Bix 7 Road Race
| Bix 7 Road Race | |
|---|---|
 The starting line at the 2008 Bix 7 race | |
| Date and location | Late July Davenport, Iowa |
| Race type | road race |
| Distance | 7 miles |
| Established | 1975 |
| Official site | http://www.bix7.com |
The Bix 7 Road Race and Memorial Jazz Festival is held annually in Davenport, Iowa, as a commemoration to Davenport native and jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke.
Race
The 7 mile road race is annually held during late July, in the streets of downtown Davenport, Iowa. The race was founded in 1975 by John Hudetz, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa. After competing in the 1974 Boston Marathon, Hudetz was inspired to bring the excitement to the Quad-Cities with a race of his own. The inaugural race had a field consisting of eighty-four runners.[1] Today the race is often run by 12,000 to 18,000 runners.[2][3]
The name Bix 7 was adopted to associate the race with the popularity of the 3 day Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Fest, held on the same weekend. The United States’ boycott of the 1980 Olympics also helped gain the Bix 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". The leadership of Race Director Ed Froehlich, promotion by the Quad-City Times newspaper, and generosity from several corporate sponsorships, has helped the Bix develop into the largest non-marathon race in the Midwest,[4] The race consistently draws elite talent from all over the globe. Running legends Bill Rodgers and 1984 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson also compete yearly.[5]
Jazz Festival
| Bix 7 Road Race | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Jazz |
| Dates | Last Full Weekend in July |
| Location(s) | Davenport, Iowa |
| Years active | 1971-present |
| Founders | Bill Donohue |
| Website | http://www.bixsociety.org/ |
The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival is a three-day music festival with many traditional jazz bands. It is held in tribute to jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer Bix Beiderbecke of Davenport.
The festival began in 1971 when Bill Donahoe's Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band traveled to Davenport, Iowa to play music at Bix's grave on the 40th anniversary of his death.[6] The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society was founded in 1972, to help keep the memory and musical accomplishments of Beiderbecke alive.[6]
Notes
- ^ "Q-C race has grown from a humble beginning into one of the nation's most spectacular events". Quad-City Times. 1994-07-31. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "Q-C area entries lagging Of the 10,000 signed up, 1/3 are from the area". Quad-City Times. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Viewpoint: Quality of Bix 7 isn't measured in size". Quad-City Times. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Officials unveil new plans for road race". Quad-City Times. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "Costumes abound during Bix 7 race, festivities". Quad-City Times. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ a b "Festival History". Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society. Retrieved 2009-09-23. [dead link]