Running News Daily

Bix 7 Notebook: Samuelson, Keflezighi collect more Bix hardware

The four legendary runners who appeared at various Quad-City Times Bix 7 events this week all made it through the grand 50th-anniversary race just fine.

In fact, two of them came away with awards.

Joan Samuelson, who has won four Bix 7 women’s championships and 15 masters titles, was the winner of the women’s 65-69 age group and she did it in record time — 50 minutes, 47 seconds. She now holds the women’s course record in four age groups — 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65-69.

Meanwhile, two-time Bix 7 champion Meb Keflezighi added the men’s 45-49 age group championship to his resume on Saturday.

Keflezighi said he wasn’t really sure he was going to push himself in the race, but with the crowd cheering and urging him on, he couldn’t help himself. He covered the course in 41:37.

At one point, Keflezighi encountered a man who told him he’d had dreams of running the race with him.

“Then he took off, but I caught up with him and said ‘Let’s make your dreams come true,’’’ Keflezighi said.

Bill Rodgers, who won the Bix in 1980 and 1981 and has run it every year since, finished Saturday's run in a time of 1:19:46.

Two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter, who like Rodgers is 76, did the two-mile Quick Bix. But he said he still had a great time, marveling at how many times little kids breezed past him along the way.

At one point, a mother with a small daughter who Shorter estimated to be 5 or 6, came up alongside him. The mom told the girl to just go ahead and take off if she wanted. She’d see her at the finish line. The girl turned on the jets and took off.

“You could almost see the vapor trail,’’ Shorter joked.

Age-group records: Samuelson wasn’t the only person to set a course record for their age group.

It also was accomplished by Lucas Hollingshead of Elkhart, Ind., in the men’s 15-under division (37:41) and Richard Kutzner of Clear Lake, Iowa, in the men’s 80-84 (1:04:10).

And for the first time, the Bix 7 had 85-over divisions so the winners there obviously established records. The winners were Dave Zimmer of Long Grove, Iowa, and Norma Mullins of Moline.

Another Hird win: The first runner across the finish line in the Prairie Farms Quick Bix was a familiar face.

Zach Hird, a former Alleman High School runner who now lives in Naperville, Ill., won the Bix 7’s two-mile alternative in a time of 9 minutes, 48 seconds.

Hird won the Gregg Newell Trophy as the top local finisher in the seven-mile race in both 2018 and 2019.

The first female finisher in the Quick Bix on Saturday was Jennifer Douglass of Assumption, Ill.

Unbreakable Glass: Bryan Glass knows his Bix history well. Already a five-time master's champion, Glass put his name in the same breath as one of the Bix legends with a strong race Saturday.

At the age of 50, Glass finished the seven miles in 38 minutes, 21 seconds, becoming just the second runner 50 or older to run the race in under 40 minutes. The first? Bill Rodgers.

Glass was only 11 seconds off the 50+ record set by Rodgers — who ran 38:10 back in 1998.

"It was my goal for the last year, knowing that I could do it, I knew I could. Now, I ran faster than I ever thought I could do today, but I think it was just God giving me the ability to be prepared today, and I went for it."

Glass has a long history of running. He was a state champ at Geneseo and went to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He's also a member of the Springfield Road Runners Club Hall of Fame.

This is another accolade Glass has to be proud of.

"It's emotional because you work so hard for so many years," Glass said. "I never thought I'd get to the point where I'd have a chance to put my name up with Bill Rodgers. Now I know he's above anything I would ever beat, but to know that I'm in that same class in some sense in my home area, makes me so proud."

A rare Bix triple: Credit to recent Bettendorf High School graduate Maya Williams for giving it her all during the 50th QCT Bix 7 week. The standout sprinter pulled off a rare double on Thursday, running two races in the Brady Street Sprints — winning the open women's race and anchoring the Bulldogs' relay team to the high school girls' title.

Just for good measure, she figured she would jump into Saturday's 7-miler. Making that decision Friday evening didn't give her much recovery time. She posted a 1:18.21 clocking on Saturday.

RRCA honors: The Bix 7 served as the national championship race for the Road Runners Club of America on Saturday, which meant a little additional hardware for some runners.

In addition to men’s champion Wesley Kiptoo and women’s champion Raechel Chebet, Samuelson was honored as the women’s 60-over champion and Glass as the men’s 50-over champ.

Other honorees were Artur Mueller of Davenport, men 40-over; Jess Hruska of Dubuque, women 40-over; Kate Maurer of Urbandale, Iowa, women 50-over; and Rick Torres of Elizabethtown, Ky., men 60-64.

Weather vane: Saturday's weather for the race was nearly perfect. At race time, it was 68 degrees with a manageable 81% humidity. It was just the 18th time in 50 events that the race started with a temperature under 70 degrees.

Making her mark: Paityn Noe, last year’s Bix 7 high school girls’ top finisher, came back this year and had another solid race.

The University of Arkansas freshman from Huxley, Iowa (Ballard High School), was the seventh women’s finisher, clocking a time of 38 minutes, 34 seconds, just 2:13 behind winner Rachael Chebet.

In May, she finished second in the SEC Championships 10,000-meter run, clocking a 33:57.35. She also finished fifth last fall in the SEC cross country meet, running 19:43.7 for the 6,000-meter race.

