HAYDEN COX
Head Coach
Hayden founded Railroad to offer athletes an elite coaching experience, regardless of their pace. He believes that no matter your goal, you deserve a coach that will work with you with the same passion and resources offered at the NCAA D1 and professional levels. He sums up his training philosophy in 3 steps.
Prioritize long term over short term
Create and sustain consistency in training & in life
Vary workouts & paces throughout a training cycle
In his 9 years of Athletics coaching, including stints at the High School and NCAA DI levels, Hayden has helped countless athletes achieve their dreams during his career. Here's a sampling:
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National-Class Results
2nd, Allie Kieffer @ CIM (2:33:26, OTQ)
4th, Anna West @ 2023 McKirdy Marathon, (2:35:04, OTQ)
9th, Alyssa Bloomquist @ 2023 McKirdy Marathon, (2:36:29, OTQ)
17th, Allen Sumrall @ 2023 USA Outdoor Championships (10k)
8th, Allen Sumrall @ 2023 Garry Bjorkland Half Marathon
12th, Allen Sumrall @ 2023 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships (3000m)
26th, Cassidy Heaton @ 2022 Chicago Marathon (2:39:08)
5th, Melissa Anastasakis @ 2022 Greek XC Championships (8k XC)
10th, Megan Wagenaar @ 2022 Canadian Outdoor Track Championships (Steeple)
16th, Allen Sumrall @ 2021 USA Half Marathon Road Championships
16th, Anna West @ 2021 USA 15k Road Championships
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Hayden is particularly proud of how each athlete developed. When Hayden met Anna, she wanted to be a marathoner but didn't think she could run more than 40mpw after constant injuries in college. In two years of working together, Hayden slowly introduced higher volumes and she's since run 2:35 and qualified for her first U.S. Olympic Trials off a safe & healthy 80mpw. With Alyssa, she was a 33 year-old mother-of-two with a 2:41:24 PR. She didn't have time for higher mileage, but needed to somehow find a 4-minute PR in her 7th Marathon to qualify for the Olympic Trials. With patience, a longer-term training plan, and speed emphasis, she crushed it and ran 2:36:29 to qualify for her 3rd Trials. Allen joined RR thinking he had reached his potential, but with a splash of speed and more effort-based training, his PR's dropped from (5k) 14:29 to 13:57, (10k) 29:44 to 28:44, and (Half) 66:32 to 64:13 in only a year.
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Melissa started as a 1500m runner. Yet, in her first postcollegiate season, she improved her aerobic strength to earn 5th in her country. Megan had never raced a steeplechase before, but wanted the best possible national finish. In her first year, she earned top 10 in Canada. When Cassidy joined Railroad, her Marathon PR was 2:51 and she'd never broken 18 for 5k. Now, she's the North Carolina 5k State Champion in a race she won in 16:48. She followed that up with a 12min PR in the Marathon, running 2:39 in Chicago.
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Hayden stresses that these national-class results, while​ fast and fun, are as meaningful to him as the countless PR's and podiums like:
Amelia Larkin, a HS freshman, PR's by 40s in the 3200 & earns 4th at her State meet.
Scott Beardsley earns his first race win and sets PR's in the 5k, 10k, and Half.
Emma Allison BQ's and sets a huge PR (placing 2nd) in her first marathon with Railroad.
Grace Marmaras improves her Half by 19 minutes and finishes her first marathon.
Taylor Smith sets a PR on the notoriously difficult Austin Half course
Brody Wooten sets 5k and 10k PR's and several age group wins
Eli Decker places 2nd & PR's at Run for the Water 10 miler
EJ Porras & Taylor Smith set Mile PR's together at the Schrader Mile
Liam Collins sets a course best at the Austin Half
Braden Videon sets a 5k PR
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Hayden claims Kevin Jermyn and Rita Gary as his biggest coaching influences.
He works full-time as a startup/venture capital attorney in Austin, TX. In his spare time, he also volunteers as both the USATF Texas Southern Long-Distance Running Chair and a community XC/Track coach for The Griffin School.
He has previously held coaching positions at Elon University (Assistant Cross Country/Distance Track Coach), Chattahoochee High School (Assistant XC Coach), Furman Running Camp (Assistant Director), Furman Running Club (Head Coach), and C.C.R.C. (Head Coach).
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He is a USATF Level I Certified Coach.