The two things that I valued from running were competition and camaraderie, and Rod Dixon exemplified both. It was a very cool experience for me to find myself one day trading beers and badinage with guys like Dixon, whom only years before was one of the legends I'd only read about as a kid. It was truly surreal for me to hear Dixon tell me that I ran well, when all I could think about was "Rod freakin Dixon said I ran a good race! He knows who I am. Would I look too dorky if I asked him for an autograph now?"
Traded many beers, stories, lies and tall tales with Dixon. I never did get that autograph.