Enjoy the day: Maggie Montoya, who was the third female overall finisher in Saturday’s Bix 7, enjoyed her first run through the streets of Davenport with 16,586 other people.

“When you’re surrounded by this mass of people, it brings you back to racing a marathon and being around people,” she said after finishing in 37:13. “It was nice to be back in that atmosphere.

“… There’s something about being surrounded by so many people that really adds to the event. It was fun being back out on the roads again.”

13-minute start: How long does it take for 16,587 to cross the starting line? The group of runners dressed as Elvis Presley, who almost always bring up the rear of the pack, finally got to the starting line when the race was 13 minutes old.

(07/29/2024) Views: 411 ⚡AMP
by TJ Johnson

Defending champions return to Bix

Kellyn Taylor and Biya Simbassa each ran the Quad-City Times Bix 7 for the first time last year.

They clearly loved the course, the atmosphere and just about everything about the annual race through the streets of Davenport.

Both Taylor and Simbassa held off late challenges from other runners, both ran the sixth best Bix 7 times ever by a U.S. athlete of their gender and both plan to return to defend their championships when the race is held for the 50th time on July 27.

It marks the first time in 12 years that both the men’s and women’s champions are returning to defend their Bix titles.

Simbassa admitted he wasn’t really sure how he felt about the Bix 7 course last year when he first saw the endless array of ups and downs in the course. But after holding off Olympian Clayton Young to win, he liked it.

“I mean, now I do,’’ he said after his victory. “It’s a course that’s all about strength and I train for this."

Taylor went through a similar transformation.

“When I saw the course, I was like, ‘Oh, no. What did I get myself into?’ ” she said. “That’s a super substantial hill right at the beginning and then it rolls all the way through. It’s certainly not easy by any means. I think that works to my favor since I’m more of a strength runner.”

Taylor appreciated more than just the hills.

“The crowds were amazing,” she said. “It’s not what I expected at all — the streets were completely lined, and a race that isn’t a huge marathon, I don’t feel like you see that that often. The crowds were incredible.”

Taylor and Simbassa will be bidding to repeat as Bix 7 champions, something that has been done only seven times in the race’s history, four times by men, three times by women.

Both runners failed to land berths on the U.S. Olympic team, which would have precluded a return to Bix, but they’ve still used their 2023 victories as a springboard to additional success.

Taylor briefly led the New York City Marathon last November before placing eighth, making her the top American finisher in the race. It was the third time she has been in the top eight at New York.

The Wisconsin native, who will turn 38 a few days before the Bix 7, then focused her attention on making the U.S. Olympic team and made a respectable showing in the trials in the marathon, finishing 15th, and the 10,000 meters, placing sixth.

Simbassa, a 31-year-old native of Ethiopia who now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, attempted to earn an Olympic spot in the marathon but placed 11th in the trials.

However, he has followed that with an ambitious schedule on the U.S. road racing circuit, recording top-five finishes in the Bolder Boulder 10k (5th), Cherry Blossom 10-miler (5th), Gate River 15k (4th), Amway River Bank 25k (3rd) and Houston Half-marathon (4th).

Also included in the field are four former Olympians and nine other runners who have placed in the top 10 at the Bix 7 in the past. Elite athlete coordinator John Tope said even more top runners could be added between now and race day.

Among the top men’s entries are two former Iowa State University standouts.

Wesley Kiptoo of Kenya was the 2021 NCAA indoor 5,000-meter champion and a seven-time All-American for the Cyclones. He was seventh in the Bix 7 two years ago and won the Cherry Blossom 10-miler earlier this year.

Hillary Bor, a Kenya native who is now an American citizen, also attended Iowa State before representing the U.S. in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympics in both 2016 and 2021. He also is the U.S. record-holder in the 10-mile run.

Other former Olympians in the field are Morocco’s Mohamed El Aaraby and Americans Jake Riley and Shadrack Kipchirchir. Riley and Araby both competed in the marathon in Tokyo in 2021 and Kipchirchir ran the 10,000 meters in 2016.

Riley also is a Bix 7 veteran along with Kenya’s Reuben Mosip and Americans Frank Lara, Andrew Colley and Isai Rodriguez. Lara was second in the Bix 7 in 2021 and eighth a year ago.

Rounding out the men’s field are Raymond Magut of Kenya; Tsegay Tuemay and Tesfu Tewelde of Eritrea; and Americans Nathan Martin, Ryan Ford, JP Trojan, Merga Gemeda and Titus Winders.

The most recognizable name in the women’s field is 41-year-old Sara Hall, the wife of two-time Olympian, U.S. half-marathon record-holder and 2010 Bix champion Ryan Hall. Sara Hall was fifth in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials earlier this year and has two strong Bix 7 efforts on her resume, placing second in 2014 and third in 2017.

She and Taylor will be challenged by three up-and-coming runners from Kenya — Emmaculate Anyango Achol, Grace Loibach Nawowuna and Sarah Naibei. Achol has run the second fastest women’s 10k ever (28:57) and Naibei won the Lilac Bloomsday 12k in May.

Also in the field are Bix 7 veterans Kassie Parker, Jessa Hanson, Carrie Verdon and Tristin Van Ord along with Americans Annmarie Tuxbury and Stephanie Sherman, Ethiopia’s Mahlet Mulugeta and Kenya's Veronicah Wanjiru.

