St. Ambrose alum, Chapel Hill native win men’s and women’s Quick Bix, $500 prize

DAVENPORT — Chris Miserendino (men’s) and Megan Marvin (women’s) won the Prairie Farms Quick Bix at the 2026 Quad-City Times Bix 7 on Saturday.

And, for the first time, the winners of the two-mile event earned $500 apiece in prize money for their first-place finishes.

“That feels awesome,” Miserendino said about securing the $500 purse. “That was one of the reasons why I did it, but also it’s kind of where more of my training is right now. Just two miles compared to seven, I thought I’d give it a shot, give everything I had and got across the line first today.

“My first time (running) was last year. I ran the Bix 7. I kind of just tried to go for a fast last mile, and that one wasn’t really going too hard. But, this one, I wanted to give all-out effort and just went with the two miles this year with Quick Bix, and it was awesome.”

Miserendino clocked a time of 9:11 to best second-place finisher Chase Bulten (9:20) by nine seconds. The St. Ambrose alum, who specialized in middle-distance races for the Fighting Bees, said the time was a new personal best.

“I’m ecstatic with it,” Miserendino said. “That’s a huge PR for two miles. I haven’t gotten close to that for the most part. Part of it’s definitely the course and the energy helping out for sure.”

Miserendino credited his time at St. Ambrose for helping prepare him for the “crazy” course up Brady Street Hill and then down Perry Street.

“I was a mid-distance runner at Ambrose on their really good 4x8s and middle distance program,” Miserendino said. “It was a blessing to run with those guys.”

The Aurora, Illinois, native, who now calls Bettendorf home, said he planned to put the prize money toward rent as he continues training with Fitness Sports Distance Project.

“Just got that semi-pro kind of thing going with them,” Miserendino said. “… I’m excited to do it and build my own path now.”

He also added that he was happy to come away with the win on Saturday after finishing second in the MercyOne Genesis Brady Street Sprints.

Marvin was also a second-time runner at the Bix 7 and, like Miserendino, also ran the Quick Bix for the first time this year. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina, native, who now calls Madison, Wisconsin home, said the crowd was the best part of the running in the event.

“I was smiling, high-fiving people,” Marvin said. “I noticed there were some fans out there, and just their energy truly fills my cup while I’m racing and gives me energy. I’m so grateful to everyone who came out this early in the morning.”

When Marvin ran last year, she entered the event fresh off her senior season at Furman University. The experience last year helped tailor her training for the shorter race this season.

“Last year, I came fresh off my collegiate season, and my coach was like, just go out and tempo it — it was really hard to tempo seven miles,” Marvin said. “I fully red-lined. (This year), I’ve been doing some mile races, and I think that was just good to practice moving the lactic acid through my legs, and it was so fun. The first .7 (miles) was really hard up the hill, but then coming down and having the crowd carry me was just awesome. I was smiling the whole way down. It was so fun.”

Marvin ran a time of 10:16, which put her nine seconds in front of the second women’s finisher Elsie Brenneman, who ran a 10:25.

Marvin called the prize money a “nice bonus,” but not the reason she ran on Saturday.

“I would have done it with or without the prize money,” Marvin said. “I’m super grateful to everyone who organized that, put that together. It means a lot to be able to have a little bit of extra fun to be able to go to these fun races and be able to compete.”

She added that the prize money will go to her team, Driftless Distance Project, and for entry into other races.