HAYDEN COX

Hayden founded Railroad to offer a space where nonprofessional athletes are valued and supported. 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. Recently, he's found consderable success working with post-collegiate women as they pursue high-performance outside of the confines of the NCAA system. He sums up his training philosophy in 3 steps.

1. Prioritize long term over short term

2. Create and sustain consistency and joy 

3.  Vary workouts, paces, and race distances 

 

In his 10 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

1st, Railroad Athletics Women @ 2024 USATF XC Championships
16th, Gabbie Delay @ 2024 USA 20k Road Championships

2nd, Allie Kieffer @ 2024 CIM (2:33:26, OTQ)

3rd, Railroad Athletics Men @ 2023 Cross Champs

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 wasn't sure she could run more than 40mpw after constant injuries in college, but wanted to become a marathoner. 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. 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 2024 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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Hayden stresses that these national-class results, while​ fast and fun, are as meaningful to him as the countless PR's and podiums of all his athletes. Here are some of his favorite moments: 

• Lauren Ohler, a college student at UT, runs a 5k PR at Baylor University competing alongside (and beating) D1 athletes all across Texas.

• Scott Beardsley, a 40yo trail runner earns his first race win and sets PR's in the 5k, 10k, and Half. 

• Christian Schaaf, a D3 alum, joins RR after graduation and sets PR's in the 800, 1500, 3k, 5k, 10k, and Half!

• Emma Allison, a former HS XC runner, BQ's and sets a huge PR (placing 2nd) in her first marathon with Railroad.

• Grace Marmaras, a working woman in DC, improves her Half by 19 minutes and finishes her first marathon.

• Taylor Smith, a college student at Texas, sets a PR on the notoriously difficult Austin Half course

• Brody Wooten, a HS athlete in GA, sets 5k and 10k PR's and several age group wins

• Eli Decker, a D3 alum working in Austin tech, places 2nd & PR's at Run for the Water 10 miler

• EJ Porras & Taylor Smith, classmates at Texas, set Mile PR's together at the Schrader Mile

• Liam Collins, a PhD candidate, sets a course best at the Austin Half

• Braden Videon, a former cyclist,  successfully completes his first marathon after struggling with injury under other training plans. A few months later, he PR's by 15 more minutes

• Amelia Larkin, a HS freshman, PR's by 40s in the 3200 & earns 4th at her State meet. Months later, she runs 40s faster in XC, sets a school record and becomes the first Region Champion in school history

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Hayden claims Kevin Jermyn along with Rita & Robert Gary as his biggest coaching influences. He also relies heavily on conversations with Jenna Wrieden, Jack Mullaney, and his high school coach, Mike Morris.

 

He works full-time as a startup/venture capital attorney in Austin, TX and regularly works as an announcer for top U.S. races. 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.