-and-back flat route with a 100-meter lead over ON ZAP Endurance's Triston Van Ord. After passing two miles in 10:25 she ran the third mile in 5:12 before finishing in an outstanding 16:08.14. Per road racing timing policy the time was rounded up to 16:09, which was only one second off the South Carolina All Comers (non-state resident) record of 16:09 set by Kenya's Sophy Jepchirchir back in December of 2013. She did manage to set a new South Carolina State record (state residents), eclipsing the 16:25 of Kathryn Lazarchick from November 2018. Rodenfels earned $500 for her victory. Raleigh's Kate Sanborn used a late race surge to take second with a time of 16:43, as Van Ord placed third in 16:53.  Pataky and Garcia took the early lead. Garcia almost replicated Rodenfels's performance as he took the early lead along with teammate Victor Pataky. They passed the first mile in 4:35 with about a twenty-meter lead over ON ZAP Endurance's Matt McClintock and Josh Izewski. Garcia made the turn with a good lead as Pataky began to tire and was passed by the ON ZAP Endurance athletes. Eddie maintained his lead as he passed two miles at 9:11 and then covered the third mile in 4:39 as the heat and humidity began to take its toll. McClintock surged ahead of Izewski and began to gain some on Garcia. However, Eddie maintained his effort and broke the tape with an excellent time of 14:16.65, which is rounded up to 14:17. McClintock finished 12 seconds later in 14:29 and Isewski was third at 15:00. Pataky was fourth in 15:11. The prize money for the top five was $500, $400, $300, $200 and $100--which was the same as for the women. The event was organized by former USC-Bufford coach Larry Kimball on short notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic and presented by Mortgage Network and conducted by local run speciality shop Grounded Running.
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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 Annie Rodenfels in Nashville. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran an impressive 15:49.53 to place fifth in a very deep field at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, TN. She ran a whopping 45 seconds faster than her "official" previous personal best of 16:34.8, which was run back in December. Annie had run 16:07.9 on June 13 in a time trial in Greenville. With the 2020 Outdoor track season basically cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive opportunities have been few and far between. Race Director, Dave Milner did an excellent job of producing this year's meet, which required many additional restrictions and that each athlete produce two negative COVID-19 tests within the week leading up to the competition. The meet was also moved from Vanderbilt University, the usual site, to nearby Libscomb Academy and athlete support staff and spectators were extremely limited as social distancing protocols were in place. Rodenfels, a 3-time NCAA DIII national champion, ran the race at sub-16:00 pace with kilometer splits of 3:10.98, 3:09.36 and 3:14.05 to pass 3,000m in 9:34.39. She covered the 4th kilometer in 3:13.84 and was in tenth position, but well behind the three leaders, with 1200 meters remaining. Annie then unleashed a furious kick over the final kilometer (3:01.18) to finish 5th, only .14 of a second behind fourth and three seconds behind third. The race was won by Hannah Everson, who represents the United States Air Force World Class Athletic Program with a time of 15:31.97, which was a new meet record. Rodenfels's teammate, Eddie Garcia, finished 11th in the men's 5,000m with a time of 14:20.37. He ran with the lead pack through the early kilometers and passed 3,000m at 8:20 (sub-14:00 pace). Eddie began to lose contact with the lead pack after 2800m, and slowed considerably over the final two kilometers.  Teammates Annie Rodenfels and Eddie Garcia post-meet in Nashville. 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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
Almost exactly two months ago, on May 30, ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels ran a personal best of 9:16.67 for 3,000 meters in a team time trial in Greenville. On another warm and extremely humid (98%) Saturday morning, she followed the perfect pace of her male teammates for approximately seven laps before closing fast to better that time. Eddie Garcia and Victor Pataky took turns pacing with splits of 3:06.98 at the first kilometer, 4:59.73 at 1600m and 6:14.78 at 2K. Rodenfels followed their pace as they gradually increased their speed and then closed the final 200 in a quick 33.82. Her final 1,000m was 2:59.02 to post the personal best of 9:13.80. It was her third consecutive personal best effort as she ran 16:07.9 for 5,000 meter on June 13.  Victor Pataky, Eddie Garcia, Annie Rodenfels and Calista Ariel 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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia is featured on the most recent edition of the SecondsFlat podcast, presented by Run In, a running speciality store in Greenville, SC. Here is the link: https://m.soundcloud.com/seconds-flat-607928987/mile-56-eddie-garcia 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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
The South Carolina Road Race Rankings as of July 4, 2020 were announced today. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eduardo (Eddie) Garcia and Andrea (Annie) Rodenfels remained atop of their respective men's and women's rankings. This was expected due to the lack of racing opportunities due to COVID-19.
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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
The South Carolina Road Race Rankings as of June 6, 2020 were announced today. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eduardo (Eddie) Garcia and Andrea (Annie) Rodenfels remained atop of their respective men's and women's rankings. With no recent road race competition due to COVID-19, Rodenfels has run two personal bests on the track. In team Time Trials, she ran 9:16.67 for 3,000 meters on May 30 and then 16:07.9 for 5,000 meters on June 13. Also, on the 13th, Garcia ran 5,000 meters on the track in 14:21.53. Those track performances do not affect the SC Road Race Rankings.
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) and the MOBO board. The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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