Bix 7 Road Race

Bix 7 Road Race

Starting line in 2008
Genre Seven-mile road race
Date(s) Late July
Frequency Annual
Location(s) Davenport, Iowa
Inaugurated 1975
Website
www.bix7.com

The Bix 7 Road Race is held annually in Davenport, Iowa, as a commemoration to Davenport native and jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke. It is followed a week later by the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival.

Race

The 7 mile road race is annually held during late July, in the streets of downtown Davenport, Iowa. The race was founded in 1975 by John Hudetz, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa. After competing in the 1974 Boston Marathon, Hudetz was inspired to bring the excitement to the Quad-Cities with a race of his own. The inaugural race had a field consisting of eighty-four runners.[1] Today the race is often run by 12,000 to 18,000 runners.[2][3]

The United States’ boycott of the 1980 Olympics helped gain the Bix 7 exposure. Bill Rodgers, the world's top distance runner at the time, was unable to compete in Moscow, so he went to Davenport instead. [4] The leadership of Race Director Ed Froehlich, promotion by the Quad-City Times newspaper, and generosity from several corporate sponsorships, has helped the Bix 7 develop into the largest non-marathon race in the Midwest,[5] The race consistently draws elite talent from all over the globe. Running legends Bill Rodgers and 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson also compete yearly.[6]

The run is sponsored by the Quad City Times and is a separate entity from the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, which is held the following weekend.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Q-C race has grown from a humble beginning into one of the nation's most spectacular events". Quad-City Times. 1994-07-31. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  2. ↑ "Q-C area entries lagging Of the 10,000 signed up, 1/3 are from the area". Quad-City Times. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  3. ↑ "Viewpoint: Quality of Bix 7 isn't measured in size". Quad-City Times. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  4. ↑ "History of Bix 7"
  5. ↑ "Officials unveil new plans for road race". Quad-City Times. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  6. ↑ "Costumes abound during Bix 7 race, festivities". Quad-City Times. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-09-22.

External links