Another year in the Bix: 44th Quad-City Times Bix 7 'quite the sight'

Well, that and 12,765 runners tackling Davenport’s Brady Street hill minutes after 8 a.m. Even at 62 degrees, it was easy to start sweating just watching the group of athletes, costumed running enthusiasts and families make the seven-mile trek.

In the words of race director Ed Froehlich, the 44th annual Bix 7 was “quite the sight.”

“But it always is,” said Froehlich, who will retire next year after his 40th as race director. “It was wonderful. The weather was wonderful. It seemed like there were actually 20,000 people at the start when it took so long for them to make it up the Brady hill.”

The temperature — tied for the third-coolest start time in Bix 7 history — was a sigh of relief for runners working to beat personal bests, as well as medical tent workers, who treated only 26 people during the event. One person was transported off the course to a local hospital.  

For others, the weather was encouragement to push harder. That showed as Belay Tilahun finished in the lead and became the first Ethiopian man to win the race. Margaret Muriuki of Kenya captured the women’s title, and Bob Beardsley beat the elite runners.

Thousands of onlookers cheered as crowd favorite 70-year-old Bill Rodgers passed by, running his 39th consecutive Bix 7. He's still remembered four decades after a five-year stretch where he won both the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon multiple times. 

Also spotted were Joan Benoit Samuelson, 61, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, plus Meb Keflezighi, an Olympic silver medalist and the first American man to win both the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon in 30 years. 

Once the bobbing heads of the elite runners made it past the start, then came the sea of costumes. New this year, Patti McFate of Davenport wore a pant suit and Hillary Clinton mask, walking alongside her husband, Loren, with a President Donald Trump mask. The Palmer College of Chiropractic spine made another appearance this year, as well as the super hero family "The Incredibles."

The Nugent family, representing three generations, wore matching “All in the family” T-shirts, keeping up the tradition of running the Bix 7 during their annual family reunion.

“It’s a homecoming for myself and for the entire family to come together and do Bix,” Maggie Nugent, a Davenport native and resident of Adel, Iowa, said. “Now the grandkids are doing it, so we’re instilling the love of running in most of them — instilling the love of family togetherness, running, working hard and celebrating at the end.”

Earl Lanphere of Swisher, Iowa, sat along Brady Street waiting to catch his wife, Christina, run the Bix 7 for nearly her 30th year.

“I’ve been coming almost every year since 1981. My wife is great at it. You couldn’t make me run it at gunpoint,” he said, with a laugh. “But this has been a nice year. It’s been really easy. Sometimes it’s just too hot and muggy.”

While Lanphere sat comfortable in a camp chair, others, watching the race for the first time this year, stood along the route with mouths agape.

“I’m here for the first time this year because my cousin is racing,” Paula Kindt of East Moline said. “I’m just amazed at how many people there are. Everything is just non-stop, and thousands and thousands of people are everywhere. It’s great seeing my cousin do this and enjoy it. I’d love to aspire to this someday.”

Pre-race events included the national anthem, a tribute to veterans and members of the military, plus Quad-City Times Publisher Deb Anselm firing the starting gun. Across the downtown, a brass band played and choir singers offered some inspiration for the runners.

After its start, flags and banners were already being removed from Brady Street before most runners had crossed the finish line. After marking their times, the crowd spread across downtown and into the Quad-City Times parking lot to line up for Chick-fil-A sandwiches, Whitey’s Ice Cream and thousands of cans of beer.

With streets mostly clean by noon, the Bix 7 party moved to downtown businesses, bars and restaurants, which happily and frantically served the thousands of additional customers.