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ASICS GTC-ELITE Adds Dr. Dane Pierce To Board of Directors

1/27/2021

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

ASICS GTC-ELITE Athletes Among Leaders in South Carolina Road Rankings

1/7/2021

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.

Rodenfels

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.

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 (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.

Looking at 2020 in the Rearview Mirror

12/21/2020

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

Annie Rodenfels ran a new personal best in the 3,000 meters of 9:24.43 as she won the event at the Orange & Purple Elite meet at Clemson's indoor track facility. The 2019 graduate of Centre College in Kentucky improved her PB by almost 30 seconds as she lapped all of her competition on the 200-meter banked track. Annie covered the first kilometer in 3:06.6 and passed 2K at 6:18.8 (3:12.2) before covering the final 1000 meters in 3:05.6. Her performance is a new ASICS GTC-ELITE program record, besting the 9:28.71 of Kimberly Ruck in 2015.
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. Eddie Garcia ran his first race since last July's Pan American Games Marathon and placed third with a time of 14:56.
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.
The program announced the addition of Mackenzie Donahue. She 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. Mackenzie 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. Mackenzie plans to relocate to Greenville to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program following her August wedding to long-time boyfriend Greg Lowe.
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.

Cristina McKnight and Eddie Garcia at MCG Long Run in Columbia, SC.

FEBRUARY

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). 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.
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. Victor Pataky placed second in the men's division with a time of 4:26 and earned $400.
On a sunny, but cold, Saturday morning Eddie Garcia ran 1:05:25 over a hilly course to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Half Marathon in Columbia, SC. His 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. The time also eclipsed the South Carolina State Record for the Half Marathon (by a SC resident), which was held by Charleston's Michael Banks at 1:05:50 in the 2014 Governor's Cup.
Cristina McKnight ran to a 49th place finish with a new personal best of 2:40:29 over an undulating course in the 2020 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon on Saturday afternoon. Running in only her second marathon, after debuting in December 2019 at Sacramento's California International Marathon, McKnight passed the halfway mark (13.1 miles) in 1:18:18 before slowing to a positive second-half split of 1:22:11. Her finishing time was 12 seconds faster than her initial marathon. Her 49th place bested her pre-race seed of 128th by a huge margin. There were 390 women finishers of the 510 qualifiers (2:45:00 or better) of which 444 started. Joe Niemiec had a tough day as he struggled to a time of 2:27:50, which was well off his qualifying time of 2:17:23 at last month's Chevron Houston Marathon. He finished 123rd of the 226 starters and 175 finishers and bested his seeding of 126. ASICS GTC-ELITE director Mike Caldwell summed up the day, "Our program goal is always qualifying and competing in national championship and the Olympic Trials. Today, we had two of our marathon rookies compete after qualifying in the either December of 2019 or last month (January). To be able to recover from those qualifying efforts and show up here in Atlanta on a fairly difficult course due to the undulating hills and then battle some very gusty winds is definitely a victory for our athletes and program."

Rodenfels, paced by Garcia and Pataky, impressed in 3,000m Time Trial.

MARCH - APRIL

NO Competition due to restrictions imposed regarding COVID-19 pandemic.

MAY

After not competing since January, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Annie Rodenfels picked up right where she left off. She had run a personal best for 3,000 meters when she won the Bob Pollack Invitational at Clemson's Indoor facility with a time of 9:18.93 on January 25. Today, on a warm and humid Saturday morning, she followed two of her male teammates through splits of 3:08.89 (1,000m), 5:00.92 (1600m) and 6:15.71 (2,000m) before passing them with 300m remaining. Her final 200 of 33.64 gave her a new personal best of 9:16.67.

JUNE

With no actual race competitions since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE staged their own 5,000-meter invitational on a nice mid-June Saturday morning in Greenville, SC. Annie Rodenfels shattered her previous personal best of 16:34.8 by running an even-paced 16:07.90 on the Greenville High School track. With the intentionally (due to social distancing concerns) small field of five runners, which included three men and two women, Rodenfels ran solo after the first 200 meters. She covered kilometers in 3:14.38, 3:16.62, 3:16.11 (9:47.11 at 3K), and 3:15.8 before closing in 3:05. The time also was a new program record, besting the five-year-old mark of 16:17.68 run by Nicole DiMercurio in winning the 2015 Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, TN.
Eddie Garcia won the men's competition with a good 14:21.53 effort. He was paced by two-time Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier Cole Atkins and his own teammate and training parter Victor Pataky. Atkins and Pataky paced them with kilometer splits of 2:51.39, 2:52.53, and 2:52.0 (8:35.92 at 3,000). Atkins completed his duties after 3200 meters in 9:10.34, which was right on target for their goal of 14:20. Garcia's fourth kilometer was his slowest as he ran 2:54.82 by himself. He then finished with his fastest kilometer (2:50.79).
Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels remained atop their respective men's and women's South Carolina Road Race rankings for the third consecutive month.

