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HomeNewsLocal sportsEduardo Garcia Making Successful Transition from Track to Road

Eduardo Garcia Making Successful Transition from Track to Road

Eduardo Garcia

Eduardo Garcia, a long-distance runner for the Virgin Islands National Track and Field Federation (VITFF) team, has been successfully making the transition from the track to road running over the past four years, including his successful career at the University of Florida where he joined fellow V.I. team member Eddie Lovett to lead the Gators to NCAA Division I National Championship titles.

He recently took 9th place in The Great Cow Harbor 10K Road Race in Newport, N.Y., one of the top races in the United States, with a time of 30:15 (4:53 per mile).

Garcia received all SEC Conference honors in cross-country and became the first Virgin Islander to go under 30 minutes in the 10K (6.2 miles) on the track. His best performance as a V.I. team member was at the CAC Games in 2015 in Vera Cruz where took a close fourth place in the 10K. He now holds several V.I. national long-distance records, including: 10K, 5K and the marathon. Sighting untapped aerobic capacity, his coaches and the VITFF agreed with his decision to focus on road running and has targeted the marathon for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as his goal.

He opened his road running career with impressive performances, which includes a 4th place finish at the NACAC Half-Marathon Championships in Havana, Cuba, under hot and humid conditions; he ran a personal best of 1:06.02 in the half-marathon in Naples, Florida. His first test at the marathon came with a grant from the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (VIOC) and the VITFF to travel to the prestigious Rotterdam Marathon in Holland. There he was well on to sub 2:20 pace up to 20 miles and posted a new V.I. National Record of 2:25!

More transition followed Rotterdam along with injuries; then his decision to go all in and relocate to South Carolina and to hook up with The Greenville Elite Track Club. So far, the move has shown results. He placed 25th in the famous Peach Tree 10K Road Race (over 40,000 runners) in Atlanta on 4th of July weekend 31:03. He jumped back on the track for the CAC games, and, obviously off on his track speed, finished 8th in the 10K in a tactical race — an above average performance none-the-less. All led up to his personal best on the road in Newport.

Notes:
1] Garcia is one of several V.I. National Track and Field team members who sacrifice pursuit of income producing careers to compete. Their resources are limited to minimal grants from the various sports bodies like the Olympic Committee, track and field federation, clubs, colleges, etc.
2] The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation is tax exempt and a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization and will guarantee that a donation to an athlete will go directly to that athlete.
3] The Virgin Islands Track and Field Hall of Fame will be receiving nominations for members in the very near future.

For further information: logon to: http://virginislandspace.org/vitff.html; or email: isv@mf.iaaf.org or wallacewilliams@msn.com or call 310-643-2557.

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