The elite field also includes four legendary runners who have helped build the Bix 7 into the international event that it is. Two-time champion Bill Rodgers, who has run the Bix 7 43 times, will be joined by four-time women’s champion and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson, two-time Olympic medalist Frank Shorter and Meb Keflezighi, who has two Bix titles and an Olympic silver medal on his resume.

(07/22/2024) Views: 364 ⚡AMP
by Don Doxsie

Bill Rodgers is set to run his 43rd Quad-City Times Bix 7

In 1978, Bill Rodgers entered 30 road races and amazingly, astonishingly, he won 27 of them.

Over the course of his running career, he won 22 marathons, all during a thoroughly incredible 10-year period from 1974 to 1983.

He doesn’t win anything anymore, not even in his age group, but the 75-year-old Boston resident is still running, and he will be coming back to run the Quad-City Times Bix 7 for the 43rd time on July 29.

Rodgers said he thought he had done the Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod about 35 times and the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, D.C., perhaps 30 times.

He never has entered any race as frequently as he has the Quad-City Times Bix 7, which is holding its 49th event this year. 

“And the Bix is probably the most challenging of them all,’’ Rodgers said. “But it’s a race I remember so well from that first time in 1980. I was still young and I could duke it out and I could race. Now I just try to hang on.’’

A man who once logged hundreds of miles in training each week now jogs 25 to 30 miles a week. He has done about 10 races this year, including Cherry Blossom. He said he now just went back to some of the old events he did during his heyday.

“But I’m back in the pack,’’ he said. “I’m way back in the pack because I’m 75 years old. It’s like a whole different thing. My strength used to be that I was a marathoner and I could do high mileage. I was a high-mileage runner. I wasn’t as quick as some runners, but I could do the mileage.’’

Not anymore. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodgers had a chance to sift through almost 50 years of running logs and he calculated that he has done more than 1,500 races and run at least 190,000 miles in his lifetime.

Most automobiles don’t last that long. And Rodgers hasn’t had the benefit of having a change of tires or periodic oil changes.

His body is feeling the effects of all that mileage. When he enters races now, he frequently finds himself trailing runners of a similar age who have fewer miles on their personal odometers.

“What I’m seeing is I see a lot of these runners who are in their 60s and 70s and they’re all ahead of me, but they just started running pretty recently or something,’’ he said.

He steps up to a new age group this year but doesn’t figure on being a contender to win it. The Quad-City Times Bix 7 course record for men ages 75-79 is 54 minutes, 58 seconds. Rodgers’ finishing time a year ago was 1:08:43.

Despite that, he still enjoys running.

“Now when I do 30 miles a week, I feel like when I was doing 100 miles a week,’’ he said. “I feel good, relatively speaking. No complaints with regards to running. I think it’s a great way to live.’’

Rodgers won the Quad-City Times Bix 7 the first two times he came here, in 1980 and 1981, and finished in the top 10 on seven occasions.

However, he is remembered almost as much for other years.

In 1995, he paused as he was coming down Kirkwood Boulevard to catch women’s leader Olga Appell just as she collapsed from heat exhaustion. He made sure that Appell received medical attention before jumping back into the race.

(07/14/2023) Views: 722 ⚡AMP

Quad-City Times Bix 7 to Hold In-Person and Virtual Races in 2022

Runners and walkers will fill the streets of Davenport, Iowa on Saturday, July 30 in celebration of the 48th running of the Quad-City Times Bix 7.

The iconic 7-mile race and all race weekend events are set to take place at full capacity; Genesis Sports Medicine Brady Street Sprints (July 28), Arconic Jr Bix (July 29) & the Prairie Farms Quick Bix (July 30). In addition, the Virtual Bix 7, Quick Bix & Jr Bix will take place July 23-30.

The Iowa American Water Bix @ 6 training runs start at 6 p.m. on Thursdays, June 23 and 30, July 7 and 14, 2022. If you have registered for the Quad-City Times Bix 7, Prairie Farms Quick Bix or Arconic Jr Bix, join the hundreds that train every Thursday on a safe and secure course.

“The Quad-City Times Bix 7 is a fun, family event where you can run with the best – right here in the Midwest,” said Quad-City Times Bix 7 Race Director Michelle Juehring. “We’re excited to welcome you, your family and friends – 48 is going to be great!”

Juehring announced a new and exciting addition to the 2022 race; Caesar’s Sportsbook Team Challenge, sponsored by the Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf. Comprised of 5 athletes each, teams will race the 7-mile course for cash prizes and bragging rights. Competition is limited to 40 teams.

In addition to the inaugural team competition, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 is proud to continue to offer these traditional competitions within the 7-mile race: Elite athletic competition, the High School Challenge & the First Responder’s Challenge from Premier Buick GMC Dealers and All-City Challenge from Scott County Regional Authority.

Additional details from the April 6 press conference may be found online at www.qctimes.com , www.kwqc.com, @QCTBix7 on Facebook,  @BixSeven on Twitter, quadcitytimesbix7 on Instagram and www.bix7.com.

(04/12/2022) Views: 1,090 ⚡AMP
by Running USA

Quad-City Times Bix7 to Hold In-Person and Virtual Races in 2022

The Quad-City Times Bix 7 is excited to announce that registration for the 2022 race was open on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 @ 7:30 am CST. The 48th running of the Bix 7 will take place on Saturday, July 30, 2022 @ 8:00 am.