JULY

Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels remained atop their respective men's and women's South Carolina Road Race rankings for the fourth consecutive month.

Annie Rodenfels running a new personal best 15:49 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, TN

Rodenfels and Eddie Garcia post races in Nashville, TN

AUGUST

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.
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. A 3-time NCAA DIII national champion, she ran the race at sub-16 pace as the lead pack of women began to split apart. She was in tenth position with 1200 meters remaining, but unleashed a furious kick over the final 400 meters to finish 5th, only .14 of a second behind fourth and three seconds behind third.
Eddie Garcia finished 11th in the men's 5,000m at the Music City Distance Carnival 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), but slowed considerably over the final kilometer.
Recent Bridgewater College graduate and DIII Cross Country All-American Calista Ariel relocated to Greenville to join the program.

Victor Pataky and Eddie Garcia were 4th and 1st at the Low Country Elite 5K

Annie Rodenfels set the South Carolina State record at the Low Country Elite 5K.

SEPTEMBER

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 ran 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. Garcia almost replicated Rodenfels's performance as he took the early lead along with teammate Victor Pataky. Eddie broke the tape with an excellent time of 14:16.65, which is rounded up to 14:17. He earned $500 for the win. Pataky was fourth in 15:11 to take home $200.

OCTOBER

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 Weslyan University in Central, SC.

Victor Pataky, Eddie Garcia, Emily Forner and Mackenzie Lowe placed 1st in USA region for ASICS Ekiden Relay.

NOVEMBER

Emily Forner joined the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. Forner, a native Pennsylvanian, 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.
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. 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

Eddie Garcia running to a new South Carolina State record for the Half Marathon.

Annie Rodenfels (hip #4) enroute to PB of 15:35 for 5,000m.

DECEMBER

Eddie Garcia and Victor Pataky both ran to huge personal bests in the initial Mortgage Network Half Marathon in Hardeeville, SC. On a crisp, perfect for running, Sunday morning Garcia covered the flat, three-loop course in a new South Carolina State resident record of 1:04:32. That was 53 seconds faster than the 1:05:25 he ran in Columbia back in February before COVID-19 basically shut down road racing in the state. His time earned him eighth in a deep field of elite men and $300. Pataky ran 1:07:05, which knocked 64 seconds his 1:08:09 as he placed 17th.
Annie Rodenfels completed her 2020 competitive season with a huge personal best in the Five and Dime Athletics Meeting at Columbia International University near South Carolina's state capital city. Rodenfels had run 15:49.53 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville back in August. She knocked a whopping 14 seconds from that performance with her 15:35.18 as she placed a close second to Jenna Hutchins, who won in 15:34.37.
Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels lead the men's and women's South Carolina Road Race rankings, which were published on December 6, 2020. Their teammate Victor Pataky was ranked third among the men.

ASICS GTC-ELITE Bids Good Bye to Victor Pataky

12/18/2020

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.

Pataky and Eddie Garcia

Victor & Eddie

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.

ASICS GTC-ELITE Adds On Pace Wellness as Resource Partner

12/16/2020

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:

ASICS for their world-class running footwear and apparel.
Performance Therapy in Greenville for Active Release Therapy and soft tissue manipulation.
Carolina Spine & Rehab for Chiropractic.
ATI's Running Academy for Gait Analysis & Consultation.
ElliptiGO for their unique stand-up bicycle.
Cocoa Elite for Protein Recovery products.
Final Surge for on-line training planning and recording for each athlete.
The Williams Pace Calculator for determining training and racing paces.
Roll Recovery for self muscle-manipulation.
The DorsiFlex for lower-leg and foot stretching.
Hyperice for their Normatec Recovery Boots.
Stryd for recording power.
MOBO Board for state-of-the-art kinetic-chain balance improvement.

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.

Rodenfels Breaks 5000m PB by 14 seconds with 15:35.18 at Five and Dime Athletics Meeting

12/11/2020

Pacer Wilson, Hutchins and Rodenfels.

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Annie Rodenfels completed her 2020 competitive season with a huge personal best in the Five and Dime Athletics Meeting at Columbia International University near South Carolina's state capital city. Rodenfels had run 15:49.53 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville back in August. She knocked a whopping 14 seconds from that performance with her 15:35.18 as she placed a close second to Jenna Hutchins, who won in 15:34.37.

