Read all of our 2026 Quad-City Times Bix 7 coverage in spot

In 2022, floods ravaged the Quad-Cities, as they have so often, and Juehring and her staff were forced to assemble six different contingency plans on how to reroute the race, if needed.

Then there was last year. Torrential thunderstorms hammered the area the night before the big race and lingered into the morning hours. Juehring consulted with city officials and meteorologists, monitoring the weather long before the sun even rose. She ultimately made the difficult choice to delay the start of the race for an hour. It all turned out great in the end.

Now Juehring is reaping the rewards of dealing so effectively with all those obstacles. Last winter she was named the National Race Director of the Year by Marathon Foto/Road Race Management, joining her predecessor and mentor, Ed Froehlich, who won the same award in 1993.

More recently, she was presented the Break the Tape Award by Chicago Event Management and members of her staff members also have taken a few bows. In June, Bix 7 operations director Laura Torgerud was named an “emerging industry leader’’ by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety.

Juehring said she still is humbled by all the accolades and said the people around her, including Torgerud, deserve as much of the credit as she does.

“My name may be on the plaque but it’s those that I work with, it’s the people that do the race, the people that volunteer, that help us be the race that we are,’’ she said. “I just happen to have the privilege to be the person up front and help orchestrate it and see it all come together.

“I like to think I’m a player-coach, not in an intrusive way but rather an encouraging way. I just love the industry that we’re in.’’

The Bix 7 heads into its 52nd running a week from Saturday strong and healthy and ready to face new challenges.

The race has survived COVID-19. The number of entries the past two years has been larger than in the two years prior to the pandemic and the Bix 7 has renewed its corporate sponsorship agreement with the Quad-City Times for another 10 years.

Nevertheless, Juehring is somewhat taken aback by all these honors, especially the national race director award. She was visiting her parents in Onalaska, Wis., when she got word that she had won and she was told she couldn’t tell anyone about it prior to the ceremony. However, she insisted that she be able to tell her husband Dave, Torgerud and Froehlich. She also told her parents.

She is only the eighth woman to win in the 38-year history of the award.

“I rarely bring that up in anything that I do because I’m a race director, I’m not a female race director,’’ she said. “But I thought that was kind of cool and I hope that would be inspirational for other people in the field and the industry.’’

She said she has come to realize how important it is to be prepared and flexible in her thinking, and ready to tackle any sort of challenge.

“There’s been a lot of unknowns,’’ she said. “It’s one thing to plan a world-class race … but things change and they keep changing. You prepare the best you can knowing what you know but when things keep changing, it’s so different.

“And again, I’m so fortunate to have the history and the dedication of the people we work with: The committee chairs and volunteers but also the runners and walkers. People continue to come back and say ‘This is important to us. We want to have fun. We want to challenge ourselves. We want a world-class race. We want the athletes to keep coming back.’ That shows us that everything we do each year is worth it.’’

Juehring, like Froehlich, has tried to add new wrinkles to the Bix 7 each year in order to appeal to new people and to satisfy the thousands who have turned out for the race for decades.

“Michelle is really working hard to tweak the race, the way Ed Froehlich used to with Bix,’’ said legendary marathoner Bill Rodgers, who has been a Bix 7 regular since 1980. “That’s a great way of thinking. Keep promoting your event to appeal to different groups of people.’’

Juehring said her greatest reward may have come when the 2025 race finally got started after the storms relented.

As she stood on the starting line platform, she worried that delaying the race may have discouraged large numbers of runners from sticking around. She thought many may have left or just gone straight to the postrace party.

“The gun went off and people kept coming and coming …’’ Juehring said, recalling that she had tears in her eyes. “People ran it. It was amazing … I get emotional when I think of that day because it was very intense. It was a lot and our community showed up, the running community. And it was a blast.’’

But things will be different when Parker comes to the 52nd annual Bix 7 on July 25.

This time, she will be one of the favorites.

The 26-year-old has had a breakout season, winning two races on the Professional Road Runners Organization circuit: The Lilac Bloomsday 12k in early May and the Steamboat Classic 4-miler in early June. She is the PRRO circuit points leader heading into Bix and also won the Naples Half-marathon, placed fourth in the USATF Half-marathon, fifth in the USATF 10-miler (eighth overall), and ninth in the Bolder Boulder 10k.

“She’s tearing it up …’’ Juehring said. “She’s something else. This is her year. I really think she needs to be getting recognition. She’s just doing phenomenal.’’

Parker is one of 35 elite runners in the field announced this week by Bix 7 elite athlete coordinator John Tope. As always, there will be a few additions and subtractions in the final field during the next two weeks, but Parker will be one of the runners that everyone will be watching when the Bix hosts the championship finale of the PRRO circuit.

She is one of eight runners committed to the Bix 7 who will have a chance to win PRRO’s $10,000 super bonus. Runners who are the defending PRRO champion, who have won any of the other PRRO races this season or are currently in the top five in the circuit’s points standings qualify for an additional $10,000 over and above the regular $12,500 first prize if they win the Bix 7.

