It’s a devastating thing, to fall in a race. On a good day, you’ll limp off the track with an injured pride and likely an injured limb, whether that be a knee, a shoulder, an ankle. On a bad day, you’ll find all your hopes and dreams dashed – the fall could mean the end of a season, the loss of a medal, the shattered culmination of all you’ve worked towards for an entire year. But on an even worse day, falling in a race can only mean one thing: losing your spot on Team USA for the Olympics.

I was lucky. I only lost a spot on Team USA for the World Championships. Completely different thing. (Editor’s Note: Garcia has since been named to the USA team and will participate in the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Daegu, Korea; she replaces Delilah DiCrescenzo who pulled out due to injury. Steeplechase heats are on Friday, Aug. 27 and the final is on Tuesday, Aug. 30.)

Falls can be brutal. In a race like the 1500, competitors race bunched together for the majority of the 3 and 3/4 laps. A fall towards the beginning or the middle of the 1500 can be salvageable, depending on your lung capacity and your overall fitness. But a fall towards the end of a 1500 can only mean one thing: everyone else has started kicking it in and there’s no way you’ll be able to make up that gap.

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