Hutchins entered the event with her sights set on besting the US High School Outdoor record for 5,000 meters. The Atlanta Track Club's Allie Wilson was brought in to set the pace and led Hutchins and Rodenfels through a quick first 1600 in 4:57. After passing 2,000 meters in 6:12, Hutchins opened a small gap on Rodenfels. They passed 3K in 9:21.18 and 9:24.08, respectively. The junior from Johnson City, TN's Science Hill High School maintained her lead passing the bell-lap mark in 14:23.84 with Rodenfels still over three seconds back at 14:26.93.
Annie ran a quick 1:08.25 final 400, closing on Hutchins' also quick 1:10.83, to finish only .71 seconds behind.

Hutchins15:34.47 broke Katelyn Tuohy's US high school girls record of 15:37.12 and is one of the top high school performances in history.

This was Annie's tenth competitive effort in 2020 and remarkably her tenth personal best and eleventh going back to December 2019.

Rodenfels newest teammate, Emily Forner, ran her first race since joining the program in early November and ran 17:06.47. Forner passed 3,000 meters in 10:05 before slowing over the final 1600, due to just beginning formal workouts last month. Both Rodenfels and Forner were NCAA DIII champions.

Much thanks to the valiant efforts of race director Dave Milner, of Nashville, TN, who organized and produced this event under extreme difficulty due to COVID-19. Each competitor produced negative COVID-19 test results during the week before the meet.

Coach Laura Caldwell, Emily Forner and Annie Rodenfels post race.

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.

Garcia & Rodenfels Lead South Carolina Road Race Rankings

12/10/2020

Victor Pataky, Eddie Garcia, Annie Rodenfels and Coach Laura Caldwell

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels lead the men's and women's South Carolina Road Race rankings, which were published on December 6, 2020. Their teammate Victor Pataky was ranked third among the men.

Garcia's two most recent road races both took place in the state's Low Country, where he won the Low Country Elite 5K in September and then broke his own SC state resident's record in the Half Marathon last weekend with a time of 1:04:32. He placed 8th overall, but was the first SC finisher, in the Mortgage Network Half Marathon. Pataky also ran a personal best in the later event at 1:07:05 and had previously placed 4th in the Low Country Elite 5K. Rodenfels last road competition was the Low Country Elite 5K, where she set the SC state resident record of 16:09.

The number of road competitions in South Carolina (and most other states) has been dramatically reduced during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both of those events in the Low Country (Hardeeville/Bluffton, SC) were "elite" events and conducted under COVID-19 protocols, including pre- & post-race face masks requirements. The most recent event also required proof of negative COVID-19 tests.

South Carolina Road Race Rankings (as of 12.06.20)

The SC Road Race Rankings are published by Bill Marable.

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.

Garcia Breaks His South Carolina State Record by 53 seconds at the Mortgage Network Half Marathon.

12/6/2020

Garcia (striped singlet) photo: Franklin Keathley.

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia and Victor Pataky both ran to huge personal bests in the initial Mortgage Network Half Marathon in Hardeeville, SC. On a crisp, perfect for running, Sunday morning Garcia covered the flat, three-loop course in a new South Carolina State resident record of 1:04:32. That was 53 seconds faster than the 1:05:25 he ran in Columbia back in February before COVID-19 basically shut down road racing in the state. His time earned him eighth in a deep field of elite men and $300.

Pataky ran 1:07:05, which knocked 64 seconds his 1:08:09 as he placed 17th. ASICS GTC-ELITE alum Joe Niemiec also lowered his personal best from 1:06:49 to 1:05:48 in placing 13th. Niemiec moved from Greenville, SC to Florida for a new job back in June.

The first time event was won by former Univeristy of Michigan standout and 2018 NCAA 10,000m champion Ben Flanagan (Canada) of Reebok Boston, who ran 1:03:17 and was followed by ON ZAP Endurance's Matt McClintock (1:03:38). Kenya's Athanos Kioko, who led for almost 10 miles, placed third in 1:03:47. Of the 40 male finishers, 26 ran sub 1:08 or better.

Eddie Garcia. photo: Franklin Keathley.

Victor Pataky. photo: Franklin Keathley.

In the women's race, which started 10 minutes after the men's, ASICS GTC-ELITE's Mackenzie Lowe ran her first race in over 13 months. After taking time off from running due to a foot injury, she only joined the program and began training in late August. She placed 18th with a time of 1:20:49.

Garcia (middle) discussing the race and state record.

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 GTC-ELITE Places 1st in USA in ASICS World Ekiden Relay

11/23/2020

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.

TrackYack.com Features Annie Rodenfels

10/30/2020

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)

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