Parker automatically qualifies by virtue of her wins at Bloomsday and Steamboat. Other automatic qualifiers are Veronica Loleo of Kenya, who won the super bonus last year at the Utica Boilermaker 15k; Mohammed El Youssfi of Morocco, who won championships at the Gate River 15k and Cherry Blossom 10-miler; and Reid Buchanan of Kansas City, who was the men’s champion at Bloomsday.

Male runners who qualify for the super bonus by virtue of their place in the point standings are Wesley Kiptoo of Bellemont, Ariz.; Graydon Morris of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Getinet Gedamu of Ethiopia. Everlyn Kemboi of Kenya qualifies because of her place in the women’s standings.

Smaller PRRO bonuses will also be available in the Bix 7. Any runner who wins the race but has not won any of the other PRRO races this season will receive $2,500. PRRO event champions from this season — including Parker, Buchanan and Youssfi — can earn an additional $1,500 simply by finishing anywhere from second through 10th.

Parker is not the only one of those super bonus qualifiers who is very familiar with the hilly Bix 7 course. Kiptoo, a former Iowa State star, won the Bix 7 in 2024, was second last year and was seventh in 2022. Buchanan was third in the 2023 Bix 7, and Kemboi placed fourth last year.

Kiptoo is one of five former Bix 7 champions in the announced field. In addition to legends Bill Rodgers and Joan Samuelson, each of whom won multiple championships in the 1980s, the field includes Biya Simbassa and Kellyn Taylor, who were the Bix 7’s male and female winners in 2023.

There are plenty of other familiar faces in the race.

Sara Hall, who holds the fourth-fastest marathon time and second-fastest half-marathon time ever by an American woman, is entered. Hall, now 43 and a major force on the U.S. running scene for more than 20 years, was second in the Bix 7 in 2014 and third in 2017.

Frank Lara of Westminster, Colo., will be making his fifth appearance in Davenport. He finished second in 2021 and eighth in both 2023 and 2024.

Other male runners in the field who have run the Bix 7 at least once through the years are Emmanuel Bor, JP Flavin, Tesfu Tewelde, Tsegay Weldibanos (formerly Tuemay), Shadrack Kipchirchir and Aiden Reed.

Bix veterans in the women’s field include Ednah Kurgat and Makenna Thurston. Kurgat finished third behind Taylor and Aliphine Tuliamuk in 2023.

The 2026 field also includes some runners from countries that have not often been represented in the Bix 7.

Peter Lynch, a top-10 finisher this year in the London Marathon and the New York City Half Marathon, is believed to be the first elite runner from Ireland to run the Bix 7 since 1993.

Two of the youngest entries in the men’s field — 21-year-old Hayate Homma and 22-year-old Itta Tameike — will be the first Japanese runners in the race in the past 10 years.

Elite field for Quad-City Times Bix 7

Men

Brian Barraza, Boulder, Colo.

Gilbert Boit, Kenya

Emmanuel Bor, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Reid Buchanan, Kansas City, Mo.

JP Flavin, Rochester Hills, Mich.

Getinet Gedamu, Ethiopia

Hayate Homma, Japan

Michael Jordan, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Amon Kemboi, Kenya

Shadrack Kipchirchir, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Wesley Kiptoo, Bellemont, Ariz.

Frank Lara, Westminster, Colo.

Peter Lynch, Ireland

Graydon Morris, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Aiden Reed, Boulder, Colo.

Dawit Seare, Eritrea

Biya Simbassa, Flagstaff, Ariz.

Itta Tameike, Japan

Tesfu Tewelde, Eritrea

Camren Todd, Kaysville, Utah

Tsegay Weldibanos (Tuemay), Eritrea

Titus Winder, Minnetonka, Minn.

Mohammed El Youssfi, Morocco

Men

Priscah Cherono, Kenya

Dana Feyen, St. Louis Park, Minn.

Sara Hall, Crested Butte, Colo.

Everlyn Kimboi, Kenya

Ednah Kurgat, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Veronica Loleo, Kenya

Lucy Ndungu, St. Louis, Mo.

Hilda Olemomoi, Kenya

Kassie Parker, Waverly, Iowa

Jaci Smith, Rochester Hills, Mich.

Kellyn Taylor, Flagstaff, Ariz.

Makenna Thurston, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.

The first man and first woman to cross the finish line in the Quick Bix each will pocket $500. It pales in comparison to the $50,000 purse for the main race, but it’s a decent chunk of change.

Hird, a 30-year-old Rock Island native who now lives in Naperville, Ill., has had the fastest time in the Quick Bix each of the past two years so it’s easy to understand why he was pleased.

“I kind of wish they’d had it the last couple of years,’’ he said. “Any opportunity to make money on a local road race, I’m going to do it.’’

In most years, only about 10-percent of Bix entrants run the Quick Bix, but Hird figures that number could be inflated now.

“It will persuade some other guys who would always be doing the 7-mile to do it,’’ he predicted.

