When
Clay Dixon talks about coaching, he doesn't start with training plans or race tactics. He starts with people.
Dixon, a Morehead State alumnus and assistant coach for the Eagles' track & field and cross country teams, believes that coaching is as much about understanding lives as it is about splits and mileage.
"I realize that many of these student-athletes have lots to deal with in day-to-day life and I try to keep that in mind," he said. "If there's an opportunity to give them a break, I try to work something out."
That empathy shapes everything he does. Whether it's shifting a workout schedule so athletes can go home over spring break or offering a quiet word after a tough session, Dixon's first question is simple: What does this person need today?
"It's a tough sport, lots of ups and downs, and you've got to learn to roll with the punches," Dixon said. "If they need a mental reset, I want to help them get it."
Dixon's path to coaching began long before he ever wrote a workout. Growing up in Winchester, Kentucky, he was surrounded by the sport—and by people who cared about it for the right reasons.
"My parents were both coaches, so that definitely influenced me," Dixon said. "My dad was my track and cross country coach through all high school, so I have picked up a lot of philosophy and good coaching quotes from him."
His own college coaches also left a mark.
"(Brent) Erickson for the first two years really taught discipline and brought me up to a competitive level," Dixon said. "(Stephen) Picucci pushed me to be a complete runner those final years and taught me the basics of college coaching. I've been blessed with great influences as a coach."
After finishing his final college race, Dixon asked his coach if he needed help the next season. The answer was yes—and Dixon has been on the track ever since.
Morehead State wasn't the obvious choice at first.
"Funny thing, Morehead State was the only school I did not receive an athletic scholarship offer from," Dixon said. "But I knew it would be worth it."
It was close to home. It was affordable. And it felt right.
"Of all the schools I looked at, Morehead State was the only one where athletes really excelled," he said. "I knew I wanted to be the fastest I possibly could."
Now, as a coach, he's helping others do the same.
"We have a strong history here," Dixon said. "I trust our older athletes to pass the torch to the next generation to maintain that culture."
Distance running demands resilience. Dixon's approach is to build it piece by piece—through trust, honesty, and consistency.
He looks for the same qualities when recruiting. "Good academics. Consistent and steady results. Possibility to train them up over four years," he said.
Once they're on campus, it's about fit.
"Find a common goal, find what motivates each individual," Dixon said. "We have a lot of different personalities and events, but if you keep people first, it works."
That mindset carries into his coaching style.
"Working with so many different personalities, groups, and both the men's and women's teams definitely takes some figuring out," Dixon said. "Those first couple years had a big learning curve, but I just kept learning to work with everyone—remembering that they are people and not just athletes is something I always try to keep in mind."
Coaching can be all-consuming, but Dixon makes sure it isn't.
"I spend a lot of time with my family—particularly my two kids, a three-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old," he said. "If I'm not at work, I am probably with them."
Sometimes, those worlds overlap.
"Sometimes I bring my kids to practice and get them involved," Dixon said with a laugh.
He learned the importance of balance the hard way.
"My wife went into labor the morning of the 2022 Cross Country Conference meet and I abandoned the team," he said. "They went out for some shakeout runs at 6 a.m. and when they walked back in I said, 'I gotta go.' To make things worse my assistant was gone because he had COVID and one of our team vans doors did not shut—so it was a bit of a predicament. It all worked out in the end though."
Through it all, Dixon keeps coming back to one line from his dad—a simple phrase that's become his coaching mantra.
"Dead runners score no points," he said. "That's something I've always remembered."
It's a reminder that the smartest runners are the ones who finish the race. For Dixon, it also means something bigger: take care of your people, and the results will follow.