In addition to the 7-mile event, the Prairie Farms Quick Bix, Arconic Jr. Bix and Genesis Sports Medicine Brady Street Sprints will be held as usual Bix weekend, July 28-30, 2022. 

The virtual race options for Bix & Jr Bix will run July 23-30, 2022, as well as the ability to ‘switch’ Race categories between in-person and virtual events. 

Register online at www.bix7.com.

This magnificent community event owes its continuing success to the Platinum, Gold Medal and Contributing sponsors, to the many dozens of other supporting businesses and organizations and to the thousands of individual volunteers.

The Quad-City Times, Cornbelt Running Club and the entire Quad City community deeply appreciates this dedication and generosity.

(12/16/2021) Views: 1,134 ⚡AMP
by Running USA

The Bix is back: Race returns with resounding success

The crack of a starting pistol sent a scribble of smoke upward, queuing upbeat dance club music.

Miles away, a barber shop quartet serenaded with harmonic tones.

Palmer College of Chiropractic members dressed as vertebrae snaked their way up the infamously steep Brady Street.

Good Samaritans sprinkled cooling droplets of mist and rushed to the aid of an overheated runner.

A volunteer raked a neat pile of thousands of discarded water cups out of the road.

"These 14,000 cups have gotta go somewhere," Jen Broders said.

Post-race Jello shots were downed and accompanied by dives onto a front-lawn water slide.

Runner, walkers, past Olympians, pint-sized entrepreneurs, Marilyn Monroe look-alikes and "short-legged, no-talent" family members, friends and supporters packed the streets of downtown Davenport on Saturday morning for the 47th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7. More than 9,750 people registered for Bix races, according to race officials, marking the first time participation has dipped below 10,000 since 1986 (not counting last year's virtual Bix).

"Since last year's race ended, we've been planning for a very different race because our plans have changed on a monthly, weekly and daily basis," Bix 7 Race Director Michelle Juehring said.

The 53-year-old became race director in 2020 after the retirement of former longtime Race Director Ed Froehlich. She guided the race through its virtual version during the COVID-19 pandemic and was in the midst of preparing for her first full-blown Bix as its director.

Through all the changes COVID-19 forced in 2020, planning for the 2021 race was not without lingering pandemic-induced difficulties.

"We didn't know if the race would be open to all contestants until, basically, the last week in June, first week of July," Juehring said. "I am very grateful to have a whole race, but the road to getting here has forced us to be flexible and change."

Shade become prime real estate along the race course for bystanders. The temperature at race time was 78 degrees, tied for the third-hottest in Bix history, with 82% humidity and a 9-mph wind.

Though the start-time temperature was reasonable, the mercury shot up quickly and so did the action inside the medical tent. By 9 a.m., the temperature had climbed above 80 degrees. By 10:30 a.m., the mercury reached 85 degrees, at which time 36 people had been treated in the medical just past the finish line, one of whom was transported to the hospital. Another 10 runners were taken from the course to the hospital. Craig Cooper, spokesman for Genesis, said Saturday evening that one person had been admitted to the hospital but all others taken to Genesis had been treated and released.

Beat the Elite runner Doug Boleyn, 53, was the first patient escorted into the medical tent. Innovation officer at Genesis Health System, Boleyn was treated by colleagues from Genesis, which staffs the medical tent with dozens of volunteer doctors, nurses, aids and others. He was treated and released. 

The hot, hazy and muggy conditions, though, didn’t slow former Olympian Leonard Korir, 34, of Colorado Springs, Colo., who won his third Quad-City Times Bix 7 with a time of 32 minutes, 48 seconds, edging 25-year-old Frank Lara, of Boulder, Colo. Forty-one-year-old fellow Olympian Edna Kiplagat of Kenya won the women’s division.

“To win it three times, I’m so grateful,” said Korir, who credited his experience and training for his third top finish at the Bix 7.

As runners slogged through the heat and crowds on Kirkwood Boulevard, a gray tarp, continuously sprayed with a hose, offered brief refreshment for those brave enough to jump on.

Watching over the scene, resting on a lawn chair with Happy Birthday balloons tied to the back, was a large photo Sean Troncao's mother smiling.

he loved the Bix, Trancao said. It was one of her favorite days of the year. This year the Bix fell on her birthday weekend, so the family chose to celebrate at the Bix and bring her back to the event she loved so much.

"It just felt fitting to make sure she could join us," Trancao said.

Tom and Linda Hughes arrived on McClellan Boulevard at 6:15 a.m. Saturday to reserve their usual spot for their large family to watch the road race, and to promote organ donation through the Iowa Donor Network.

The group wore matching T-shirts featuring a photo of Tom's sister, the late Mary Ellen Smith. Smith used to run the Bix every year and was killed several years ago in a pedestrian-truck crash. Upon her death, all of her organs were donated.

Jerry Spaeth, Carl Anderson and Ken Stark stood on the side of the road enjoying a drink or two and cheering on Stark's wife, who he said has been running the Bix 7 for 22 years.

"I ran it for 15," Anderson said. "Now I stand here and drink beer." 

 

(07/25/2021) Views: 1,318 ⚡AMP

The Quad-City Times Bix 7 organization is proud to announce the Bix is back

Quad-City Times Bix 7 Organizers, Health Officials Lift COVID-19 Race Restrictions, the race is on, and organizers invite the Quad Cities Community to the starting line this July 24.

