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Bix jackpot runner driven to finish first

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By Nate Taylor | Friday, July 18, 2008 9:24 PM CDT | () comments

Ben Houtekier is not an average Joe anymore.

Nope. Now he’s Ben Houtekier — this year’s Bix 7 Jackpot runner.

“People are aware of me, and sometimes I get introduced as the Jackpot guy,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. I’m representing all the normal Joes, and people are always telling me good luck.”

Since being named the jackpot runner on June 23, Houtekier, a Moline firefighter, said he sees new people everyday and the questions are always about the race and about what he is doing for Bob Juarez, the paralyzed firefighter from Davenport.

Houtekier, along with the Davenport Fire Department Credit Union, established the Robert Juarez Relief Fund. With the fund, Houtekier has asked people to donate money for every quarter of a mile he leads during the Bix 7 race.

Houtekier said people have shown support toward the race and the fund.

“It’s been very nice to hear what people have to say,” he said. “It’s good to see people get behind me.”

Even with all the hoopla, Houtekier said he realizes he has to stay the course in preparing for the most challenging race of his life.

Then again, Houtekier also is not the average jackpot runner. In last year’s race, he finished in 48:50, giving him a 7-minute pace for each mile.

It was announced Thursday that Houtekier will start with a 2-mile lead for the race, making his race 5 miles. With the head start, Houtekier is expected to run a 6:30-minute pace to win the entire race. Even with all his training and eagerness, the 29-year-old still sees the race as an uphill battle.

“It’s intimidating,” he said. “The thoughts of running along those world-class runners hit home the most.”

To train, Houtekier has reached out to others for help on how to improve his running ability. He has met with people from the Cornbelt Running Club. They have invited him to workout plan.

“I have met a lot of good people to help train for this,” Houtekier said. “The training that I’m doing has to be quality.”

During his workouts, Houtekier spends anywhere from 45 minutes to a hour and a half a day building speed and endurance on the track, running up and down hills, and has ran the course to get comfortable on race day.

“I have run the course a few times,” he said. “I’m trying to remember where the hard parts are.”

Bix 7 race director Ed Froehlich has setup the start for Houtekier and he said the firefighter will have a tough time winning.

“I sure he will be challenged,” Froehlich said. “I think it’s a fair start for him, and it’s going to a competitive race.”

If Houtekier is to run a 6:30-minute pace, he will have the fastest time ever for a jackpot runner.

“Froehlich has a lot of confidence at my ability.” Houtekier said. “I don’t know if I can do it in that time, but it will be interesting to see. I don’t expect it to be handed to me.”

In getting himself mentally prepared, Houtekier has reached out to his mother, Veronica, about what to expect since she ran the race when he was a boy. She told him to never stop and take advantage of the hills.

No matter what people tell Houtekier about the race, Froehlich said he knows what this jackpot runner wants to do when the race comes.

“Houteker is a gamer, and he wants to do well,” he said. “He’s a young guy that wants to make everybody proud.”

Nate Taylor can be contacted at (563) 383-2477 or ntaylor@qctimes.com