ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE were the speakers at the GTC's June monthly meeting on June 14th. After a long period without in-person meetings, due to COVID-19, the 49-year-old running club conducted their first non-race gathering. On a nice Monday evening the members met at Conestee Nature Park. Following various club-business topics, GTC-ELITE coach Laura Caldwell led the brief presentation and introduced team members, Eddie Garcia, Emily Forner, Mackenzie Lowe and Annie Rodenfels. Each athlete informed the audience with their running bios. 

The meeting was sandwiched on the preceding  and following weekends by competitions for the athletes. Garcia is headed to Duluth, MN for this Saturday's Grandma's Marathon. Rodenfels will be competing in the USATF Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, OR on Sunday (3,000m Steeplechase). Forner and Lowe finished first and second among women in last Saturday's ​Sunrise 8K.  

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Emily Forner and Mackenzie Lowe placed first and second among women in the Sunrise 8K in Simpsonville, SC. The two training partners ran together for the first four kilometers before Forner took the lead on her way to a 29:15 clocking. That placed her fourth overall, while Lowe's 30:06 finish was seventh overall. It was their first race in over three months due to the limited racing schedule imparted by COVID-19. 

The Sunrise Run is conducted by the 49-year-old Greenville Track Club and starts at the precise moment of the sunrise, which was 6:18 am on this sunny, but extremely humid (94%) Saturday morning. 

It is with deep sadness that one of our ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE Board of Directors and lifetime runner Mical E. Embler has passed.

Mical was a standout runner at Charleston Southern University (formerly Baptist College), where he received his bachelor's degree in education. Several years after starting his career as a high school teacher, he developed an interest in accounting, so he enrolled in classes at Clemson University.  Within just three years he received his certified public accountant license, and five years later he opened his own firm, which he would manage in Greenville for the next 25 years.  Mical was a member of the South Carolina Association of CPAs, and the American Institute of CPAs.
 
Mical and his wife Kim have two grown children and reside on Paris Mountain near Furman University.  At one time they had five dogs who ran with Mical almost every day.  Mical was very active in his church and also enjoyed martial arts, biking and training dogs. In recent years he spent much of his free time playing with his grandson. 

Mical was a valued member of our Board, serving as Treasurer, beginning in 2013 until his passing on May 22, 2021 due to complications from cancer. He will be greatly missed. 
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​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, three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA and one qualifier for the 2021 USATF Olympic Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase.  Also, the group set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon).  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 (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Running (treadmill body weight support).  The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and  USATF.​

We are pleased and excited to announce that two of our program's alumni, Kate Dodds and Frank DeVar, were happily married on Sunday in beautiful Greenville, SC. Kate joined our ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE post-collegiate, Olympic-development program in early 2016 following her December 2015 graduation from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. Frank relocated to Greenville that same year, from Washington, DC. Although both are no longer active members of our program we still see them regularly as they continue to live and train locally. Kate is still coached by Laura Caldwell and Frank is an aspiring competitive race walker. We wish them the best for their future. 

The online/website Women's Running published an in-depth article highlighting the ZOOM presentation that was expertly covered by their Elizabeth Carey. To access Carey's article please visit ​​Women's Running article.