Arlington, VA - The RRCA has announced the recipients of one-time special grants to support U.S. Distance Training Centers and elite U.S. athletes as they prepare for competition heading into the Rio Olympic Games qualifying marathon that will be hosted in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, February 13, 2016.

“The RRCA adds to its proud 50-plus year tradition of athlete support by awarding these special grants to U.S. Distance Training Centers as well as to athletes that we believe will help support a broad range of Olympic hopefuls as they prepare for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials – Marathon,” said Jean Knaack, RRCA executive director. “We look forward to the 2016 Trials as our athletes chase their Olympic dreams.”

The RRCA will award five grants in the amount of $5000 each, for a total of $25,000, to the following U.S. Distance Training Centers that support U.S. athletes focusing on either the upcoming marathon trials or the 10,000m track trials. 

• ZAP Fitness, Blowing Rock, NC
• Greenville Track Club-ELITE, Greenville, SC
• Team USA Minnesota, Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
• HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite, Flagstaff, AZ
• Team Run Eugene, Eugene, OR


"This grant is a wonderful addition to our growing program," stated Mike Caldwell, Director of ASICS GTC-ELITE. "We are extremely grateful to the RRCA for their continued support of distance running and especially our aspiring post-collegiate athletes. We are also proud to be an organization under the RRCA banner. These funds will assist us in continuing to provide the appropriate training and competitive experiences needed for our athletes to compete at the USA Olympic Trials in 2016."

In addition, the RRCA will also award grants to support the following 12 athletes that have qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon and have not previously competed at an Olympic Games. This special grant project is separate from its annual Roads Scholar grant program. Each grant winner will receive $2500 plus any Roads Scholar grantee from the 2014-15 class or earlier will also be awarded an additional $500.

MEN = 6
• Josphat Boit, Mammoth Lakes, CA
• Aaron Braun, Alamosa, CO
• Jeffrey Eggleston, Boulder, CO – also RRCA Roads Scholar 2010
• Craig Leon, Eugene, OR
• Mike Morgan, Rochester Hills, MI – also RRCA Roads Scholar 2005
• Sean Quigley, Lafayette, CO

WOMEN = 6
• Annie Bersagel, Victoria, MN
• Esther Erb, Lambertville, NJ – also RRCA Roads Scholar 2014 
• Lauren Kleppin, Flagstaff, AZ – also RRCA Roads Scholar 2012
• Heather Lieberg, Helena, MT
• Wendy Thomas, Windsor, CO
• Rebecca Wade, Dallas, TX

To round out the financial support for the project, the RRCA will also award a bonus to the male and female athletes that earn spots on Team USA for the 2016 Olympic Marathon.

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Alison Parris ran to an easy victory in the BMW Performance Classic over the 2-mile course on the BMW Performance Center road circuit. It completed a sweep of the Greenville area's two automotive-oriented sponsored events for Parris who won the Michelin Memorial 5K last month. Alison's time of 10:28 on a beautiful Friday evening was over two minutes ahead of the second woman and was fifth overall in the field of 634  finishers. It was also an event record for women. 

GTC-ELITE is sponsored by ASICS, the 43-year old Greenville Track Club, Performance Therapy, Greenville Health System's North Greenville Hospital, ScanSource, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, The TD Bank Foundation, The Kroc Center, Carolina Spine and Rehab, The Proaxis Running Academy, ElliptiGO, the Bare Minimum Track Club and generous individual contributors.

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is excited to announce the addition of recent College of William & Mary graduate Dylan Hassett to their post-collegiate, Olympic development group. Dylan competed in three NCAA Cross Country national championship meets and was a four-time NCAA qualifier in outdoor Track & Field - three in the 10,000 and once in the 5,000 meters. She also earned All-Southeast Region honors during the 2014 cross country season and was the Colonial Athletic Association champion in the 2015 Track & Field championships at 10,000 meters. 

"We are very excited to have Dylan join our developmental group after her fine collegiate career at William & Mary. She brings experience from competing in multiple NCAA championship events and is a great addition to our current stable of athletes," stated director Mike Caldwell. 

Hassett had an outstanding high school career in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, earning the Atlanta Track Club's Woman of the Year three times, before matriculating at the College of William & Mary. 

GTC-ELITE is sponsored by ASICS, the 43-year old Greenville Track Club, Performance Therapy, Greenville Health System's North Greenville Hospital, ScanSource, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, The TD Bank Foundation, The Kroc Center, Carolina Spine and Rehab, The Proaxis Running Academy, ElliptiGO, the Bare Minimum Track Club and generous individual contributors. 

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Mark Leininger placed 33rd in the USA 20K national championships, run in conjunction with the New Haven Road Race on Labor Day in Connecticut. The men's field included three past USA Olympians (Dathan Ritzenhein, Matt Tegenkamp and Abdi Abdiraham)  was considered one of the deepest in recent history. After passing the five-mile marker in 25:05 and the 10K halfway point in 31:34, Mark and a few other top competitors ran off course and lost well over a minute before returning to the correct route. Mark's final time was 1:06:44. 

GTC-ELITE is sponsored by ASICS, the 43-year old Greenville Track Club, Performance Therapy, Greenville Health System's North Greenville Hospital, ScanSource, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, The TD Bank Foundation, The Kroc Center, Carolina Spine and Rehab, The Proaxis Running Academy, ElliptiGO, the Bare Minimum Track Club and generous individual contributors.