Read the news coverage from the Quad City Times. An excerpt:

Race Director Michelle Juehring announced COVID-19 safety protocols were lifted Friday morning after consulting with the race's local medical team. Race organizers are calling the race an opportunity for the Quad-Cities community to "Come Back to the Start."

The race will held Saturday, July 24, starting off at 8 a.m. from 4th and Brady streets. Both the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and the Prairie Farms Quick Bix will start at 8 a.m.

"We have worked all along with officials from Genesis Health System and the Scott County Health Department," Juehring explained. "And in April we put some protocols in place to have an in-person race.

"We have been told that with the vaccination rates, the low positivity rate and the low rate of infections per 100,000 we can lift the safety protocols."

The 47th Quad-City Times Bix 7 race begins at 8:00 AM Saturday, July 24, 2021.  Online registration is open at www.bix7.com. Registration fees will increase on July 2, 2021.

Volunteers are needed for race weekend. Learn more at www.bix7.com/getinvolved.

In addition to the website, you can stay connected with race news and training tips on our social media channels:

Facebook.com/QCTBix7

Instagram.com/quadcitytimesbix7

Twitter.com/BixSeven.

(06/26/2021) Views: 1,197 ⚡AMP
by Running USA

The Quad-City Times Bix 7 will be held virtually in July 2020

The Quad-City Times Bix 7, Prairie Farms Quick Bix, and Arconic Jr. Bix will be held virtually in July 2020, race leaders announced today – continuing the Bix tradition in a way that honors the caution necessary in this time of pandemic.

This unprecedented decision was made out of an abundance of caution, and in concert with the Bix 7 medical and safety support team, said Michelle Juehring, race director.

The greatest factor has been, and will continue to be, the safety of race participants, volunteers, spectators and the community as a whole. This year, the spirit of Bix will go beyond the city of Davenport, Iowa.

“Our team has been working diligently over the past months, exploring every option to  make this year’s Quad-City Times Bix 7 a safe and successful event,” Juehring said. “For more than 45 years, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 was held on the last Saturday of July. This year, participants will have the whole month of July to Run With The Best.”

Participants can complete their race distance during the time frame of July 1-July 25, at any location: sidewalk, treadmill, trail, living room or track. Runners and walkers will submit their times online. A finisher’s certificate can be printed and shared to social media. An official race T-shirt will be mailed.

Registered runners for the Quad-City Times Bix 7, Praire Farms Quick Bix and Arconic Jr Bix will have two options. Transition into the 2020 Quad-City Times Bix 7 Virtual Race or transfer race entry into the 2021 race. An email will be sent to registered runners with detailed instructions.

“The 2020 Quad-City Times Bix 7, Prairie Farms Quick Bix, and Arconic Jr. Bix may not be the races we are accustomed to, but it will certainly be historic," Juehring said.

“Please, stay safe, look out for each other and throw out kindness like confetti. This year we will Run With The Best – together, apart.”

Register today at www.Bix7.com to Find Your Happy Pace!

(05/07/2020) Views: 2,024 ⚡AMP

Kenyans Leonard Barsoton and Joyciline Jepkosgei won Bix 7 on saturday

You can count Leonard Barsoton among those who was surprised at the way the Quad-City Times Bix 7 unfolded Saturday.

Barsoton came into the race with fairly modest expectations, hoping that maybe he could somehow sneak into the top three finishers. The 24-year-old native of Kenya didn’t really expect to leave all the other runners in his wake in the final two miles to win the 45th annual race through the streets of Davenport fairly easily.

But that’s what he did.

The race is over and the winners of the 2019 Quad City Times Bix 7 Road Race have been crowned.

"I’m so excited to be able to do this," Barsoton said. "If you can win Bix, you can win anywhere."

Thousands of runners hit the Davenport streets in the morning of Saturday, July 27th, but only a few could take home the victory in the 7-mile race.

In the men's race, Kenyan runner Leonard Barsoton broke a tight race and soared ahead to win with a time of 32:34. "This has shown me I can do more," Barsoton said. "To win Bix is a big accomplishment. This is a tough course." 

The women's race saw Joyciline Jepkosgei, also from Kenya, break a close two-person competition late in the game to take the gold in just over 36 minutes.

(07/29/2019) Views: 2,141 ⚡AMP

Everything you need to know about the 2019 Bix 7 men's field

Last year, for the first time ever, a male runner from Ethiopia won the Quad-City Times Bix 7, overcoming the legion of Kenyan runners who always populate the field.

This year it might be time for a break-through from another African nation: Tanzania.

Gabriel Geay, a 22-year-old runner from the country directly to the south of Kenya, must be regarded as one of the favorites to prevail in the annual 7-mile jaunt through the streets of Davenport.

He already has had a phenomenal year on the U.S. road racing scene, winning the Lilac Bloomsday 12k and Bay to Breakers 12k in May and crossing the finish line first in the Utica Boilermaker 15k little more than a week ago. He also had top-five finishes in perhaps the two biggest 10ks around: The Peachtree Road Race and Bolder Boulder.

Geay first came to U.S. as a 19-year-old in 2016 attempting to run Olympic qualifying times for 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters. He narrowly missed in both but decided to stick around and run a few road races, and claimed his first big victory at Peachtree. He came back the following year to win Bolder Boulder and Lilac Bloomsday.

