On a beautiful Saturday morning Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel ran a quick 29:44 to win the 46th edition of this historic Greenville race. With a new finish line overlooking the new United Community headquarters on E. Camperdown, almost 2,000 runners covered either the 10K or 5K routes through downtown Greenville and the city parks. Simpsonville's Alyssa Bloomquist won the women's title with a time of 35:18. Both Weitzel and Bloomquist are ranked first among men and women, respectively, in the current South Carolina Road Race Rankings. 

Greenville's Ricky Flynn, running his 1oth Reedy River Run 10K, placed second with a time of 29:58. Weitzel and Flynn had finished 2nd and 3rd in the three most recent United Community Reedy River Run 10Ks. GTC-ELITE's Jack Mastandrea finished third with a time of 30:08. Defending champion Johanna Stephens of Dallas, GA, placed second among women in 36:30. 

All five of the runners mentioned above earned prize money awards due to their placings, time bonuses and meeting the minimum time standards:  Weitzel ($850), Flynn ($650), Mastandrea ($425), Bloomquist ($600) and Stephens ($400). Weitzel received $500 for the win, $100 as first South Carolina resident and $250 for breaking 29:45. 

Simpsonville's Phillips Giguere, 54 years of age, ran an outstanding 35:07, which is the event record for Grand Masters (50 & Over) athletes and earned $100 for his effort. The previous record was 35:18. He was also the Masters (Over 40) champion. 

LINK TO RESULTS @ https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/32178#resultSetId-450852;perpage:100

​LINK TO PHOTOS @ https://runsignup.com/Race/Photos/SC/Greenville/ReedyRiverRun

It is race week with the 46th United Community Reedy River Run on Saturday, April 20. This historic 10K is one of the oldest road races in South Carolina and will once again feature some of the state's top runners. 

Greenville's James Quattlebaum will attempt to win his fifth consecutive United Community Reedy River Run and improve on his event record of 29:20. This year's course is slightly changed with the finish on Falls Street, James will compete against Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea. Weitzel has been runner-up in this event for three straight years and is the current leader in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings. The third place finisher for the past three years and third ranked South Carolinian Ricky Flynn is also competing.

Among the women, Joanna Stephens, the 2023 winner  is returning along with last year's runner-up Alyssa Bloomquist. Alyssa ran a new personal best for 10K at the Cooper River Bridge Run on April 6 and is currently ranked first among SC women. Last year's third placer, Shelby Jarmillio, will also be running. 

Packet Pickup will be on Friday (April 19) from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm. The location is the United Community overflow parking lot on Falls Street (south of E. Broad Street). You will be able to enter the parking lot from Falls Street. Please do not arrive earlier than 11:20 am as it may cause undue traffic issues during our set up. Our goal is to process everyone as quickly as possible. 10K bib numbers have been assigned and are specific to a starting wave and corral. 5K bibs will be assigned in order of arrival to packet pickup. There will not be Packet Pickup on Saturday. 
Please see map for Packet Pickup below. 

:Portable Toilets on Race Morning

​Due to the 10K and 5K starting lines being about 250 meters apart and the restrictions on placing Portable Toilets on S. Main Street, the Portable Toilets will be located near the Finish Line in the overflow parking lot across the street from United Community's new office building. The parking lot is on Falls Street and is the same lot as used for Packet Pickup on Friday. 
Please plan toilet usage accordingly as it is about a 5 mins walk to either the 10K or 5K starting lines. You will need to be in your appropriate starting area at least 15 minutes prior to start (7:00 am for 10K and 7:45 am for 5K). Please see map below. 

Post Race Festival
​There will be a fun filled post race festival immediately following the races. Once you finish you will be directed into the festival lot. Jersey Mike's mini-subs will be available for those with race bibs. There will be face painting, bouncy house, etc for the kids and our DJ will keep the good vibes going. You can also get a selfie in front of one of our race banners. You can have your family meet you in the festival lot and enjoy your accomplishment and have some fun. 

The historic Green Valley Road Races, a 10-Mile and a 5-Mile, are this Saturday. You can register to run or volunteer at
runsignup.com/Race/SC/TravelersRest/GreenValleyRoadRace.

Rewards:
1) a fantastic experience running beautiful Green Valley!
2) 10 milers receive a finisher’s medal
3) overall, masters, and grandmasters awards for both races 
4) age group awards for both races: <=14, then 5 year age groups from 15 to 99 (award is tbd)
5) an awesome embroidered 1/4 zip pullover for all participants

The mission of Greenville Track Club-ELITE is:

As stated in the mission, one of our goals has been to have our athletes qualify for the USA Olympic Team Trials. And since our inception in 2012, we have achieved that goal ten times, including the Marathon Trials in Los Angeles (2016) , Atlanta (2020) and now Orlando (2024) in addition to the 2021 Track & Field Trials in Eugene, OR. Greenville Track Club-ELITE will have Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea on the starting line at 10:10 am on Saturday, February 3rd. ​

Jason Weitzel qualified for the this year's Trials by running 2:15:55 at the Bakline McKirdy Micro Marathon in Cottage Valley, NY in October. His time was a huge 8-minutes 36-seconds improvement from his initial marathon back in May at Ottawa, Ontario. However, it was not a big surprise to his coach and teammates as he had multiple high placings since joining GTC-ELITE in the summer of 2022. Jason has placed 12th twice in the USATF 10K Road Championships and 15th at the USATF 15K Championships, in addition to other very good performances.
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Jack Mastandrea had previously qualified with his 2:17:28 at the 2022 Ottawa Marathon before joining this program in August of 2023. He has adjusted to his new environment and won the CPI Security Charlotte Turkey Trot 8K in Charlotte, NC and the Ameris Jacksonville Half Marathon in Florida. He recently placed second to Weitzel in th GTC Run Downtown 5K in Greenville, SC as both athletes did their final tune-up before the Marathon Trials. 

