At the front of Quad-City herd
A top-20 Quad-City Times Bix 7 finish would please most Quad-Citians, but former Rock Island Alleman star Nick Hird has higher aspirations.
“I would like at some point to say I was top 10,’’ said Hird, who is in the process of pursuing a professional running career after graduating last spring from North Central College in suburban Naperville, Ill.
“It will take a couple years of consistent training without injuries to be on that international level,’’ he said.
Hird covered Saturday’s seven miles in 35:18 without benefit of such training.
He rested most of the spring with what he suspects was a stress fracture in his shin and, living and working now in Naperville, he found himself getting reacquainted Saturday morning with his native Quad-Cities’ rolling terrain.
“It was a little rough coming back to some hills,’’ he said. “There are none of those in the suburbs.’’
Hird still scaled the hilly Bix course well enough to finish 19th overall. He was one spot and 18 seconds better than Geneseo’s Bryan Glass, the next closest Quad-Citian.
Moline’s Beth Whalen finished 17th among women with a time of 43:02. That was two spots and 14 seconds faster than the next best Quad-Citian, Jennifer Paul of LeClaire.
Unlike Hird, Whalen was quite happy with her result.
She just now is ramping up her training for her junior cross country season at Western Illinois University and said the Bix “wasn’t my focus. I just wanted to go out and have fun.’’
That’s easily done, because she just loves the late July road race.
“This is one race my heart is always at,’’ she said. “When coach asks me about races at school, I always compare them to the Bix.’’
Hird, meanwhile, hopes one day to be compared to the elite runners at the Bix.
A top-20 finish is his best ever finish in his hometown race.
“Not bad but there’s definitely room for improvement,’’ he said. “It is a starting point.’’
While working for a Naperville running store whose owner supports his world-class ambitions, Hird hopes to begin training diligently enough to gain footing soon on the U.S. track scene.
“I would love to stay healthy long enough at some point to at least make the Olympic Trials or World Championship trials,’’ he said. “The Olympics are a longer term goal.’’
The key will be more success on the track, said Hird, who won a state track meet gold medal in the 3,200 his senior year at Alleman.
“I haven’t run a (personal record) in track in four years,’’ he said. “I have to shave 30 second off my 5K and 1:00 to 1:30 off my 10K.
“I’ve got a couple of years to see if I can improve and see where I am. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll head out into the real world.’’
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com