When the Quick Bix began in 1999, it was intended as an option for the infirm, inexperienced and unfit, a way to attract runners and walkers who might not ordinarily participate in Bix weekend.

Instead of turning right onto Kirkwood Boulevard at the top of the Brady Street Hill, Bix entrants could turn a block earlier, go over a block, then zip right back down the hill on Perry Street and finish their abbreviated race on 4th Street. It was less intense, less exhausting than the main Bix 7 race.

“It used to be a fun run or it’s an alternative if you don’t feel like going the full 7,’’ said Bix 7 race director Michelle Juehring. “But it’s turned into more than that. We’ve got people running it hard now …

“People are running it fast,’’ she added, “so we’re going to honor the people who are making it a hard race.’’

The change has been applauded by many.

“I think that’s a good thing. I think it will be very dramatic …,’’ said legendary marathoner Bill Rodgers, who has run the 7-mile race 44 times. “That’s a great downhill … You’ll see some great races now out of the Quick Bix.’’

Rodgers added that the advent of prize money is “going to elevate it and make it more of a duel type race.’’

Hird has run the Bix about 20 times and he almost always has done the 7-mile race. A member of arguably the Quad-Cities’ most noteworthy running family, he won the Greg Newell Trophy as the top local finisher in the 7-mile race in 2018 and 2019. His brothers, Tim and Nathaniel, also have won the Newell. Tim did it three times.

But the past two years, Zach hasn’t been at his best on Bix weekend. He was nursing a hamstring injury in 2024, but he gutted out the Quick Bix, finishing in 9 minutes, 48 seconds. Last year, he was in a wedding in Milwaukee on Friday night, but didn’t want to completely miss the Bix.

He didn’t get to bed until after 1 a.m., caught a couple of hours sleep, drove three hours and planned to just hop out of the car, throw on his running shoes and scoot to the starting line.

“I was expecting to literally pull up and my warmup was going to be the jog to the line,’’ he said.

He arrived and found that the start of the race was delayed for an hour because of thunderstorms, which allowed him to at least catch his breath.

He still wasn’t feeling great. But, bleary-eyed, leg-weary and sleep-deprived, he managed to whip through two miles in 10:05. Keelee Leitzen of Dubuque, who was the winner of the Bix 7 High School Challenge in 2024, was the women’s Quick Bix winner in 11:26.

Hird is going to be in much better shape this time. He’s healthy enough to do 7 miles, but he admitted the advent of reachable prize money has him leaning toward doing the Quick Bix. He probably won’t decide for sure which distance he is running until the morning of the race.

“I’m getting close to being fully healthy again,’’ he said. “I’ve been pushing the envelope the last few weeks … Ultimately, I know I need to be able to hurt for about 9 ½ minutes. That would hopefully be the goal. It’s kind of worth it for 500 bucks.’’

But the organization, now more than 30 years old, still serves an important purpose in the sport of road racing. And it will hold its national championship race in Davenport three weeks from now, on July 25, at the 52nd annual Quad-City Times Bix 7.

“It’s a good organization and I’m glad that it’s continuing,’’ said former Bix 7 race director Ed Froehlich, who was the president of PRRO when it first launched in 1995.

“Anything we can do to combine with other events is good. It’s hard to get events to join hands because they’re individual races. That’s the first interest of every race is your own.’’

The Bix 7, now under the direction of Michelle Juehring, has become involved with PRRO again after about a 25-year absence. It has joined with the Gate River 15k, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, the Lilac Bloomsday 12k, the Steamboat Classic 4-miler and the Utica Boilermaker 15k to form a circuit that offers enhanced opportunities for elite runners to win prize money.

For the past several years, the Bix 7 has offered $50,000 in prize money, including $12,500 to both the men’s and women’s champions, but PRRO has a bonus structure that can add significantly to the runners’ paydays.

Runners who are the defending PRRO champion, who have won any of the other PRRO races this season or are currently in the top five in the circuit’s points standings qualify for a $10,000 super bonus if they win the Bix 7.

If a runner wins the Bix 7 but has not won any of the other PRRO races this season, they receive a $2,500 bonus. PRRO event champions from this season can earn an additional $1,500 just for finishing anywhere from second through 10th in the Bix.

It’s not as lucrative as when PRRO first began in the 1990s. Champions in PRRO championship races back then, including the 1997 Bix 7, earned $25,000.

“Most of the prize money comes from the individual races now,’’ said Don Kardong, a longtime director of Lilac Bloomsday who is now the president of PRRO.

The origins of PRRO extend all the way back to 1981 with the inception of the Association of Road Racing Athletes. ARRA was an alliance of American distance runners who sought to promote their sport, increase visibility and boost prize money.

Kardong was still a competitive runner then, only five years removed from a fourth-place finish in the 1976 Olympic marathon. He was vitally involved in the development of ARRA, which was only moderately successful.

“We had an idea that there would be a circuit and the circuit would basically be owned by the athletes,’’ he said. “But that didn’t work so well. At one point, I think we had maybe 20 races.’’

