I went home to the Quad Cities for the weekend to help out my folks with some things, but it was also a nice opportunity to run the Bix 7. For those of you who don't know, the Bix is one of the most famous road races in the midwest, indeed in the nation. It regularly draws some of the top runners in the world and it's a particular favorite of legends Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson--they run every year.
It's a 7 mile course and it's not easy. You start straight up the Brady Street hill, a big river bluff, and that makes for a fun first mile. It's then flat for a bit, but soon turns rolling and there are some nasty hills throughout the course. It's an out and back, so you can see the famous runners after they've made the turn and they're hammering back. That's fun, but humbling. The leaders came by just as I was reaching the 2 mile banner! It's definitely a challenge and definitely not a kind of Turkey Trot or something--a race you can simply knock off when you want a run. Next time, I'll work harder on my parking ramp runs! Some other thoughts:
1) Awesome organization and support. They've been doing this since, I think, 1976, and it's beautifully done. In particular, there's a wonderfully large array of Portapotties at the start, perhaps because there's a street festival, too. It's great. The expo's small and disappointing, but that's about the only bad thing you can say about the structure.
2) The course is hilly and tough (have I said that?). There are also a few spots when the street narrows and the field's truly a bit too large for the space available. But...
3) Tremendous support--people, bands, parties--ti's really wonderful. 7 mile race, out and back course, which means only a few miles of Davenport are blocked off and this has become a big blow out and great fun. I didn't take a Natural Light from the guy handing them out to anyone who wanted one, but it was that kind of thing. Plus, some of the best bands I've ever heard on a race and the Gospel Choir near the top of Brady Street hill was especially appreciated!
4) Water--the weather was nice this year--a miracle after the very hot week before--but the race clearly believes deeply in water of every form, to keep runners safe and healthy on a July day. 7 water stops, water showers you can run through, people with hoses, a couple of slip n slides just for fun. Lots of medical personnel and quick reactions.
5) Not great shirt--just a regular t-shirt and the design isn't all that cool. The experience, though, makes up for that.
6) Reason # 865, 782 to love Whitey's Ice Cream? Free popsicles at the end of a tough run. Best popsicle I've ever had. God bless you, Whitey's Ice Cream. God bless.
7) A street fair throughout the weekend (in case you long for that 9am funnel cake and corn dog) and a farmer's market in the Modern Woodman ballpark parking lot. I highly recommend parking at the baseball stadium by the by. It's a longer walk in and back, but you probably need that anyway. You avoid the traffic and you can pick up some fresh stuff for a well-deserved breakfast.
Few of my runner friends here seem to think about this race or the QC Marathon in Sept. I've run the half there, now this, and they're both great. Easy drive straight up 74. And you can pick up 2 loaves of Avanti's bread in Peoria on the way home. Not that I would ever do that. Fun race.