Our Story
Who We Are
The Mission
Built for
the Athlete
Who Isn't
Done Yet.
10+
Years Coaching
50+
Trials Qualifiers
Your college eligibility expired. Your dream didn't.
Grassroots Elite was born from a simple belief: the best running of your life does not have to end when the NCAA chapter closes. For too many athletes, the final college race feels like the finish line. The structure disappears. The team dissolves. The fire quietly goes out.
We exist to prove that wrong.
We are a track and distance running club based in Greenville, SC. Built for the athlete who is knocking on the door, chasing qualifying standards, stacking mileage, and refusing to let the dream go quiet. We are also built for the everyday runner who wants to train in a fast, supportive environment and be part of something that actually matters.
From the sub-elite targeting their first USA Championships appearance to the age-grouper running their best decade, Grassroots Elite is a community where ambition is celebrated at every level. No matter your event, your age group, or your timeline. There is a home for you here.
Home Base
Why Greenville.
Ask any runner who has trained here and you will get the same answer: once you run in Greenville, you do not want to leave. This is where PRs happen.
220+
sunny days/year
The Weather
Winters that rarely see snow. Spring and fall deliver near-perfect conditions. Even summer yields to early mornings that runners across the country envy.
22mi
Swamp Rabbit Trail
The Trails
One of the finest training corridors in the Southeast. Furman campus loops, Paris Mountain elevation, and a rolling road grid built for tempos and long runs.
100+
races nearby
The Community
The Greenville Track Club, founded in 1972, hosts events year-round. Local stores run weekly group runs. Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh are all a morning's drive.
34
median age
The City
Vibrant downtown. Incredible food scene. Affordable cost of living. The metro is approaching a million people. Your training partners are everywhere.
Head Coach
Hayden Cox
Coach. Attorney. Announcer. Builder.
Hayden Cox does not fit a single mold. That is exactly what makes him exceptional at what he does.
A USATF Level I Certified coach with over a decade of experience at the high school, NCAA Division I, and elite club levels, his resume speaks for itself. His athletes include Krissy Gear (American Record Holder in the Road Mile at 4:23.96, World #1 in the 800m), the Railroad Athletics Women's Team (2024 USATF Cross Country National Champions), and dozens of Olympic Trials qualifiers across the marathon, track, and roads.
But credentials only tell part of the story. Hayden is also a practicing attorney, a race announcer at top U.S. meets, and an active volunteer on the USATF Men's Long Distance Running Committee. He brings all of it into how he coaches: the analytical discipline, the public communication, the institutional knowledge of the sport.
His philosophy is built around the individual. Not a program you adapt to, but a program built around you. Your event, your life, your ceiling. He is known for finding the missing percentage points that take athletes from strong to unstoppable, without burning them out in the process.
“When you have real community, real coaching, and real belief in what's possible, the ceiling just keeps rising. Sometimes the athlete is the last one to see it. That is what great teammates and great coaching are for.”
Hayden Cox
Your Best Miles
Are Still Ahead.
Whether you are chasing an Olympic Trials qualifier or your first sub-20 5K, there is a lane for you here.
