Contact/About Us

 

If you have a question, you will likely find the answer you’re looking for on our FAQ Page.

Contact Us:

Call 803.960.6202 or Katie.Miller@governorscupsc.org

To reach us by mail, send correspondence to:

Carolina Marathon Association
PO Box 5092
Columbia, SC 29250-5092
Half-marathon race course

The Governor’s Cup Road Race is coordinated by a team of experienced race managers, all of whom have extensive backgrounds as runners themselves.  The Governor’s Cup is operated by the Carolina Marathon Association which has been conducting major running events in Columbia since 1977.  The Carolina Marathon Association’s motto has always been, “Our events are managed by runners for runners.”  That is true of the Lexington Medical Center Governor’s Cup Road Race which we expect to meet the highest standards for competitive running events. Our leadership team:

Committee Members

Derek McFarland

Event Director

Derek McFarland is the Event Director for the Governor’s Cup Road Race. He is a Clemson and Vanderbilt alum as well as an executive from the packaging industry. Derek is a marathoner, formerly with Second City Track Club in Chicago and is currently a member of Team Utopia South here in Columbia.

Katie Miller

Event Manager

Katie Miller is the Event Manager for the Governor’s Cup Road Race. In that role she is responsible for week-to-week coordination of the overall event with special focus on communication activities, community relations, marketing and promotion, logistics, registration and volunteer management. Katie has nearly 20 years of professional experience with event planning and management. In her free time, Katie is involved in several community organizations where she also plans events.

Dawn Catalano

Spirit Corp Coordinator

Dawn, a public relations/marketing/fund development consultant, is responsible for recruiting and organizing our Spirit Corps groups since its inception.

Kathryn Cavenaugh

Elite Athletes

Kathryn is the Assistant Solicitor with Richland County. She is responsible for qualifying, securing, and hospitality of Invited Athletes.

Kerry McIver Cordan

Kids Main Street Mile

Kerry is a Program Officer for SC First Steps to School Readiness, serving the Upstate Region and overseeing Heath programs. She is responsible for Kids Main Street Mile event promotions and operations.

Mark Stout

Race Operations

Mark Stout is the Program Supervisor for Cardiac Rehabilitation at Lexington Medical Center – Irmo. He also has a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from USC. He is responsible for race operations which includes our race courses, police, coning, aids stations, course monitors, and race timing.

Eva Greenberg

Finish Line Festival

Eva Greenberg is responsible for the finish area for the Governor's Cup Road Race. She is the Athletic Director for a Columbia-area school as well as the coordinator of the VR for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race. Eva has 12 years of experience in event planning, development, and program management, and is a lifelong runner and road race enthusiast, formerly with Capital Area Runners in the DC-area and currently as a member of Team Utopia South in Columbia.

Anna Gasperecz

Media Relations
ph: (803) 545-0016

Anna Gasperecz is a Baton Rouge, Louisiana native. She served Visit Baton Rouge for 4 years as Destination Experience Manager. She currently serves the Columbia, South Carolina community as Sports Development Manager for Experience Columbia SC Sports. In this role, she works to strategically plan and provide service support to make sports tournaments and competitions successful and increase economic impact for the region.

Zach Jenkins

Transportation and Course Logistics

Zach Jenkins is the Director of Applied Practice at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, where he builds relationships with employers and directs the Master of Public Health student practicum placements. Zach is the transportation logistics coordinator for the Governor's Cup where he organizes and facilitates the hydration stations, as well as supports the rest of the committee with operations.

Key Volunteers

Mark Benedabaugh

Main Street Mile

Mark Benedabaugh ran Track & Cross Country and Track at Brookland-Cayce High School (Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1998), then went to Francis Marion University (Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2003), and has coached at Pelion High School for 35 years (Inducted into South Carolina Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019).

The very first Road Race that Mark ever ran in was the 1980 Governor's Cup 5 miler! He has run in it dozens of times since then.

Rhonda Sanders

Awards

Ronda Sanders is a senior instructor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of South Carolina. She is also the Assistant Director of the College of Arts and Sciences Incubator for Teaching Innovation. She has been a member of Team Utopia South since 2018 and a member of Columbia Running Club since 2016.

 

© Governor's Cup Road Race (2023). All Rights Reserved.


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