Stephanie Garcia on her way to winning the steeplechase at the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic May 14. 

For the first time in her career, Furman Elite’s Stephanie Garcia holds IAAF “A” standards in the 1500m (4:05), 5K (15:19) and steeplechase (9:37). Not only are her 1500m and 5K marks huge personal bests, but her recent 1500m win at the South Carolina Track Classic solidifies her position as the only female steeplechaser in the United States with the 2015 IAAF “A” standard in all three events. Heading into the Birmingham Diamond League meeting and with a steady progression over the past two years since joining Furman Elite, Garcia shares her secrets to success in the 2015 season.

 

Tell me a little bit about the South Carolina Track Classic where you ran a new PR in the 1500m. 

I had no expectations for this race. I had obviously knew that Emma [Coburn] ran 4:10 at Oxy and I felt that I was in good enough shape to do that. I ran a 4:31 mile, I ran pretty well indoors, ran a 4:33 and so I thought 4:11, 4:10 was definitely do-able. That was my metal goal, was to be around there. We set it up with my training partners to be a fast race, so I had no expectations, there was really no pressure for me, I just wanted to go out and see what I could do. I never really thought that I had speed for a 1500m so it was just going to be a run full-out race before I go for the steeple. 

 

It was great to surprise myself and we’re thrilled about where I am overall. 

 

You’ve had a big break-out this year with personal bests in the 1500m and 5K already, what do you think has made the difference?

I definitely think joining Furman Elite and being coached by Robert Gary has 100 percent been the biggest change for me. I made the team in 2011, I came out of college on a high, and then I just had a couple rough transition years where I wasn’t in the right position with training partners or with a coach, and I was just kind of bouncing all over the place. I wasn’t fully committed. I didn’t really believe in what I was doing so finishing up 2013, I was like, I either need to be done or give this one more shot. I had the opportunity to go down to Furman with Robert and it absolutely changed my perspective and of course my training. I think besides Mark Wetmore, that he’s [Gary] the best steeplechase coach in the country. In my opinion, there’s no one that I can make an Olympic team with except for him. I fully committed my whole life and the lifestyle to being an elite athlete and that’s made all the difference. 

 

Tell me about the Furman Elite group.

Right now there’s three women and six men, and it’s a mix of 1500m runners, steeplers, and a couple guys who run the 5K. The way Robert puts it is that we’re the “forgotten demographic.” There’s so many post-collegiate distance runners who maybe have a small contract or they don’t have a contract, but they’re all out there trying to do something big, but they don’t have the full support of a big contract. He [Gary] wanted to create this post-collegiate group where we’re not just trying to make you fit, we’re trying to make teams, we’re trying to do big things. Maybe we’re not all standout star Nike athletes, but we’re all people who are in the mix and again, trying to make teams. It’s a great mix of people with great personalities and just really hard workers. It’s been a wonderful experience for me down there. 

 

You’ve got a steeplechase coming up in Birmingham, what are your goals there?

We think that I’m in shape to run a PR. Obviously our goal for the whole year is to break that 9:20 barrier. I feel like I have all the pieces in place, the endurance and strength that I got through my 5K and a little bit more closing speed that I got in the 1500m, so there’s no pressure. I’m not saying if I don’t run a PR, I’ll be disappointed or not confident for the U.S. Championships. I just kinda want to go and get on a bigger stage and see what I can do lining up next to some amazing runners. We’ll see how it plays out. 

 

That 5K at Payton Jordan was another huge jump for you!

Yeah! It was another big one, a 24-second PR and another “A” standard. Again, totally didn’t expect it. We were just hoping to run in the 15:30 range, but just to get that time out of it was really exciting. It was my first race of the season so to start with that was really exciting. 

 

Having this type of range from the 1500m to the steeple to the 5K, and “A” standards in all, does it make you wonder about switching event focus?

No I’m definitely a steeplechaser. You know, when I came out of college, I had no PRs in anything else. I wasn’t good at anything else, and I kind of struggled with the steeple for a few years. So I really felt disappointed that I didn’t have any depth. My steeple wasn’t improving and I couldn’t run anything else so that was a bummer. So now to be able to say I have “A” standards across the board just solidifies what I’m doing in the sport and that I am somebody. There’s so many good steeplechasers out there, but to be able to say I have legitimized myself in a few other events as well is a big moment.  

 

And I’m getting old [laughs] so it’s nice to finally get some things done. 

 

I was in Sacramento last year at the USATF Outdoor Championships when you finished third in the steeplechase. That was another big race for you. 

Last year before USAs I had run 9:28 in the steeplechase so that was exciting. It was a big PR for me at that point so we were not necessarily expecting me to be top three but that was always kind of the goal to see can you be in that position? Can you hold it? The steeple is getting harder and harder every single year so as much as I want to say that I’m going to make the team this year, you just never know so hopefully we can recreate last year and have another really strong finish but it’s going to take a lot of work obviously. 

 

The women’s steeple really has become so much deeper in recent years, what’s that been like to see the growth of this event?

It’s been really exciting and I’ve had a few years where I felt kind of out of it where I wasn’t improving, and I was really disappointed that I wasn’t able to contribute to the sport and now having more of a position, it’s been so exciting. There are a lot of great college girls that are going to come out and run really fast and I think that instead of being intimidated by that, I’m excited. I hope that I can do more but I also know that there are going to be a lot of girls who can do some big things. The U.S. has a huge chance of becoming a real factor on the world team in the steeple. 

 

It must be a great feeling knowing that you have this range and experience behind you to be real factor in making Team USA. 

It is exciting but Coach likes to remind me that no one is expecting me to make the team and there’s no guarantees for anyone, except for maybe Emma [laughs]. I’m going to go into the USA Championships confident but I’m not going to go in expecting anything except that I will race my heart out. 

 

I think what’s exciting for me, especially as I’m getting older in the event, is that when I was just out of college I was really intimidated by everyone and I didn’t like anyone in the steeple because I was so scared of losing to them, and now I just have a lot more respect for everyone in the event. I think there are seven or eight girls that if I were to lose to them or lose a spot to them, I would still really respect them and think that they were doing great things. It’s part of me maturing, but it’s also just being older in the event and appreciating the depth more. The girls in the steeple right now are really fantastic and it’s fun to be apart of it.