In 1995, ARRA joined with the directors of many of the country’s top road races to form PRRO. Froehlich was the first president, with Kardong serving as vice president, long-time Cherry Blossom director Phil Stewart as secretary and Bolder Boulder 10K race director Bill Reef as executive director. Two professional runners, Steve Jones and Kim Jones (no relation), also were on the board of directors along with Jeff Darman, the founder and director of several races.

There were 12 races in the original alliance, including five of the current members (all except Gate River) along with the Peachtree 10K, Bolder Boulder, the Gasparilla Distance Classic, the Tulsa Run, the Sallie Mae 10K, the Houston Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon.

There was an immediate and radical bump in prize money at the outset. The first four PRRO championship races, starting with Lilac Bloomsday in 1996 and Bix in 1997, offered a first prize of $25,000.

“At the time, it was a good group, but it fell off because there weren’t more races that got involved in it,’’ Froehlich said.

The alliance began to unravel within a couple of years. The problem then, as it is now, is that all the races have their individual objectives and priorities, and those don’t necessarily align with those of other events.

Froehlich said the Bix initially became involved with PRRO in hopes of boosting distance running in the United States and that goal was quickly drowned out as runners from Kenya and other foreign countries thoroughly dominated the circuit.

“We got out when Boulder got out,’’ Froehlich said. “We didn’t think it was going in the right direction and it was costing us extra money to do it.’’

The Bix 7 eventually addressed its objective by holding American championship races in conjunction with USA Track and Field in 2002, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2023.

Kardong said many of the PRRO races now offer prize money for American runners along with a generous portion of money that is open to anyone. The six races on the circuit have a combined purse of $440,000 with about a third of that — $148,000 — designated specifically for U.S. athletes.

“We have a lot of foreign runners participating but also some top Americans,’’ Kardong said. “I think we have a pretty good structure now.’’

After Bix, Bolder Boulder and other races pulled out, the PRRO circuit got down to as few as four members at one point and its championship first prize dipped as low as $6,200 in 2017. There were races involved that no longer even exist.

“It was a little unstable,’’ Kardong said. “Something would happen and somebody would leave.’’

Three races — Bloomsday, Cherry Blossom and Utica — remained in the organization through all of the upheaval. The Bix 7 became involved again last year and PRRO added a sixth member in December when Steamboat came on board.

“All of the races we have now have been around for about 50 years so there is some stability in the group now,’’ Kardong said.

Kardong said he thinks PRRO ultimately could get back to having 8 to 10 races.

“We’re not actively looking right now because we’re sort of implementing some of the things we’ve done this past year,’’ he said, “but there’s some races out there that we’d love to have that would fit under the tagline we have of America’s classic road races.

“We’d love to get more but it’s always a challenge because most races, including all the ones we have now, are organized mostly for the local runners and their local market.’’

PRRO has added a feature designed to attract some of those local runners, too. The new PRRO-lific Finisher Program provides the opportunity for non-elite runners to win a limited edition medal if they complete all six of the races on the circuit.

“We’ve always catered to the elite runners but this is a way to reward ordinary runners,’’ Phil Stewart said.

Kardong said it’s still hard to get races to think of themselves as major international sports events in addition to being great community events.

“It’s not been an easy sell but we have gotten some decent traction the last couple of years,’’ Kardong said. “If we can get to eight, I think that’s about where we want to be.’’

Through all the ups and downs, Kardong feels PRRO has had a positive effect on the sport of road racing.

“Going back to the beginning with ARRA, it was ‘Let’s get payment for performance,’ and that all happened,’’ he said. “We try not to pat ourselves on the back too much but when we saw the Dream Team, the basketball team, in the Olympics, we said ‘Well, they’re there because of something we did.’ We allowed professionals into the Olympics. We did accomplish a lot of what we set out to do.’’

Named the 2026 Russell Beat the Elite runners, Allbaugh and Young will get a head start somewhere on the 7-mile Bix course based on their past times. If they can beat the winning runner to the finish line, they each win a $2,500 prize.

Both locals have sterling running credentials.

Allbaugh, 35, has won the Eloise Caldwell Trophy as the fastest local female finisher four of the past five years running the Bix. In 2025, she finished in 46:10, putting her 49th among female runners.

Allbaugh coordinates the Running Wild Elite women's team, has run marathons and has taken home titles in dozens of races, including the East Moline Firecracker Run 5K. She's training for the Moonlight Chase, the Twin Cities 10K, and a few other races this year.

Originally from Rosemont, Minnesota, Allbaugh mostly played soccer in high school. At the time, she initially hated going on training runs with her sister, she said with a laugh.

"We'd get fights on these runs because I didn't want to go out running," Allbaugh said. "... Now, it's kind of her funny inside joke of, 'You didn't even want to run when I used to bring you to train, and now that's all you do.'" 

She tried running her senior year of high school and walked on at Minnesota State University-Mankato's cross country and track team. But it was after college that she really began dropping time on her personal records.

She and her husband moved to the Quad-Cities in 2015 and she took breaks from running competitively until after she had the last of their three kids in February 2021.  