With the withdrawal of three-time Bix 7 champion Silas Kipruto from the field, there now is only one runner entered in the men’s field who has competed in the Davenport race as an elite invitee.

Kenya’s Kenneth Kosgei placed 12th in his only visit here a year ago.

Kipruto was seeking to break the Bix 7 record for most top-five finishes by a men’s runner — he has done it six times — but he informed race officials last week that he would not run because of a lack of fitness.

The Bix 7 men’s championship has been won seven times by a runner named Korir.

John Korir won a record five times (in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004) and Leonard Korir did it twice (2013 and 2015).

This year’s race will include Kenya’s Dominic Korir. Korir (no relation to the previous Bix champs), who may be better suited to the hilly course than almost anyone.

Dominic Korir trains at high altitude in Colorado Springs and in April he won the Horsetooth Half-marathon, a race that begins with a grueling 1.8-mile climb up something called Monster Mountain.

It sounds even more imposing than the Brady Street Hill.

Jarius Birech will be among the most experienced Kenyans in this year’s Bix 7 field.

He’s just not that experienced in races in which he isn’t required to leap over hurdles and bound across small pools of water. Birech, 26, was the top 3,000-meter steeplechase runner in the world in 2014, winning the African championships and taking the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games that year. He twice has run the steeplechase under eight minutes, a feat that’s only been accomplished 38 times in history.

But he just now is starting to become more involved in events other than the steeplechase.

He has shown promise, however. Birech won a major cross country race in Italy earlier this year and also won the Crescent City Classic 10k on a very flat course in New Orleans.

(07/26/2019) Views: 2,284 ⚡AMP

Three-time Bix 7 men’s champion Silas Kipruto is coming back to the Quad-City Times Bix 7 in hopes of making a little more history

The three-time Bix 7 men’s champion will be joined in the 45th annual race through the streets of Davenport by a deep women’s field that includes two former champions, the second fastest female runner in the race’s history and a world record-holder in two events.

Kipruto already is among the most successful runners in the history of the race, which is scheduled this year for July 27. The 34-year-old native of Kenya not only won the Bix 7 in 2011, 2012 and 2016, but he has finished in the top five on three other occasions.

His half dozen top-five finishes equal the most ever by a male runner in the race, tying Meb Keflezighi, Bill Rodgers, John Korir and Lazarus Nyakeraka.

Kipruto is one of 17 African runners in the preliminary men’s elite field assembled by elite athlete coordinator John Tope — 13 from Kenya and two each from Eritrea and Tanzania.

Besides Kipruto, male runners to watch include Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay, who won both the Lilac Bloomsday 12k and the Bay to Breakers 12k in May; Kenya’s Edwin Mokua, a top-three finisher at both Bloomsday and Bay to Breakers; Kenya’s Leonard Barsoton, who was first in the African Cross Country championships in 2014 and second in the African Games 10,000 meters in 2015; and Emmanuel Kiprono, Kenya’s 10,000-meter champ in 2013.

(07/24/2019) Views: 2,322 ⚡AMP
by Kevin E. Schmidt

Kris Carroll and her family have unforgettable memories at the Bix 7 Miler race

My father was born and raised in Davenport. His brother and his family have lived there all of their lives. My dad started running in his 40's, and the Bix has always been his favorite. I think this year is his 30th year running the Bix. I have only run it six or so times, but each time I have run it with him, and I have the best memories.

Seeing my family, running the hilly course in the usually oppressive heat, and staying the rest of the day to enjoy a well-earned Bloody Mary and a few beers while listening to my dad and my uncle reminisce about their days in high school, attending St. Ambrose, their car clubs, and stories about my grandparents.

This past March my Dad was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer. Despite being hospitalized twice in the last couple weeks, he's still training! He knows he can't run the 7-mile course, but he is doing the Quick Bix.

My brother lives in Utah and I live in Massachusetts. We are both coming in and will be proudly walking with him, and who knows, maybe even racing a bit.

He taught us to be runners. He was the 27th U.S. person to run marathons on all seven continents. He took my brother to Antarctica for his first marathon, and took me to Spain for my first. As a family trip, he took us to Madagascar for the most unique and beautiful marathon--which I ended up winning for the women's!

My dad is the most amazing person, and the strongest person I know. A couple weeks ago, he was very weak due to the immunotherapy treatments. It's the first time he's ever been negative. He said that my brother Keith and I would have to push him in a wheelchair in order for him to "run" the Bix.

Today he proudly walked two miles. I'm grateful to run another Bix with him, and that this race is giving him the motivation to keep going and fight to overcome cancer! 

(07/16/2019) Views: 2,093 ⚡AMP

91-year-old Doris Wiebler is preparing to run her 40th Bix 7 race

91-year-old Doris Wiebler is preparing to participate in the Bix 7 race once again. The lifelong Quad Cities resident has taken part in 39 Bix races, and is looking forward to next month's seven-mile race, "The good lord willing and the creek don't rise, this will be my 40th year."

Doris, also known to her 36 great grandchildren as 'GG,' says the trick to her training is walking at least a few miles each day.

When the weather doesn't allow for outdoor walking, she says she'll go to the mall and get her exercise by walking around there.

