When thinking of running, one factor is constant: motivation. In a marathon, this factor is best put to the test over 26 grueling miles, where runners are tested both physically and mentally to keep going. As English 10 Teacher Eric Dixon knows, this motivation does not just develop overnight.

Dixon was influenced to run by both of his parents. He grew up with an athletic father, who as a high school athlete, gained state recognition in both track and cross country. On the other hand, his mother was a constant motivator towards developing his athletic skills, “My mom told me really young like in middle school if you don’t do cross country and track I won’t let you get a license when you turn 16,” said Dixon, “So I started running in middle school and I was pretty good at the mile… I don’t think I ever broke six minutes, and then my mom saw that, and she’s like ‘Oh I’m gonna make you run in high school’.”

As a freshman at North Monterey County, Dixon made varsity in track and cross country. He still maintains three of his records in track and field – 7th for a mile time of 4:43.50 in 1998, 9th for the 3000-meter run at 10:05.20 in 1997, and 14th for the 1600-meter run at 4:32.01 in 2000. However, like many athletes, he endured a struggle with self-image and competition, for Dixon, although  he was considered a good runner among his teammates, ”There were people that were just naturally good,” Dixon said, “I had to work really hard to be one of the best.”

This challenge of working hard continued in college. When Dixon got accepted into UC Santa Barbara, he attempted to join the track and field team but was rejected by the Santa Barbara coach after he failed to complete a two-mile in 10 minutes, “I think I ran like a 10:01 or 10:02 and he had all his runners out there and there were watching me, I was running alone on the local high school track by the college and I missed by a second,” said Dixon, “all his runners are like, ‘oh it’s gonna be really good to train with you, you’re gonna be a good member of the team,’ and then he [the coach] came up to me and he’s like ’Oh you’re not good enough, I’m not gonna take you on my team.’”

After running through middle school and high school, having it stop so suddenly was difficult. “I remember I got so sad and I just stopped running, and I stopped running for a long long time, like months,” Dixon said. “And then at a certain point I was like who cares, who cares what he said, I could run for myself, and then running became different; It wasn’t about doing competition.”

While living in Santa Barbara, Dixon took advantage of the cliffs and piers for nightly runs, “I didn’t sign up for races, I never did like 5ks or 10ks, I never worked for something bigger,” Dixon said, “Running was more of something for me.” It was 8 years later that Dixon decided to run his first marathon at Santa Barbara, “I’ve never done that and I didn’t really train for it and it hurt,” he said. “I couldn’t walk for a few days after but I ran a pretty good time and then I tried to sign up for like one or two marathons a year after that to get better.”

Along with getting better, Dixon aimed at qualifying for the 2014 Boston Marathon, the oldest marathon in the United States, with strict requirements based on age groups. To be able to apply, Dixon had to run a certain time in the 2013 Mountains 2 Beach Marathon, “I ran under 3 hours, that was really serious, that’s the best I’ve ever got,” said Dixon. With a time of 2:57:04 and an average of 6:45 minutes per mile, Dixon was able to run at Boston in 2014. 

Now that Dixon has settled in the Central Coast he has opted to run locally. For him, the Big Sur Marathon has become a yearly challenge. Beginning in 2015, he has participated in the 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2023 marathons, “If you live local you have a higher chance of getting it,” Dixon said, “I missed a few years like during covid and you have to apply to it and you dont always get it, so some years I’ve tried to get it but I couldn’t.”

“Last year was a personal worst for me. It was the worst time I’ve ever ran. It was over 4 hours, so I definitely want to be in like 3:30, 3:40. I want to be under that 4-hour mark cause that’s a long time to be running.”

Dixon has been training since the beginning of 2024. He recently ran the San Juan Bautista half marathon on January 27 and has been prioritizing 7-mile runs to Monterey. In the San Juan Bautista Marathon, he was supported by AVID teacher, Moises Martinez, and other teachers present to run the 5k, “I heard a lot of the other teachers when I finished, they were cheering me on,” said Dixon, in running events where other teachers are present, “I tried to get into groups with teachers who also run.” 

Dixon plans to be at school the day after the Big Sur marathon, and has no plans to take a break, “I’ll be here on Monday, I’ll be walking around like I rode a horse all day yesterday,” said Dixon, “So when I finish the marathon the first thing I’ll do if I’m really in a lot of pain I’ll go home and I’ll put three bags of ice in the tub and a little bit of cold water, and I’ll just sit in there until all the ice melts and then hopefully that’s enough so I could walk around in school.”

This story was originally published on Trojan Tribune on March 1, 2024.