Mark McMullen nears 50th year running the Quad-City Times Bix 7: 'Literally breathtaking'

He ran his first race as a teenager and later ran the course with his own family. For decades, he saw neighbors, family members and friends on the sidelines. The 67-year-old has watched the Bix 7 grow from a small competition to a spectacle that draws more than 10,000 runners annually.

McMullen will run his 50th Bix 7 on Saturday, July 25. The Davenport native is one of just a few people who have run the race 49 times or more. The race is in its 52nd iteration.

"It's been literally breathtaking," McMullen said of running the race over five decades. "It's pretty emotional because growing up in Davenport, I could run the race and in one hour, I could see people from every part of my life."

McMullen, a Davenport Central High School graduate, remembered watching the first Bix 7 in 1975 from the window of a now-closed Walgreens at the intersection of West Second Street and North Main Street. The race just had 84 participants. Running was far less popular, and people questioned whether racers could run seven miles at all. McMullen remembered his Walgreens manager feeling upset that the runners had disrupted the sidewalk sale.

McMullen bought a pair of Nike Waffle Trainers. For the race's third year, he negotiated with his employer to let him take time off to run, so long as he wore a Walgreens shirt. The experience sparked something in McMullen, who ran just casually at the time.

“I don’t know that without the Bix, I would’ve continued to run,” McMullen said.

McMullen ran the Bix 7 for the next 15 years. He had not realized he had run for so long until he was told during packet pick-up to grab his 15th-year pin. After that, he made a concerted effort to do the Bix 7 every year.

After five decades, McMullen remembers the race’s big, small and bizarre moments. He remembers the race's early years when drivers were allowed to park cars on the route, and runners had to navigate between the vehicles ("That was a bit of a challenge"). He remembers one year when a train prevented runners from starting properly. He remembers the 2025 downpour that he called “monsoonal” and “the craziest weather conditions.”

McMullen recalls when legends like Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson began supporting Bix 7. In the race's early days, McMullen remembers seeing Shorter and Rodgers running cool-down exercises. One year McMullen chatted with Rodgers at a Bix at 6 training run.

"You felt the whole idea of 'Run with the Best.' I mean, we were literally running with the best," McMullen said.

In 1991, McMullen ran the Bix 7 five weeks after his youngest son was born. Tired from a newborn, McMullen chose to run slower. During the race, he recognized grade-school teachers, friends and neighbors on the sidelines. Some of those people have now died, and McMullen said he feels blessed to have a moment like the Bix 7 to recall them. He realized how one event can bring a person’s whole life into view.

“It had a big impact on me,” he said of that year.

Later, McMullen encouraged his wife, Nancy, and two sons, Kevin and Ryan, to run the race with him. For more than a decade, the family ran each race together. In 2002, The Quad-City Times featured the McMullens in a story about running the Bix 7 as a family tradition. This year, all four family members will return to the Quad-Cities to run together.

McMullen will high-five kids along the route, but he prefers not to do the race's infamous side events. In 2016, he carried a camera to catch candid moments along the race. As he ran on Kirkwood Boulevard, he thought he would try a slip 'n slide and take a photo with one hand. He slammed down too hard.

"I didn't have an X-Ray, but I think I broke a rib because I was so sore for weeks afterward," McMullen said. "I learned my lesson to not do too crazy stuff." 

Every year, McMullen runs a bit slower. Once, he targeted six-minute miles. On Saturday, he plans to run about 10-minute miles. McMullen said he will continue running the Bix 7 as long as he can show up and move.