The Bix 7 Road Race is held annually in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, as a commemoration to Davenport native and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke ( ; March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical a ...

. 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

. The race was founded in 1975 by John Hudetz, a resident of

Bettendorf, Iowa Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 39,102 at the 2020 census. Bettendorf is the fifth of the Quad Cities along the Mississippi River, along with neighboring Davenport in Iowa and Moline, East Molin ...

. After competing in the 1974

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

, Hudetz was inspired to bring the excitement to the

Quad-Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East ...

with a race of his own. The inaugural race had a field consisting of eighty-four runners. Today the race is often run by 12,000 to 18,000 runners. 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."History of Bix 7"
/ref> 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 The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, The race consistently draws elite talent from all over the globe. Running legends Bill Rodgers and 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist

Joan Benoit Samuelson Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American wo ...

also compete yearly. The run is primarily sponsored by the

Quad City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area, including Davenport, Iowa, Davenport, Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf and Scott County, Iowa, Scott County ...

and is a separate entity from the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, which is held the following weekend. The race has several other sponsors, at the Platinum, Gold Medal, and contributing level respectively.

Champions

Notes

External links

Quad-City Times Bix 7Facebook Page7 starting line 2010 YouTube By: Scott C. Holgorsen : Videographer Quad-Cities USA
{{Bix Beiderbecke Tourist attractions in Davenport, Iowa Festivals in Iowa Long-distance running competitions Sports in the Quad Cities Culture of the Quad Cities Road running competitions in the United States