As she prepares to take on the difficult course, she reflects on nearly 40 years ago when she first decided to register for the race, "My children were running the Bix from the time it started and I've always liked to walk. One night at dinner I just said, 'Hey I'm gonna do the Bix this year.' They said, 'Mom, this is a run, not a walk.' I said, 'you do your thing, I'm gonna do mine.'"

She held to her word.

For year 40, Doris says she will have extra special motivation and support by her side.

Her granddaughter Stephanie, a mom of three who's currently fighting cancer, is planning to also participate in another Bix race.

Doris says each year she looks for Stephanie at the top of the hill on Brady Street and hopes this year will be the same, "She's one beautiful person and she's so strong. Gonna get by this. That's for sure."

In addition to support for each other, there is no lack of support from the rest of the family.

Doris says much of her family travels to Davenport for the race each year from across the country, and she looks forward to this year being no exception.

She says what makes the race all the better is the excitement and, "the amount of my kids that have decided to walk with me, which has been a big help. It's not as much fun doing it by yourself."

Bix day holds a special place in Doris' heart.

Three of her children married on Bix day.

While Doris says only one of those weddings took place on a day where she participated in the race, she was thrilled she was able to do both. The was in the morning; the wedding, at night.

While her medal collection and family have continued to grow, there's one thing she says has never changed about the Bix, "The music, the spectators, the volunteers, everybody is just so into it and just so happy for you. You know, it's just the cheers, everything. It's awesome. It really is."

That encouragement, Doris says, is why she loves the race so much, "Once you start, it's everything going on that keeps you going."

Doris has one suggestion for people who, like her, might be considering walking in the race. She says everyone should train at least a little bit.

(06/21/2019) Views: 2,153 ⚡AMP
by Courtney Spinelli

Belay Tilahun wins the Bix 7, the first time an Ethiopian has won this race

Belay Tilahun of Ethiopia wins the Quad-City Times Bix 7. Tilahun finished second in 2016. Margaret Muriuki of Kenya captured the 2018 women's Quad-City Times Bix 7 on Saturday.  Belay Tilahun pulled away in the final mile to claim the victory, In a winning time of 32:37, Tilahun became the first runner from Ethiopia to win the Bix 7. “I’m very happy,” Tilahun told KWQC after beating NCAA 10K champion Ben Flanagan and 2016 U.S. Olympian Leonard Korir down the final stretch. Kipruto finished fifth and Mekonen crossed the line a few seconds later in sixth-place. Tilahun became the first Ethiopian man ever to win the Bix 7 after several near-misses in the past. Reigning NCAA 10,000-meter champion Ben Flanagan recorded the highest finish ever by a Canadian in the race, crossing the line in second place. Andrew Colley of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, took fourth, the highest an American has placed in an international field at Bix since Meb Keflezighi was third in 2013. It’s the highest a native-born American has finished since Ken Martin won the race in 1991. Colley was one of four Americans in the top 10. It’s the first time that has happened since that same 1991 race. But all of them were mere footnotes to Tilahun, who showed interviewers with hand gestures how he navigated the incessant hills of the course and was able to convey the fact that it helped him to have run Bix once before. Ethiopians have been very close to winning the Bix 7 in the past. Tilahun was second behind three-time winner Silas Kipruto in 2016 and Solomon Deksisa took second the year before that. In one of the strangest episodes in Bix history, Ethiopia’s Maregu Zewdie was leading coming down 4th Street in the 2008 Bix but stopped after crossing under the skywalk at the Davenport RiverCenter, thinking that was the finish line. Kenya’s Edward Muge zoomed past him to win. He had a small lead on Flanagan and the rest of the pack coming down Kirkwood in the fifth mile of the race when he decided to just take control. In what seemed little more than a blink of the eye, he opened about a 7-second margin over Flanagan. Stream TypeLIVE Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:00 Fullscreen   00:00 Mute“I don’t know if surprised is the word but I was impressed,’’ said Flanagan, who just completed his college career at the University of Michigan last month. “I knew coming in here there was a lot of really experienced runners who knew the course well. That was very evident by that move. (07/30/2018) Views: 2,102 ⚡AMP

Two years ago Silas Kipruto was leading the Bix 7 when suddenly he whirled around and took a swipe at Mekonen, now they are friends

When it happened along Kirkwood Boulevard two years ago, it became national news in the running world. Silas Kipruto was loping along, leading the Quad-City Times Bix 7 as he has so often through the years, when he suddenly whirled around and took a right-handed swipe at young Teshome Mekonen, who was running directly behind him. It’s just not the sort of thing you see in road racing. No one could recall seeing anything like it. Not in the Bix 7. Not in any race. Mekonen filed a post-race protest that was denied because the incident did not have an impact on the outcome. Kipruto did not even make contact with his swing. Here’s the happy news: Kipruto and Mekonen have become friends, buddies pals. "Brothers," Kipruto said as he stood outside one of the townhouses on the St. Ambrose University campus Thursday afternoon. "We were friends before," he added. "But I came to him after the race, and now we are friends like brothers, really good friends." Chances are, they shared a plate or two of ugali in the kitchen area at St. Ambrose on Thursday night. They may run the Bix course together today in preparation for Saturday’s 44th annual race. Kipruto, who is 11 years older at 33 and much more familiar with the Davenport race, may even give his pal a few pointers on how to navigate the hills of Bix. "We hang around together," Mekonen said. "We have a good time." It’s somewhat unusual because Kipruto is from Kenya and Mekonen is from Ethiopia. Runners from the two neighboring east African countries have a history of being less than friendly as they battle for supremacy in races across the U.S. (07/27/2018) Views: 2,066 ⚡AMP

