Hird family tradition continues with a new generation of Bix runners

The Hirds long ago became the first family of running in the Quad-Cities and the annual Quad-City Times Bix 7 has become a focal point of the entire year for them, almost as much as that other big holiday near the end of December.

“For us, we always coined the term Bixmas,’’ said Zach Hird, the youngest of four Hird brothers who have become prominent participants in the Bix. “It’s a celebration. It has become a larger tradition.’’

Katrina Kinate, the older sister of the four brothers, said there is just something about the Bix 7 that has resonated with the family for roughly 34 years.

“I always felt like it was just a hometown race that we can go out and enjoy,’’ she said. “We didn’t have to travel for it … It’s just something that grew over the years, but obviously with our family it’s special.’’

Last year there were at least 14 members of the Hird family in the Bix 7. When the race is held for the 52nd time next Saturday, there will be even more than that.

Of those 14 who ran last year, five were young enough to have run in the Arconic Jr. Bix 7 the night before if they had chosen to do so. In other words, they were 12 years of age or younger.

Most of the Hirds began running the Bix 7 at an early age and they have continued this tradition for decades. They haven’t just run the race. They’ve done it very, very well.

Zach Hird has won the Prairie Farms Quick Bix, the event’s 2-mile alternative, each of the past two years. He also won the Greg Newell Trophy as the top male finisher from the Quad-Cities in the 7-miler in 2018 and 2019. Older brother Tim won the Newell in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Another brother, Nathaniel, won it in 2009.

Parents Rik and Toni Hird weren’t competitive athletes in their younger years, but Rik began dabbling in running a little as an adult. He completed one marathon and ran the Bix 7 a few times in the 1990s.

“I think he ran just to guide his kids through the thousands of people, just to make sure his kiddos were safe,’’ said Katrina, the only girl among six Hird siblings. “But he still runs four miles every day.’’

The oldest of the Hird kids, Chris, wasn’t a runner. He played tennis. Katrina got into track and cross country in junior high and at Alleman High School, then continued on to run at St. Ambrose University. The third Hird sibling, Nick, tried to play football but he was too small to be really good at the sport.

“He was ready to go to the NFL but that helmet was too big for his head,’’ Katrina recalled. “So, I said ‘Why don’t you try cross country? I run cross country. I think you can do it. I think you’d be great.’ So I guess I take credit for advocating him to try it.’’

Nick took to it immediately. Nathaniel, Tim and Zach just fell into line from there.

“The whole thing kind of trickled down,’’ Tim said.

The four went on to run at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois becoming integral components in a program that has won 19 NCAA Division III national championships and a mind-boggling 51 consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin titles. All of them still live in the Naperville area. Tim and Zach remain involved in the program as volunteer assistant coaches.

Each of the four won D-III All-American honors at least once. From the fall of 2002 until the spring of 2019, there was always at least one Hird on the track or cross country roster at North Central. Nick was the only one who was not part of a national championship cross country team, but he owns the family’s highest individual finish (eighth) in the D-III meet.

The family’s relationship with the Bix 7 began with the 1992 race when 11-year-old Katrina, 8-year-old Nick and Rik stepped to the starting line and took off up the Brady Street hill amid a torrential downpour.

Now, they are breeding a whole new generation of thundering Hirds who are testing their mettle on the pavement of some of Davenport’s older neighborhoods.

Katrina, who lives in Hudson, Illinois, in the Bloomington-Normal area, ran the Bix 7 last year with her 12-year-old daughter, Cecilia. Her husband, Matt Kinate, ran the 2-mile Quick Bix with their 10-year-old daughter Hannah and 7-year-old son Luke.

Nick, 42, ran the Quick Bix with his wife Marissa and 6-year-old son Jack. Nathaniel, 39, ran the 7-mile race while his wife, Mary Ellen, did the Quick Bix with their 6-year-old son Walter. Leslie Hird, wife of cousin Kevin Hird, ran the 7-mile race with her son, Brendan.

Zach, 30, won the Quick Bix for the second straight time, driving into town in the wee hours of the morning after being part of a wedding in Milwaukee the night before. Tim, 35, also was part of the same wedding but he and his wife Emily chose to miss the Bix for the first time in several years.

Zach said he wanted to be a part of last year’s Bix if only to see all those nieces and nephews — Cecilia, Hannah, Luke, Jack and Walter — enjoy the race at an early age.

“I remember as a kid it was very special when my parents finally allowed me to run the race,’’ he said. “So, that was a big driver for me waking up at 4 a.m. after significant partying to drive three hours.’’

Pretty much all of those people figure to be back in the race again Saturday with a few possible changes and additions. One or two of the kids who ran the Quick Bix last year might move up to seven miles. Nathaniel has a 4-year-old daughter, Carmen, who may do the Quick Bix for the first time. She already ran a 5K (a slightly longer distance) in extremely cold conditions when she was only 3.

“When she did the 5K Naperville Turkey Trot, I thought it was crazy …’’ Tim said. “The fact that she did that was awesome.’’

Tim said he intends to return to the Bix 7 this year although Emily probably will not because of work obligations. The couple also has a 9-month-old daughter who isn’t quite ready for the Brady Street Hill.

“As far as I know, I think almost the whole family is going to be there this year,’’ Zach said.

Katrina said it hasn’t taken any arm-twisting to get the latest generation of Hirds involved in the Bix 7.

“The kids are really excited about it,’’ she said. “They’ve always watched their parents do it and it’s a fun way for them to participate.’’

The Hirds’ Bixmas spirit has spread far beyond just the immediate family.

When the boys were at North Central, they often would invite some of their college teammates to drive over from Naperville to participate in the Bix.

“It started with maybe a guy or two on our team who would come down and spend the night at our house,’’ Zach said.

By 2018, he had 25 North Central teammates come to the Bix. Most of them stayed at Rik and Toni’s house and a few stayed at the home of Ethan Adlfinger, another former Alleman athlete who also was part of the North Central dynasty.

Tim said it became “a training tool’’ for much of the North Central team. The Bix 7 falls right before preparation for the college cross country season kicks into high gear and there was no better way to get ready for that than to run up and down hills in the heat of summer with thousands of other people.

“It kind of turned into a big thing,’’ Zach said. “The morning of the race we would always line up for a big photo in front of my parents’ house.’’

Rik and Toni no longer host all those college kids. They can’t. The family has grown too much.

“There are too many Hirds to do that so it’s almost gone back to being an exclusive family event because the family’s much bigger,’’ Tim said.

The group photo tradition continues, however.

“We still have people who were teammates with Katrina and Nick and Nathaniel who are now in their late 30s and early 40s that show up at our house the morning of (the race) for the annual picture,’’ Tim said. “We’ve been doing that for years. … That was always the meeting place. People we may not even see super often are going to show up at the Hirds’ house at 6 a.m. and take the picture at 6:10. It’s a tradition that has been going on now for 20-something years.’’

The Hirds often celebrate more than just Bixmas when they return to Davenport at the end of July. At least six family members have birthdays in late June or early July so they wait until Bix weekend to have a mass celebration of those milestones.

The family members used to run in several other Quad-Cities races every year, but with most of them now living outside the immediate area, that has become difficult to do. Now, they mostly just come back for "Bixmas."

“The Bix has become the one thing we know the whole family will come back for,’’ Tim said. “It’s the one road race all of us still do. It’s become the one that has stood the test of time.’’