The program also has Eduardo "Eddie" Garcia as a two-time Trials Qualifier (2020 & 2024). However, Eddie has dual citizenship and although he ran 2:17:09 to best the 2:18:00 qualification standard, he has chosen to represent the US Virgin Islands in international competition and not compete in the USA Trials.  He is currently awaiting a potential selection to the ISV (US Virgin Islands) Olympic team for Paris 2024. Such selection will depend on his World Athletics Ranking points as of the end of April. Eddie has international experience at the marathon distance, participating in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. 

The 42.195 Kilometer/26.2 mile course is relatively flat and consists of an initial 2.2-mile loop followed by three laps of an 8-mile loop through downtown Orlando with the finish near picturesque Lake Eola.  The current weather forecast, which can change daily, calls for an early morning low of about 50 degrees and trending warmer by the 10:10 am men's start. The event will be broadcast on Peacock (10:00 am - 1:00 pm) and NBC (12:00 noon - 3:00 pm).

Upcoming GTC Events

Monthly Meetings
January 8 at Goat Bar & Grill on S. Main St.
6:00 pm socializing and 6:30 pm meeting start

February 5 at Hampton Road Baptist Church event building
Running Series and Corporate Shield awards night

March 4 at Goat Bar & Grill on S. Main St
6:00 pm socializing and 6:30 pm meeting start


January 20th - Greenville Track Club Run Downtown 5K
Race Director: John Hart [email protected] 
Register or volunteer https://runsignup.com/Race/Info/SC/Greenville/RunDowntown

• GTC Running Series
• GTC Corporate Shield

February 10th – GTC Green Valley Road Race
Race Director: Michael Caputo [email protected]
Register or volunteer: https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/TravelersRest/GreenValleyRoadRace

• GTC Running Series 

March 9th– Milliken Earth Run 5K
Roger Milliken Center – Spartanburg
Race Director: Beth Trenor
Register:  https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/Spartanburg/EarthRun

• GTC Corporate Shield

April 20th – UCB Reedy River Run 10K (premier race) and 5K
Race Director: Mike Caldwell  [email protected]
Register or Volunteer: https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/Greenville/ReedyRiverRun

The Greenville Track Club Nominating Committee is proud to announce the organization's 2024 Officers and Board of Directors effective January 1, 2024. The on-line voting results for the proposed slate received a 99.5% approval rating. Any comments opposing the proposed slate were recorded and noted to be reviewed for possible resolution. Congratulations to all of the 2024 leadership and a very sincere thank you to the 2023 officers and directors, who made our 51st year so good.  
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Executive
President     Jim Roberts 
Vice-President  Michael Captuo (new)
Treasurer    Jim Fortner (new)
Secretary  Joy Bailey (new)

Administrative
Strategic Planning   Mike Caldwell (non-elected position)
Community Development Director   Bill Keesling (non-elected position)
Webmaster    Mike Caldwell (non-elected position)    
Equipment Coordinator    Mark Sejman (non-elected position)       
Membership  Mark Sejman  (non-elected position)
USA Track & Field Representative  Mickey McCauley  (non-elected position)

Elected Board
At Large Director 1    Ashley Lavelle (new)
At Large Director 2    Ed Boehmke  
At Large Director 3    Ellen Abarotin (new)
At Large Director 4    Robert Morse 
At Large Director 5    Harry Stathakis (new)
At Large Director 6   Bill Blask
At Large Director 7   TBD
At Large Director 8   Sandi Hardaway (new)
At Large Director Emeritus Lola Amcher (non-elected position)​    

Program Directors

• Running Series Director  Bobby Richmond
• Corporate Shield Director  Cherie McCain
• Youth Running Program Director  Ashley Lavelle
• GTC-ELITE Director Mike Caldwell

Race Directors (voting members)

• Green Valley Road Race Director    Michael Caputo
• Paris Mountain Road Race Director  vacant/TBD
• Paris Mountain Trail Run Race Director    Michael Burchett 
• Red White & Blue Shoes 5k Race Director   Mickey McCauley          
• United Community Bank  Reedy River Race Director    Mike Caldwell      
• Run Downtown Race Director  John Hart
• SC Open & Masters Director Jim Roberts
• Spinx Run Fest Race Director  CJ Kozlowski
• Sunrise Run Race Director   Tim Stewart
• Santa Run Race Director  Rich and Mary Lee Tierney
• All Comers Track Meet Director(s) Gabe Unger, Ian Whatley and Susan Whatley 
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​Please join us on Monday December 4th at The Goat Bar & Grill located at 1021 South Main Street Greenville, SC 29601 for our December meeting! Our meeting time is 6 pm. Come socialize with your GTC running friends and enjoy some good food and drink, This month's topic is Fun & Friendship. 

We look forward to seeing you there as we celebrate the holiday season. 

The GTC Nominating Committee is proud to announce the proposed slate of Officers and Board of Directors for 2024. All current GTC members are encouraged to vote "yes" or "no" via the menu below. If voting "no" please add your comments as to why, so that the Nominating Committee can address the issue. We do request each voter's name so that we can ensure that only current GTC members votes are counted. Voting will be open until end of day, December 2, 2023. Thank you.