NCAA champ Ben Flanagan may be the underdog at the Bix 7 but don't count him out

Ben Flanagan will be a decided underdog when he steps to the starting line in Saturday’s 44th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7. After all, the 23-year-old Canadian hasn’t run a road race of any distance since he was in the ninth grade. He certainly hasn’t run a race full of steep hills in the sometimes suffocating heat of late July against a field filled with battle-hardened Kenyans and Ethiopians, many of whom are very familiar with a course he’s never even seen before. But you get the feeling Flanagan kind of likes being the underdog. And he often responds positively when placed in that role. You needn’t look any further than the 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Division I track and field meet about seven weeks ago. Flanagan, a fifth-year senior at the University of Michigan, was seeded 19th in the race. He hadn’t even qualified for the NCAA meet the previous year because of a litany of injuries. He ran in the wake of Alabama star Vincent Kiprop the entire way but on the 25th and final lap, he found the strength to surge past Kiprop and spring one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA history. He admitted he probably even surprised himself that day. (07/26/2018) Views: 1,727 ⚡AMP

A strong women's elite field is set for the Bix 7 this weekend

Three of the elite runners in the women’s field are from Illinois. The best known of them is Chelsea Blaase, who is from the small town of St. Joseph near Champaign and had a great career at the University of Tennessee. She was fifth in the NCAA 10,000 meters in 2016 and seventh in 2017 as well as placing fifth in the Bix 7 last year. Kelly McShea, from Lisle, ran collegiately at Illinois State and Kristen Heckert, who lives in Bolingbrook and teaches algebra at Plainfield South High School, competed at Illinois-Chicago. The women’s runner who has had the most past success in the Bix is Kenya’s Caroline Rotich, who won the race in 2011 and has placed in the top three on three occasions since then. She is not the only woman in the field who has run well on the streets of Davenport, however. Margaret Muriuki won the race the only previous time she ran it (in 2012), Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba was second in 2013 and Monicah Ngige has a pair of top-10 Bix finishes on her resume.Sydney Devore had a highly successful high school cross country career in Lakeland, Florida, but gave up running after suffering an injury as a freshman at the University of Florida. She resumed her career in 2015 and at the age of 26, is now an up and coming competitor on the U.S. scene. She attempted a marathon for the first time earlier this year and won, turning in the fastest time in four years at the Pittsburgh Marathon. (07/25/2018) Views: 1,825 ⚡AMP

Meb Keflezighi is running the Quad-City Times Bix 7 for the ninth time

The Keflezighi family, including Meb and nine siblings, fled to Milan, Italy, and eventually settled in San Diego. He took up competitive distance running in high school, became a star at UCLA and became an American hero when he won the silver medal in the 2004 Olympic marathon and won the 2009 New York City Marathon. Meb Keflezigh became a superhero in 2014 when he became the first American citizen in 31 years to win the Boston Marathon. It was the year after a bomb exploded at the race, taking the lives of three people. He ran that race with the names of the victims written on his race bib. Along the way, Keflezighi also has developed an affectionate relationship with the Quad-City Times Bix 7. He won the Bix 7 in 2002 and 2009, when it served as the U.S. championship race for seven miles, and he has placed in the top 10 on six other occasions. At the age of 43, he has retired from competitive running but still participates in several races a year, often doing so in support of some sort of charitable cause. He is scheduled to run the 44th annual Bix 7 on July 28. (07/24/2018) Views: 1,913 ⚡AMP

Bill Rodgers never misses the Bix 7 even with lingering achilles tendinitis

In another year at another time, Bill Rodgers might have been looking at running the Quad-City Times Bix 7 in 51 minutes. The most revered marathoner in U.S. distance running history turned 70 in December, and that’s the Bix 7 course record for runners 70 and over — 51 flat by Warren Bystedt back in 2000. Rodgers already holds the course record for runners in the 45-49 and 50-54 age groups, but this time he figures he’ll be lucky just to get up and down the grueling, undulating hills of the Bix in one piece. "I’m running, but I’m not running very fast," Rodgers said. "Hopefully, I can keep myself together for the Bix." Rodgers admits that running an estimated 200,000 miles over the past seven decades has taken its toll. He hasn’t approached the 51-minute mark in the Bix 7 since 2009, and he’s been in the 55-56-minute range each of the past five years. This year, he has been plagued by an Achilles injury that has limited him to just a handful of races. But he wouldn’t miss the Bix 7. In 1984, he had such a serious case of the flu that doctors advised him not to even get on an airplane. He came and ran the Bix anyway. In 2010, he was battling prostate cancer. He still came to the Bix. He will be running the race for the 39th consecutive year, by far the most he has done any race. But he cautioned that what he will be doing may not qualify as running, at least not by the standards of a man who has won 22 marathons and hundreds of road races. Early in the year, Rodgers was doing most of his running in swimming pools just to limit the wear and tear on his legs. "That’s the interesting challenge for us older runners …," he said. "You have to adapt and do more cross training, like swimming or cycling. The other runners do it, too, but for older runners it’s really a prerequisite. (07/16/2018) Views: 2,484 ⚡AMP