Davenport’s Don Fish already has carved out a place for himself in Quad-City Times Bix 7 history by being one of four men to run the race in each of its first 50 years of existence.
Fish plans to only run the 2-mile Prairie Farms Quick Bix in this year’s race, scheduled for July 26, but it still will be his 51st consecutive year of involvement with the Bix.
His wife, Janelle Swanberg, also has made her mark through the years by winning the Bix 7’s Beat the Elite competition in 2005 and setting the course record for the women’s 70-74 age group in 2023.
Don Fish
But Fish is hoping to make his presence felt in the Bix 7 in the future in at least one other way, as an agent.
The 75-year-old Davenport resident works with about eight African-born elite runners to help them land spots in the Bix 7 as well as other major races across the country.
People are also reading…
This began when Fish managed the bicycle squad for the Quad-Cities Marathon many years ago. The race employs people to ride alongside elite runners along the course and monitor their progress. While doing that, Fish befriended 2014 Q-C champion Sammy Malakwen of Kenya and became friends with him on Facebook. He soon found himself receiving friend requests from other African runners on the social media site.
One of them, Kenneth Kosgei, messaged Fish and asked if he could help him get into the Philadelphia Marathon in 2017. Fish did some research, found that Kosgei had done very well in a marathon in Denmark, made some phone calls and managed to get him into the field in Philly. Kosgei finished third and pocketed $2,500.
Elite runner Kenneth Kosgei (35) of Kenya, checks his time near 12th Street, Saturday, July 27, 2019, during the 45th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7 road race through Davenport. He was one of the first runners Don Fish helped with participating in American races.
While at the race, Fish met several other top runners, including Kenya’s Philemon Kiplagat Terer, a three-time Quad-Cities Marathon champion who had finished fifth in Philadelphia but had not been paid the $1,000 he earned. Fish intervened in that situation and got Terer his money.
“He and I have become very close friends since then,’’ Fish said. “Philemon loves me like an uncle.’’
Things snowballed from there. Fish’s actions on behalf of Kosgei and Terer led to him getting even more inquiries from foreign runners. He said he receives requests nearly every day. It helps that he charges a little bit less for his services than other agents.
“If I wanted, I could have 100 clients,’’ Fish said. “These runners could do all of this themselves, but a lot of them are not confident with the English language.’’
Along the way, many of the foreign runners have become pals as well as clients. He said he and Janelle’s lives have been “enriched’’ by the experience.
“These are beautiful people, man,’’ Fish said. “It’s just so much fun to hang around with them and get to know them.’’
One of his clients, Martha Akeno, set a course record in winning the 2022 Life Time Miami Marathon. Margaret Njuguna finished second in the 2019 Grandma’s Marathon at the age of 49 with a time only a few minutes off the world record for runners her age.
Another client, Moses Kibet, won the Bix 7 in 2020 when it was held on a virtual basis because of COVID-19. He recorded the fastest time despite running his virtual race at 8,000 feet above sea level in Iten, Kenya.
Mahlet Mulugeta runs during the 50th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7 in Davenport. She's one of Don Fish's clients.
Fish’s goal now is to have one of his clients win the Bix 7 in a normal year. He came close last year when Ethiopia’s Mahlet Mulugeta placed sixth in the women’s race in Davenport. He already has arranged to have Mulugeta run the Bix 7 again this year.
“It’s nice to have an affiliation with that part of the race,’’ Fish said.
“That’s my job these days in the foot racing world is to have these wonderful young world-class athletes that I’m happy to know and happy to work with and happy to get them races.’’
50 stories of the Quad City Times Bix 7
Did you know 2024 was the 50th running of the Quad City Times Bix 7? Want to learn more about the iconic 7-mile road race or reminisce from years past? We got you covered. Read about the history of Bix shirts, the daunting Brady Street Hill, music along the course and more.Â
The 51st Running of the Quad City Times Bix 7 is Saturday, July 26, 2025.Â
To the world beyond the bounds of eastern Iowa and western Illinois, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 probably just looks like a world-class road race.
When the Quad-City Times Bix 7 began in 1975, the race started with runners charging up the Perry Street hill.
The Quad-City Times Bix 7 isn’t just about running and physical fitness.
When you enter the Quad-City Times Bix 7, you have a decent chance of getting wet before the day is over.