By July 2021, to her surprise, she won her first Caldwell award as the first local female finisher of the Bix.

"I was kind of working from ground zero again," Allbaugh said. "For months I was just walking, and then run-walking. It was just such a slow progression to get back into actual running and training, and so that July, I had no idea that that would be something that I was even capable of doing at that point in time."  

Running as a Beat the Elite runner will be a new way to experience the Bix, Allbaugh said. 

"I am still trying to run competitively and push myself, and I think this will be kind of a fun thing to do for the Bix," Allbaugh said.

Allbaugh plans to take her family on a trip to Disney World if she “beats the elite,” which would be the family's first big trip and the first time their kids will ride in an airplane, she said.

Young, 40, who owns Davenport’s Fleet Feet store, ran last year’s Bix race in 37:49, good for 75th overall and 69th among male runners. The winner of the race in 2025, Alex Maier, crossed the finish line less than six minutes faster, at 32:02.

Young, a Davenport Assumption grad, grew up cheering for loved ones or running the Bix himself, and has run the 7-mile race and the Brady Street sprints, and has hosted from a booth at the expo center. 

Young remembers running his first Bix at age 11 with his mom. Now, his three kids have been training for runs with their grandma. His youngest, at age 9, hopes to run her first full Bix this year with grandma in a full-circle moment. 

But the Bix is a quick race compared to others Young competes in. 

The longer the distance, the better Young runs.

He recently placed second in the U.S. championships 100 kilometer race and will compete in the world championship in Spain in December.

But he likes even longer distances.  

"My forte is 100 miles," Young said. 

The first 100-mile race he ran in 2021, he came behind and won the race in the final mile to beat the world-record holder.

"That's one that will always be on top because it was so dramatic," Young said. "I had hoped for a result like that but it was still unbelievable."

Many ultramarathons are in mountainous areas, but Young prefers a flat and fast course. The past five years, he's run a 100-mile race on a former railroad trail, called Tunnel Hill, in southern Illinois. He's won or gotten second in that race each of the five years he's participated. In 2025, he finished first with a time of 12:03:27.

Unlike training for a 5K or the Bix, when runners typically exceed the race distance on their longer training runs, ultramarathoners can't do that, Young said. 

Instead, he increases his weekly mileage and practices eating and drinking while running. He also does long runs on back-to-back days — 30 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday, for example. His longest training run has been 36 miles. 

In races, especially ultramarathons, Young said he does best when he's out in front and keeping a lead as opposed to being neck-and-neck with other runners, which may be an advantage for him in the Beat the Elite race.

"Having a lead and really having no choice of trying to hang on to it. That's something not most people ever do, but for me it's actually sort of the way I run best," Young said. "I'm excited to have to push really hard and to not know what's happening behind me." 

If Young “beats the elite,” he will donate the $2,500 pot to the TBK Bank Quad City Marathon's Shoes for Kids, which donates running shoes to young Quad-Cities residents. Hoka, one of Fleet Feet's partner brands, plans to match the donation, which could bring $5,000 total to the charity.

"I gotta win. I just, I gotta win. Because that would be $5,000 worth of shoes for kids," Young said.

Through the years, 26 runners have been selected to try to beat the race’s champion to the finish line with the help of a head start. Twenty of them have succeeded in doing so.

The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning in effect until 10 p.m. tonight. The weather service expects dangerously hot and humid conditions during the scheduled time of the training run.

To make the decision, race organizers reviewed National Weather Service forecasts, consulted the race's medical director and followed heat-safety protocols recognized in the road running industry, according to the news release.

Bix organizers are encouraging runners to continue their training indoors or during the cooler morning hours and join the final Iowa American Water Bix @ 6 training run on Thursday, July 9, at the corner of Fifth Street and Pershing Avenue beginning at 6 p.m.

The MercyOne Genesis Brady Street Sprint Trials originally scheduled for Thursday night have also been canceled. The final sprint trials will be held Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m. at the same location.

Participants who register online today may pick up their complimentary Bix @ 6 t-shirt at next week's training run by presenting their registration confirmation email.

The Russell Beat the Elite athletes will still be announced tonight at 6 p.m., according to organizers.

The 52nd Quad-City Times Bix 7 begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Online registration is available at bix7.com.

The award recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in addressing safety and security issues, with the awardee selected by each respective sports league, association or advisory committee.

"I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition," Torgerud said. "The Bix 7 is truly a team effort, and I am grateful every day to work alongside such an extraordinary group of people — our staff, committee chairpersons, volunteers, sponsors, and all of the community partners who make this event possible. This award is a reflection of their hard work and commitment as much as my own."

Race Director Michelle Juehring was also honored with an award. Juehring was named a recipient of the Break the Tape Award, presented by Chicago Event Management through its Race Management Program. 

The Break the Tape Award recognizes an individual within the endurance event industry who has gone above and beyond during the current race season through innovation, leadership, passion, collaboration and meaningful impact on the industry and broader community. 

