Bix by the minute

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By Karla Walsh | Saturday, July 26, 2008 7:46 PM CDT | () comments

Editor’s note: Iowa State University student Karla Walsh spent her morning walking through downtown Davenport and picking up these tidbits about the Quad-City Times Bix 7 race and the hoopla surrounding it.

7:15 a.m.: The Genesis medical tent finishes its setup, which began about 6 a.m., while volunteers grab breakfast. Mary Clarke, director of nursing practices at Genesis and medical tent coordinator, says she is optimistic about the cool temperature but adds, “We’re always concerned about the heat and humidity.”

7:27 a.m.: Volunteers pour cold water into hundreds of Wendy’s cups outside the RiverCenter. The water is a hot commodity before the race at this pre-race-only water station. “It’s not real hot out. We’re not as busy as it usually is, but it has been picking up lately,” says Kris Ketelsen, an 11-year volunteer at the Bix. The table has gone through about 500 cups so far.

7:41 a.m.: Fans line Brady Street Hill, awaiting their favorite runners, who are warming up and stretching blocks away. Heidi Cordes is hoping to see her 10-year-old son, Jackson. He is attempting to better his time, which last year was 63 minutes. Heidi fashioned a sign out of poster board, which says, “Run, Forrest, run,” a reference to Forrest Gump.

7:57: Race director Ed Froehlich announces the race as “your Olympics” to the 13,000-plus racers. He warns, “Watch out for that first hill.”

8:04: The gun is shot as droves of runners begin their ascent of Brady Street Hill.

8:15 a.m.: The Hogueison family decided after their contest-winning turn as The Incredibles last year that they would switch to Batman characters this year. Their costumes were almost all homemade, and mother Michelle says she, her husband, Tim, and 6-year-old twins, Tabatha and Tanner, “hope to make it through the whole seven miles” as walkers.

8:20 a.m.: Three men dressed up as Elvis are having a good time yelling “Thank you very much” to the crowd. Cory Lenger, a 13-year Bix participant from Moline, says the Elvises will do seven miles, although that may include trips to the bars and their car.

8:26 a.m.: The Quad-City Comets cheer and dance squad shouts encouragement to Quick Bixers turning onto the home stretch. The second- through ninth-graders on the squad have been helping out at Bix for quite a few years.

8:35 a.m.: “We’re getting married today in LeClaire,” says Kristin Miller, who will wed her fiance David Nauman at 5 p.m. The couple has family on each coast who came to town and are running today. They trained together for a few months in preparation for the Quick Bix.

8:57 a.m.: The Oscar Mayer wiener enjoys a Michelob Ultra after the race. Brian Bane of Matherville, Iowa, enjoys the postrace party after a hot two miles in the wiener costume. He has raced in the costume for several years.

9:02 a.m.: The water sprinkler in the postrace area is a hot spot for runners streaming in. “It feels great,” says Alison Huss of Bellevue, Iowa.

9:07 a.m.: Emma Doak, 9, of Downers Grove, Ill., enjoys a Twinkie after running her first Quick Bix. She waits with her aunt, Margaret Carcon of Rock Island, for Doak’s sister and mom to finish the seven-miler. Despite being a new runner, “she didn’t walk at all,” Carcon says of her niece.

9:22 a.m.: Paul Conway, 13, of Bettendorf, takes a seat on the now pedestrian-friendly Fourth Street. This is his first year at the Bix, and he thinks he would like to return in the coming years. “The hill was really tough, though,” he says.

9:26 a.m.: Since 6:30 a.m., reserve deputy Diana Kakert of Davenport has been helping with extra security at the Bix. “This is a great time. I enjoy watching all the kids at the Junior Bix,” Kakert said.

9:38 a.m.: Five girls from the Bellevue Marquette cross country team are dressed in Iowa Hawkeyes tank tops for the 7-mile race. Running in the heat was the worst part, they say, but the cheering kept them going. “We had a lot of ‘Go Hawkeyes,’” said Paige Daugherty of Bellevue.

9:53 a.m.: The table with water bottles is “very busy,” said Gale Hale of Bettendorf. “Helping others is good,” she says, but getting up so early and dumping her hand in cold water all morning is not as good.

9:56 a.m.: It’s Christina Kraft’s first time as part of the Palmer spine costume. She volunteered to be the last bone and helped choreograph the dance the group will perform in the costume contest. “It’s really neat to see all the people,” said Kraft, originally from Minot, N.D. She is a seventh-trimester student at Palmer.

10:02 a.m.: Crystal Sellers, 15, of Davenport, volunteers to be drenched with a garbage can full of water as she enters the postrace party. “It was fun, but now my feet are hurting,” Sellers said. She and five others trained every Sunday since May to walk the 7-mile course.

10:12 a.m.: Andrea Cohen, 19, of Davenport wears a “Running for Capt. Juarez” T-shirt to support the injured Davenport firefighter, Robert Juarez. “Both my parents are firefighters in Davenport,” said Cohen, a rower at the University of Iowa. She ran the seven-mile course and said, “I was surprised I could run seven miles.”

10:19 a.m.: The Palmer spine team wins $500 as the top team in the costume contest. Santa, one of the individual costume contestants, tells the crowd, “Everybody’s a winner” at the Bix. However, Uncle Brewster, a man in a nerdy-looking costume with a Fonzie the Bear lunchbox, is chosen by the crowd as the individual costume contest winner.

10:32 a.m.: Stacey McNamar, 36, completes the Quick Bix and reconnects with family. It’s her first time doing the race, and she says the hill was the hardest part. McNamar had cancer at age 14, and she is on crutches with an amputated left leg.