Railroad Athletics is great. Without Railroad, I may have stopped running seriously years ago. But Railroad’s support, community, and coaching enabled me to get faster, enjoy running, and even qualify twice for US Championships while finishing graduate school and beginning my legal career. Railroad welcomes people who balance personal running goals with their school or career goals. It’s quality support and quality community designed to make pursuing your running goals easier and more fun.”

Railroad combines personalized, attentive coaching with a uniquely supportive team culture. Coach Hayden's highly individualized and adaptable coaching style focuses on long-term development—he knows exactly what workouts will elicit the right effort while keeping you healthy and progressing. Though the team has athletes competing at the highest levels across the country, it maintains a down-to-earth attitude that values both hard work and enjoyment. The close-knit, encouraging atmosphere and sustainable training philosophy create an environment where athletes can thrive while genuinely loving the process.:

I'm so grateful to have discovered and joined Railroad last year. As a former collegiate, sub-elite runner balancing full-time work and training, Railroad has been a game-changer. Its remote format, effort-based philosophy, frequent coaching touch points, and supportive team atmosphere have kept me excited and motivated about running. With my coach's guidance, I’m excited to continue chasing my goal of competing at the elite level and on larger stages. Boston Marathon on deck!

"I have worked with railroad over two years in which my lifestyle was highly dynamic and constantly evolving. Hayden valued both my running and life priorities, and consistently created training plans that seamlessly fit into my schedule. Hayden knows how to sharpen a athletes to their top potential, while fostering a supportive, balanced, and intentional environment. Railroad has brought me prs in every single distance, while maintaining my love of running and drive to improve."

"I joined Railroad because I have always loved being part of a team. If you are debating hiring a coach or joining a team- do it. It is well worth the time/financial investment if you want to keep improving in the sport.

Railroad has helped me achieve my goals because Hayden has done a great job of adapting my training to fit my life, travels, work, etc. He is always understanding of when things need to change or when I need rest, and that’s a huge reason I have stayed injury free for the last year and a half. This is a HUGE shoutout to him because he puts up with all my craziness and stubbornness!!

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I have met some amazing friends through Railroad and some of my favorite memories in Austin were from early morning workouts & coffee runs with teammates. I also love that I can connect with people across the country who are wearing the same uniform as me!"

"I tried coaching myself through my first marathon at 48 years old. Although I successfully finished the race, it wasn’t without numerous over-use injuries, exhaustion and anxiety trying to make adaptations to an online plan. When I decided my next goal was to run Boston Marathon at 50,  I knew I wanted help this time around. As I began my search for coaches, I met Coach Hadley and didn’t look back!

Initially, I wondered if our athlete/coach age gap would be an issue, but that quickly disappeared with our ease of conversation and his knowledge and running experience that was far greater than mine. Mark is a bit of an old soul! Coach Hadley created a plan that had the perfect balance of running, cross training and rest to push me to my goals but not overly tax me physically and mentally. Not only did I get my BQ in my second marathon, but I got to the starting line healthy and confident in my training!
 

I highly recommend Coach Hadley and Railroad Athletics if you are seeking consistency, accountability and adaptability in your training. Having a coach and someone in your corner made the training so much more enjoyable than doing it alone. Plus, I pushed myself over limits that I never thought I could do still at my age. I am forever grateful for what I have learned this past year about running and myself through coaching."

"As a former D3 runner, I thought my running career would be over after college. Coach Hayden gave me a path to continue chasing my athletic dreams post-college. Since joining Railroad, I have PR'd in every track event from the 800 - 10k, debuted in the half marathon, and have run in my first USA Championship race. If you're looking for a group that will continue to support your running goals, look no further - Railroad Athletics is the team for you!"

"Railroad has helped me accomplish so many goals in 2024 with multiple PRs in the 5k and 10k as well as racing my first Half Marathon. I can't wait to run my first marathon at the end of 2025! I love the team aspect even though running is not always team sport but its always amazing to know you have a team of runners who share similar interests and goals as you do. We are a team no matter your pace and there is always support no matter if you PR in a race or if you have a bad race the team is with you no matter what. Coach Courtney is awesome!"

"I joined Railroad because we're mostly a bunch of chill running nerds. We're the ones watching the road races and track meets on TV, and I couldn't find that in clubs/groups near me. It really is for the true love of the sport.

If you've been thinking about getting a coach then just do it. I told Hayden when we started that I felt I had so much more speed in me that I just couldn't get to, and we're finally breaking through to that. He talked me through lots of injuries this first year, but I have come out of it so strong and fit which is all thanks to his coaching. 

I didn't realize when I signed up with RR that I'd be getting so much more than just coaching! Crazy, but true. The people are awesome, humble, and hardworking. The brand partnerships are wonderful brands that actually care about people, not just money/advertising. It's been awesome so far and I'm always excited for more with RR."

"Before Coach Alize began coaching me, I feared racing and training. I thought I had to be the fittest I’ve ever been in order to race and I thought I had to run tons of miles and complete extremely difficult workouts to get there. Turns out I was wrong. Coach Zay looked at my schedule and what I had done in the past and crafted a training plan like I’d never seen before. Less volume, less intensity, and overall a more enjoyable training plan. Although I had some doubts about the training initially, my doubts quickly disappeared during my first track season under Coach Zay. I went from PRs of 13:58 and 28:53 in the 5k and 10k to a 13:36 and 28:19. The best part about all of this is that I now look forward to races and workouts, no matter the difficulty. I also managed to push through mental barriers in the track season that I didn’t even know existed."

"I joined Railroad in 2022 at the lowest point of my career. I was burned out from my previous coach running me in to the ground and I was only getting worse. Coach Mark reached out to me that same year and I decided to join in August of 2022 which is the best decision I've ever made. Since then, Mark has helped me completely rebuild my career and get me back on track to where I am running PRs consistently now in both cross country and track. Railroad is a great team experience that you can't get anywhere else and it helps having great coaches and teammates cheering you on.

Both my speed, stamina, and energy has improved so much by fine tuning and not being ran into the ground. Being a part of Railroad gives me confidence that there are people who believe in my potential and being coached by someone who knows how to prepare me correctly and is actively always in communication with me."

"I joined Railroad after a period of injury when I knew I needed guidance coming back.  I’d seen how well my girlfriend was doing training with Hayden, so decided to give Mark a call.  I’ve achieved things in the last four months that I’d written out of the cards for myself.

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I think the biggest thing for me has been the flexible, customized training plan. The training is designed to meet me where I am as opposed to being generalized to a large group with different goals/fitness levels.  Seeing how quickly I’ve reached the results I’ve achieved so far is just further motivation to throw myself in 110% every day.

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I’ve been a part of organized athletics for my entire life.  After graduating college, I just assumed I’d have to figure it out on my own from there.  Being on the Railroad team has given me a large sense of purpose and identity back.  Come race day I get to put on the Railroad jersey and run for more than myself.

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At an earlier time in my life, I’d competed and trained in running, and had lost the joy in it.  When I started working with Mark four months ago, my only goals were to get healthy and complete the marathon distance.  I’ve since rediscovered everything I used to love about the sport, and have my sights set on racing and being competitive in races.  It’s hard to put into words what that means to me."