asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program
established 2012
established 2012
 Eddie Garcia (78) taking the early lead. On a sunny, but cold, Saturday morning ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 1:05:25 over a hilly course to win the Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Half Marathon in Columbia, SC. He returned to the state's Capitol city after winning the MCG Long Run 15K three weeks ago to post a similar winning result. The Atlanta Track Club's Robert Stone was second in 1:08:00. Garcia's 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.  photo: JEDIrunnerphotography 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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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. Rodenfels' current, and former collegiate, teammate Victor Pataky placed second in the men's division with a time of 4:26. He finished two seconds behind the Atlanta Track Club's James Dwyer (4:24) and earned $400. Both Rodenfels and Pataky are graduates of Kentucky's Centre College. The race had previously been held in the month of May, but was moved to February in conjunction with Saturday's Lexington Medical Center Governor's Cup Road Races (Half Marathon and 5K). The temperature after sundown dropped to under 40 degrees with gusting winds.  Rodenfels winning Main Street Mile photo: JEDIrunnerphotography 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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels are the new leaders in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings announced today. Garcia won the MCG Long Run 15K in Columbia, SC last Saturday after placing third in The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K in January. Those were his first races since placing 12th at the Pan American Games Marathon with a time of 2:19:12 last July in Lima Peru. In the Columbia race, Eddie finished 27 seconds ahead of Rock Hill's Jonathan McGinnis, who is second in the current rankings. Rodenfels won the women's title at The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K with a time of 16:44, where she bested the former rankings leader Alyssa Bloomquist. Bloomquist ran a personal best of 16:54 in that event and is now ranked second in the standings. Rodenfel's teammate, Cristina McKnight, is ranked third following her SC State 15K record (52:47) at the MCG Long Run. Bloomquist, McKnight, Joy Miller (4th in rankings) and Esther Atkins (5th) are all qualifiers for this month's USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, which illustrates the current talent level. Garcia's teammates, Joe Niemiec (7th) and Victor Pataky (9th) are also among the top ten men. Garcia, Niemiec, James Quattlebaum (3rd), Cole Atkins (6th) are also 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifiers.
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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
 All smiles for Cristina McKnight and Eddie Garcia ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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). Kirigwi was third in 47:07.
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. 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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Annie Rodenfels just before race start. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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. 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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
Back in the spring of 2018 Joe Niemiec contacted us regarding his interest in joining our post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. He explained that he, and his wife Jasmin, had decided to actively pursue their dream of him qualifying for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon.
Although Joe did not have a marathon performance on his running resume, he and Jasmin visited Greenville (where their college friends Carolyn and Clay Watson had moved a couple of years previously) and interviewed with the ASICS GTC-ELITE coaches. They soon decided to make the transition from their home in Michigan to Greenville and begin the training necessary to achieve such a lofty goal. Here is the link to Joe's Story describing his performance in the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 19, 2020: Joe's Story.  Joe Niemiec (photo by Jack Thompson/Runner's World) ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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. 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 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, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Annie Rodenfels nearing the final turn. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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.
Rodenfels also represented her employer Joy Real Estate in the Corporate Shield competition. The event was produced by the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club and runs through downtown Greenville, SC. Annie's teammate, Eddie Garcia, ran his first race since last July's Pan American Games Marathon and placed third with a time of 14:56. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is excited to announce that Mackenzie Donahue will be joining the program in the second half of 2020. Donahue currently resides in her hometown area of Buffalo, NY where she works for Fleet Feet Buffalo as an inventory receiving specialist.
Mackenzie 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. After graduating she continued to live in the Buffalo, NY area. Passionate about running, she continued to train and compete at the elite level in road racing and in some cross country and track races. She 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. “We are excited to announce that Mackenzie will be joining our training group in the future,” stated Mike Caldwell, Director of the program. “Coach Laura Caldwell and I believe that Mackenzie has quite a bit of potential and that by training with our other female athletes and utilizing our resources she will be able to develop and achieve her running goals.” Mackenzie plans to relocate to Greenville to join the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program following her August wedding to long-time boyfriend Greg Lowe. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Rodenfels (photo: Victor Pataky) ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's 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. Clemson's Mikie Harris was second in 10:00.44.
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. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, two for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, and one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, 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, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF. |
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