Garcia Runs Olympic Qualifying Time in Houston

Frank (father) and Eddie Garcia with Coach Mike Caldwell

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 2:18:50 to best the 2:19:00 qualifying standard to be eligible for the 2020 Olympic Games. Running almost perfectly even half-marathon splits of 1:09:26 and 1:09:24, he placed 22nd overall in a very elite field of international athletes in the Chevron Houston Marathon. He was the seventh USA citizen to finish. The top ten finishers consisted of three Kenyan, three Ethiopian, two Mexican, one American and one Irish runners. 

With a temperature of 33 degrees F (1 degree C) for the 7:01 am start in downtown Houston, the weather was favorable for the thousands of runners running in the marathon and the accompanying Aramco Half Marathon. There were some light winds on the mostly flat course that also finished in downtown Houston. Garcia ran much of the race with fellow Greenville resident Cole Atkins, who finished one place ahead of him with a time of 2:18:44. 

GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance).  The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF. ​