“Some dreams are achieved by crossing the finish line. Others are fulfilled by helping others get there. This award is especially meaningful because the greatest joy of this profession isn't standing at the finish line yourself, it's helping create moments where others discover what they're capable of,” Juehring said. “I'm grateful to the Bix family, our community, and colleagues across the running industry who inspire me every day to keep learning, sharing, and moving our sport forward.”

Rodgers had run every Bix 7 since 1980 except for the 2020 race that was held on a virtual basis due to COVID-19. He didn’t want that streak to end. But he made a sensible, if somewhat agonizing, choice. He decided not to run.

“I was nervous about hitting one of the puddles or something and getting injured,’’ Rodgers said. “So, I just chickened out.’’

The 78-year-old marathon superstar attributed the decision to being “pretty elderly,’’ but he made the best of the situation. He headed over to the KWQC studios at the top of the Brady Street Hill and made an unscheduled appearance as an analyst on the television broadcast of the race.

He is planning to return to the Bix 7 for the 52nd running on July 25 and he said this time nothing will keep him off the course.

“No matter what, I’m running,’’ Rodgers said. “Even if it’s raining heavy in the race. I know I can do it. I have a good record at the Bix and I want to keep that. It was a little embarrassing last year.’’

The Bix 7’s other legendary regular also will be back. Joan Benoit Samuelson, who has run the Bix 7 35 times through the years, also plans to be part of the field again.

“I’m looking forward to it,’’ said Samuelson, who said she thought her Bix days might be over after the 50th anniversary race two years ago.

“But I’ve made some really good friends out there,’’ she added. “It’s hard to get me out of Maine in the summer, but I’ll happily come.’’

Samuelson, 69, also had to alter her Bix plans last year because of the weather. She typically catches a flight home to Maine very soon after the Bix 7 is completed so she can prepare for her own Beach to Beacon 10k, which always is the following weekend. When the Bix was delayed, she ran the 2-mile Quick Bix instead, then scurried off in order to catch her departing flight.

“I’d never experienced the Quick Bix and that was a neat thing,’’ she said. “I’m hoping to do the full seven this year, though.’’

Both Rodgers and Samuelson are expected to host the John Deere Shakeout Run the day before the big race, on July 24. Rodgers said he also will be at the Senior Bix for the third straight year on July 21.

Rodgers and Samuelson have been regulars at the Bix 7 for most of its existence. They not only have brought prestige and attention to the race, but have been ambassadors for the event, helping to spread the word about it.

“We love the Bix. We really do,’’ Rodgers said. “It wouldn’t have lasted except for leadership, but this is no ordinary road race … I’ve run a lot of road races all over the world and I know road racing, and this is the nitty gritty.’’

Rodgers will have a new running partner when he hits the Quad-Cities pavement next month.

He and his brother Charlie, who will again come back for the race, have done extensive genealogical research and long ago found they have many relatives nearby in Monmouth, Ill. They also identified a long-lost cousin in Kansas named Richard Rodgers.

This year, Richard’s 14-year-old grandson, Tyler Hammer, is going to run alongside Bill in the Bix 7. The two haven’t even met and Bill isn’t sure Tyler has ever run seven miles before, but he has heard the kid is a decent track athlete.

“He can easily run circles around me the whole way,’’ Rodgers said. “But for me, it’s very cool. He reminds me of myself when I was a kid. When I started running, I was 15 and it was like beginning any new sport. It’s exciting.’’

Rodgers has ongoing issues with his left arch from decades of marathons and said he now is “kind of a hobble runner.’’ He said Tyler may need to go easy on him.

“I’ve got to tell him ‘Let’s run together. You’ll have to run slow,’’’ he said.

“I wasn’t escaping from a cult or being raised by wolves or something as a kid,’’ said Hall, who will run in the 52nd annual Quad-City Times Bix 7 on July 25. “But I do feel like I had a lot of things I learned in my 21 years  that I could share with people. I’m really glad I did it. It was really fun.’’

Hall’s book, "For the Love of the Grind: A Memoir," came out in April. It’s the compelling story of a woman who became one of the best female distance runners in U.S. history and is still extremely competitive at the age of 43. She married a man with comparable running credentials and together they adopted four Ethiopian girls who have made a remarkable transition to American life.

Her book delves into all of those topics and more.

“It’s a lot about our journey to our kids and what that was like to just become a family,’’ Hall said. “The book is really about longevity and my career and what led to my longevity, but a big part of that is that my kids have always been in that with me. I think that’s what allowed me to do it for so long because they were so supportive and wanted me to keep going.’’

The Bix 7 is mentioned a few times in the book. Hall has run the Davenport race twice previously and she said it’s an event that helped her fall in love with road racing.

“I truly love the atmosphere of the race,’’ she said. “That’s what I wrote about it in the book. What is so memorable is the party atmosphere out there. It’s so refreshing coming from the track, which is really intense. I feel like races like Bix help me rejuvenate my love for the sport.’’

Hall, who holds the fourth fastest marathon time and the second fastest half-marathon time ever by an American woman, finished second in the Bix 7 women’s field in 2014 and was third in 2017.

