Weitzel Runs Personal Best at Portland Track Festival

Jason Weitzel (left) breaking 29:00.

On a very rainy Friday evening in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel ran a personal best of 28:59.57 for 10,000 meters. That placed him ninth, fourth USA athlete, in a very good field in this prestigious meet. Jason was seeded 19th off of his road best 10K of 29:22 and cut 35 seconds from his previous track 10,000 best (29:34.62).

Weitzel's time was a new team record for ASICS GTC-ELITE, besting the 29:06.16 of Mark Leininger set exactly five years ago on this same track.

The race was run during a steady rain at Lewis & Clark College's Griswold Stadium, which Portand's running media Tracklandia has labeled "the Electric Forest." The early pace was set by designated pacer Frank Lara, a former Furman University standout who now competes for Roots Running. Lara led former NCAA champion and new Northern Arizona Elite athlete Wesley Kiptoo through a quick first mile of 4:25. Once Lara completed his pacing duties, Kiptoo led the remainder of the race and finished with a time of 28:19.87. He was followed by the US Army's Geoffrey Kipchumba (28:38.25) and NAZ Elite's Alex Masai (28:38.53).

Jason started near the back of the 22 man field in Heat 1 and passed 1600m in 4:40.09. He maintained fairly consistent 400 meter laps just over or under 70 seconds. He passed 5,000m at 14:34.7 as he moved up his position. He then ran at the front of a small group of runners as the race progressed over the final three kilometers as he passed 8K in 23:19.1. He needed to cover the final 2,000m in under 5:40 to break 29:00. And he accomplished that goal as he ran the final kilometer in 2:46.0 with a last lap of 1:02.47. 

The Portland Track Festival is also the newest member of the World Athletics 2022 Continental Tour. 

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Top Finishers in 10,000m

ASICS Greenville Track Club-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 and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. ASICS GTC-ELITE also produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year. 

​The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 50-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), 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 Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.​