Bill Rodgers has run the Quad-City Times Bix 7 a total of 43 times and he still has a little trouble finding the words to describe how special…
It takes a lot of people to orchestrate a road race, even a small one. When the race has been among the largest in the Midwest for the past 40…
You can tell Dr. Lynn Schmidt-Dolan doesn’t really feel as though she belongs on the same list as superstar runners such as Joan Samuelson, Ca…
John Hudetz had no idea what he was starting back in the middle 1970s.
By the mid-1980s, excitement for the Quad-City Times Bix 7 had built to the point where local runners couldn’t wait to get out on the course a…
A year-by-year look at the Quad-City Times Bix 7:
Most of the elite distance runners in the world say the same thing. At most road races they see the spectators at the starting line and again …
You might think that now that her competitive running days are behind her, life might be slowing down for Joan Benoit Samuelson.
Not many sports events have had the same title sponsor for more than 40 years. Very few road races have maintained a close relationship with t…
Mark Nenow spent most of the 1980s wearing out running shoes, frequently logging 140 miles a week.
He is only 5 feet, 5 inches tall, but Ed Froehlich became a giant in the world of road race directors.
In its first 49 years, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 has had its share of moments that have been, well, sort of strange, not the sort of thing you…
From the Counting Crows to T-Pain, here are 12 concerts you shouldn't miss in the Quad-Cities area this summer.Â
A year-by-year look at the Quad-City Times Bix 7:
The Quad-City Times Bix 7 has commemorated its rich history with an array of statues in an area known as Bix Plaza, at the point of the Quad-C…
Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers are buddies now.
To some, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 is a world-class race.
What Devin and Kelsey Allbaugh have done in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 the past few years is fairly amazing.
For more than four decades, Dr. Jeff Bassman oversaw the recruiting and organizing of volunteers for the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and through the years that evolved into a huge undertaking.
Sprint races are supposed to have tight, almost-too-close-to-call finishes.
A year-by-year look at the Quad-City Times Bix 7:
When it’s all over, after you’ve run or walked or crawled seven miles or two miles, it’s time to party.
Don Fish’s knee really hurts. Both of Gary Fischer’s knees give him problems. Steve Clark has an aching back. Ed Lillis’ hips creak with every step.
Once the runners and walkers in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 reach the top of the daunting Brady Street Hill, their work has just begun.
Kellyn Taylor and Biya Simbassa each ran the Quad-City Times Bix 7 for the first time last year.
One of its earliest participants remembers it as being “the coolest running circus of kids and people just everywhere … It was very cool.’’ Th…
In the late 1990s, Quad-City Times Bix 7 officials realized that not everyone was enthralled with the idea of running seven miles up and down …
Meb Keflezighi remembers the first time he came to the Quad-City Times Bix 7, back in 2002.
There are people who seemingly won’t allow anything to keep them from participating in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 each year.
Maybe it’s because the Quad-City Times Bix 7 is held in the same month as Independence Day at a time when people are feeling especially patrio…
A year-by-year look at the Quad-City Times Bix 7:
In 2002, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 made a bold and innovative move that was so popular it has chosen to do the same thing a half dozen times t…
Fiona O’Keeffe added her name to the list earlier this year.
Ed Froehlich didn’t build the Quad-City Times Bix 7 into a monstrous and magical event all by himself. He had help. Lots of it.
Frank Bay has heard it a few times. Not too often, but every now and then someone will question why he continues to run road races at his adva…
A year-by-year look at the Quad-City Times Bix 7:
Kenya has been the dominant distance running country in the world for more than 50 years. So, it was inevitable that after the Quad-City Times…
Clayton Young had the second fastest qualifying time entering the U.S. Olympic marathon trials earlier this year, but he still was considered …
Since 2004, at least one local entrant in the Quad-City Times Bix 7 has been chosen each year to take a shot at getting to the finish line ahe…
Along with running in all but one of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 races, Kerry Gannon holds one other distinction in Bix 7 lore.
The Quad-City Times began having an official T-shirt in 1976, in its second year of existence. It tweaked its logo considerably through the fi…
The Quad-City Times Bix 7 continued to produce unique T-shirt logos in its second quarter-century of existence, often using caricatures of run…
It’s a lot shorter than the regular Quad-City Times Bix 7. It’s not necessarily easier.
Karl Ungurean, who died in December 2022, is going to be centerstage from now on. A life-size statue of him has been installed in Bix Plaza and it will be unveiled in ceremonies Monday at 6:30 p.m. as the Bix 7 prepares for its 50th running later in the week.