In between those two races, she and her husband, Ryan who is the 2010 Bix 7 champion, took the unusual step of adopting four sisters from the African nation of Ethiopia.

It’s not uncommon for people to adopt Ethiopian babies, but the Halls created an instant family by taking in children who were 15, 11, 8 and 5.

None of the girls spoke English or had ever attended school when they were adopted. Amazingly, the oldest of them, Hana, now 26, has managed to earn a college degree from Grand Canyon University.

“To take her from that and just plopping her into a classroom where they had no idea what they were saying, and then to graduate college is really inspiring,’’ Hall said.

Mia, 22, attended North Carolina State. Jasmine, 19, will enroll at Rutgers University this fall, and Lilly, 16, will be a high school sophomore.

Not surprisingly, the girls all have taken to running even though they had no athletic background before being adopted. The three oldest girls each won at least one Arizona high school cross country state championship and Lily finished 53rd in the state meet as a freshman last fall. Hana ran the Boston Marathon for the first time in April.

“They’re all doing well,’’ Hall added. “I’m really proud of them.’’

Meanwhile, their mom is still running strong at an age when many runners are contemplating retirement. She finished 21st overall and won the women’s masters championship at the Boston Marathon although she still thinks she can keep up with younger runners in events such as the Bix 7.

“Right now I’m not so much focused on the masters competitions,’’ Hall said. “I’d still like to compete up front as much as possible so I’m definitely taking it a year at a time.’’

She still loves the training and the racing, and all aspects of the sport. She still is being coached by husband Ryan as the family spends most of the year in the running hotbed of Flagstaff, Ariz., then relocates to Crested Butte, Colo., for the summer.

Hall said she plans to keep pushing herself just to see what happens.

“Last year I felt like I had some struggles with my energy at times,’’ she added. “I had a rough time at the New York City Marathon, but then I bounced back and got second at the U.S. marathon championships and I got second at the Houston Marathon. I feel like that gave me hope that it’s still possible to do this at an elite level.’’

And now he is taking an active role in getting even more teenaged runners involved in the event.

Jay, who long ago became one of the foremost track and field announcers in the country, is at the forefront of a new initiative to get high school runners to compete in the Bix 7, which will be held for the 52nd time on July 25.

“I just think it’s such a great event for our state and anybody that has a running background needs to do it at least once in their life,’’ Jay said.

Jay and his Track Guy Foundation are partnering with Iowa American Water Co. to sponsor high school runners in Iowa who would like to run the Bix 7.

“It’s our way to help those kids that maybe read about it in the paper or see it on TV, but can’t afford to be in it,’’ Jay said.

In mid-May, he sent a QR code to every track and cross country coach in Iowa, extending an invitation for their proteges to run the Bix 7. He said it will be limited to 100 young runners, but he admitted that if more than that are interested he is determined to make that happen.

“Put it this way, we’re not going to turn anybody away,’’ Jay said. “We’ll see. That would be a great problem to have. We’ve had people step up and say ‘If you get more than 100, we’re in.’ I’m not worried about it.’’

Jay said the race falls at a good time for high school cross country runners who already are deep in their training for the fall season.

“It’s a good way for a coach to get a kid to do a 7-mile long run on the weekend,’’ he added.

Jay, 66, has been doing what he can to support and promote track and cross country for most of his life.

He first began serving as the track announcer for events in the 1980s and it has been his primary job for about a quarter century. He has been the announcer for 23 Drake Relays, 35 NCAA championships and five Olympic trials. In 2014, he was presented the Scott Davis Memorial Award, which is given by the Track and Field Writers of America to the nation’s best announcer.

In 2018, he developed the Track Guy Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As of late March, the foundation had purchased 1,700 pairs of shoes for kids who want to run track and cross country, sponsored 96 $500 scholarships for graduating high school seniors and paid the way for dozens of runners to attend summer camps.

“Our mission is to help kids who can’t afford to do what they want to do,’’ Jay said.

One of his runners back in his Columbus Junction days was Brad Nielsen, who is now president of Iowa American Water, a long-time Bix supporter. Nielsen helped to set up a meeting with Bix 7 race director Michelle Juehring, who quickly embraced the idea of getting more young runners involved in the Bix 7.

The race has given monetary awards to the top male and female high school finishers in the Bix 7 every year since 2013, but this figures to greatly increase the number of teenaged runners in the event.

“To be able to give back to the sport like we do with our foundation is so important,’’ Jay said. “To have Iowa American Water join us on this is a big deal. When you do something and other people notice, it’s pretty heart-warming.’’

The guide emphasized a principle that remains central to training today — progress slowly.

"The schedule will be most effective if changes from week to week are gradual," the article advised, warning participants against jumping too quickly from 20-minute walks to 30-minute sessions.

The plan also encouraged walkers to monitor their pace by measuring routes with a car odometer, a reminder of the pre-smartphone era when fitness tracking required a little more creativity. Walkers were taught how to estimate their speed in miles per hour and were introduced to target heart-rate training, which was becoming increasingly popular in fitness circles during the early 1990s.

