They acted like old friends. Running-world stars Joan Samuelson and Bill Rodgers hadn't seen Bob Juarez since they met him for the first time a year ago. But a stranger would never know it.

Juarez, paralyzed after falling from a ladder while fighting a downtown Davenport fire last year, was still in the hospital when Samuelson and Rodgers came to the Quad-Cities to run in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 race.

"Last time I saw you, it was in a hospital bed," Rodgers said as Juarez welcomed him Thursday into the Davenport home that was specially built for his wheelchair.

The firefighter had news for the running legends: He's going to be in the Bix this year.

"That's awesome!" Samuelson declared. "That's very cool."

But she also shared a concern with Juarez's wife, Nancy: What about Brady Street hill?

"His gloves will be smoking, going down the Brady Street hill," Nancy Juarez said with a smile.

Bob Juarez said he has a plan. The gloves will help him control the wheels on his chair, and a whole team of friends will be nearby to make sure he doesn't get going too fast. In addition to some of his firefighter friends, his two children and a couple of his therapists, he will have another important person from last year's Bix at his side.

"Ben Houtekier - the one who ran the (Rhythm City Casino Race for the) Jackpot for Bob last year - he'll be with him," Nancy Juarez said.

"This is a really neat community that way," replied Samuelson.

She is an Olympic gold medalist and is widely regarded as the greatest female distance runner ever. Rodgers has won both the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon four times each.

But they also are familiar with some of Juarez's records.

"You just missed one year of the Bix, right?" Rodgers asked.

Juarez answered that he has participated in every - or nearly every - Bix 7 since he settled in the Quad-Cities 20 years ago. He ran it mostly with other firefighters, he said, as a way to stay in shape.

He already has been in two races this year, beginning with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

"I felt really good, but it was pretty flat," he said of the course. "Once I get going, I go pretty good."

And his time improved in the next race, even though the Midnight Chase is a mile longer. His goal for finishing this year's Bix 7 is one hour and 45 minutes. Getting back into racing has been a thrill in two ways, he said.

"So many people encourage you on the course, especially in my chair," he said. "That physical adrenaline rush is still there, too. I got that same high, but it was in my shoulders this time."

Rodgers and Samuelson were impressed,

especially when Nancy Juarez told them her husband has been averaging 15-minute miles in his new, light-weight chair.

"I need to get a little stronger - in a little better shape, though," Bob Juarez said. "I'm going to stay active, just like I was before."

After giving a tour of the family's new home, Juarez gave the runners (whom he regards as "celebrities") several gifts, including T-shirts bearing his badge number on the front and "Back On The Line in 2009" on the back. He also gave them hats and bags from the Davenport Fire Department.

Next to the table that held the gifts was a cage containing a vocal pet bird.

"Does he bite?" Rodgers asked.

"Yeah," Bob Juarez answered. "But not hard."

The men joked about racing times, and Rodgers predicted Samuelson would be ahead of him on the Bix 7 course "about a mile. As long as we're out there, Bob, that's the name of the game."

Samuelson added, "We really do inspire each other, don't we?"

As the legendary runners handed out hugs and left the Juarez home, Nancy Juarez marveled, "They just walk in like they've known you forever."