By the final weeks of the program, participants were encouraged to complete walks lasting up to 90 to 100 minutes in preparation for race day.

The guide reflected the growing popularity of walking as a fitness activity and the Bix 7's efforts to make the event accessible to participants of all abilities. One quote from Davenport race-walking instructor Gina Allard captured the spirit of the era:

"It's never too late to improve your fitness level. Walking is not a weak sister. Stand up and tell people you're a walker."

More than three decades later, Bix training plans have evolved, but the core message remains much the same: start where you are, build gradually and enjoy the journey to the starting line.

This article was prepared with the help of AI technology using information collected and verified by journalists.

Bix at Six began in 1986 as an informal gathering of a few local runners, but it quickly grew into something that involved hundreds and sometimes thousands of participants.

There will be four training runs this summer, with the others being held on June 25, July 2 and July 9. Runners who sign up for the July 25 race in person at Bix at Six receive a free Bix at Six t-shirt.

Qualifying for the MercyOne Genesis Brady Street Sprints, scheduled for July 23, also will be held in conjunction with Bix at Six. Qualifying heats for the quarter-mile uphill race will be held at 7 p.m. following each of the first three Bix at Six runs.

The museum will be open 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 6. Admission opening weekend is $5 for adults and free for children ages five through 17. After that, admission will become $7 for adults and $5 for seniors, students and children. Children under five, museum members, first responders, active duty military members and veterans enter free.

The museum will be open via appointment and select hours through the rest of June and early July, with plans to have full opening hours by July 24th, the day before the Quad-City Times Bix 7. 

The museum chronicles Beiderbecke's life and jazz. Beiderbecke was born in Davenport in 1903. He Beiderbecke taught himself to play the cornett and piano, and rose in prominence to become an influential jazz musician of the 1920s. He died in 1931 at 28. 

The museum opened in what was then called River Music Experience in 2017. The museum temporarily closed after Davenport flooded in 2023.

The museum will post regular hours on the Bix Beiderbecke Museum & Archives Facebook page.

Race Director Michelle Juehring said she would have Bix 7 Operations Director Laura Torgerud print out a list of the entered runners and Juehring would literally close her eyes and point to names. The problem is that many of those people declined the opportunity when contacted, preferring to just run the regular 7-mile race.

Meanwhile, Juehring would be besieged by phone calls, emails and text messages from people who were genuinely interested.

“I just knew there had to be a better way,’’ Juehring said.

She has found it. For the first time this year, runners interested in being one of the two Beat the Elite entries for the July 25 race will have the opportunity to explain why they should be chosen.

Runners signing up for the Bix 7 will be able to click a link at bix7.com/bix7/ and fill out an application to be a Beat the Elite entry. The direct link to the application is russellco.com/russells-bix-7-beat-the-elite/. The deadline to enter is June 1.

Those entries then will be judged by a panel that will include Juehring and Michelle Russell, representing the Russell Group, which sponsors that aspect of Bix weekend.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about it,’’ Michelle Russell said.

She said the panel will have a list of criteria by which the entries will be judged.

“I’m not sure how all that will work, but in the past there hasn’t been a real clear formula,’’ Russell added.

Juehring said the new process will help race officials zero in on the runners who are most interested and aid them in making good choices.

“I think it levels the playing field and puts those out there who want to do it and gives them the opportunity to do it,’’ she said.

The Beat the Elite competition began in 2004 and originally was called Race For the Jackpot. One runner in the Bix 7 field was provided a head start based on his or her abilities and given an opportunity to win prize money by beating the top elite runners to the finish line. In the past four years, there have been two Beat the Elite runners.

Through the years, there have been 26 Beat the Elite entries and 20 of them have succeeded in winning the prize money. In many years, the winners donated the money to charity.

In addition to Beat the Elite, the Russell Group also will sponsor the starting line for this year’s 52nd annual race, expanding on its role as one of the leading corporate sponsors of the event.

“I think the Bix is one of two or three things in this community that capture that feeling of nostalgia,’’ Russell said. “You can look back on those memories and just kind of be there and you’re so happy and you can go there again and they’re still there.’’

Steve Geifman, president of the Geifman Group, told the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus earlier this month his company is looking to finalize the purchase of the building within the next 60-90 days.

On Wednesday, Geifman confirmed the Walmart Post-Race Party will continue in the parking lot as normal.

"We are excited and can't wait for this summer," Geifman said in a phone call. 

Michelle Juehring, race director of the Quad-City Times Bix 7, said in a statement she is excited to work with Geifman and the Geifman Group.

"They are a long-standing, family-owned business that truly understands the Quad-Cities," she said. "Their values — community, family, and long-term investment — align perfectly with what the Bix has represented since 1975. That gives us great confidence moving forward."

The site will also host the Arconic Jr Bix on Friday, July 24. 

The 52nd Quad-City Times Bix 7 is on Saturday, July 25, with race week running July 18-25.