To say the field for the 2009 Quad-City Times Bix 7 was tight had nothing to do with the closeness of the competitors in Saturday's race.

It had more to do with a shared experience Friday night, when wailing storm sirens in Davenport and an approaching thunderstorm sent a number of elite athletes scurrying for shelter in the lower level of a dormitory at St. Ambrose University.

"It was an eventful night and a unique bonding experience,'' said Serena Burla, who finished as the runner-up in the women's field, 5 seconds behind first-time champion Molly Huddle.

"It brought us all a little closer. We all huddled in the basement of the dorm for a bit until the storm passed, then we woke up to a beautiful morning.''

The storm, which brought high winds and dumped more than 2 inches of rain on the Quad-Cities 11 hours before the race's 8 a.m. start, dropped the humidity and left crystal-clear blue skies and a 67-degree temperature at race time.

"It was a perfect day to run,'' said Burla, of Ellisville, Mo.

The starting-time temperature was the coolest Bix 7 competitors have enjoyed since it was a record-low 61 degrees for the race in 2004.

Race director Ed Froehlich teased the thousands of competitors as they passed the starting line.

"I don't want to hear any crying about how hot and humid it was at the Bix 7,'' Froehlich said.

Another title for Joan

It was business as usual for Joan Samuelson in Saturday's Quad-City Times Bix 7.

She said she really didn't feel that good out on the course. The woman who won the first Olympic women's marathon in 1984 and has won more Bix 7 trophies than anyone was feeling her age.

That's why she only ran a time of 42 minutes, 32 seconds. It was 4 seconds better than what she did a year ago and a new course record for 50-over women. It also gave her a record seventh women's masters championship.

"I don't know. That one hurt,'' said Samuelson, 52. "I got to 4 miles and thought, 'Why do I keep doing this?' ''

Samuelson was 19th overall in the women's competition, and it didn't escape her attention that 12 of the 18 runners ahead of her were in their 20s. The other six were in their 30s.

"I look at the ages of these other runners and think 'I'm old enough to be their mother,' '' Samuelson said.

Billy bites off 30th Bix

Running legend Bill Rodgers completed his 30th Bix 7 in 51 minutes, 30 seconds Saturday and sounded like he was ready for his 31st.

"I love road racing and I love the Bix,'' said Rodgers, a four-time winner of both the Boston and New York marathons. "This is my 30th, and that is the most I've ever done any race in my life. I have put a lot of sweat into these roads here.

"But,'' said the man whose statue is among five standing or sitting in Bix Plaza outside the Quad-City Times building, "you're treated like a king here.''

Rodgers said the Bix is a rare convergence of a multitude of runners and an equal number of race-course fans.

"I didn't feel good today coming up the hill,'' he said.

The next generation

Ryan Jacobs competed in his first Bix 7, but he received some parental advice before challenging the hill-filled course.

Jacobs is the son of Jeff Jacobs, a Clinton, Iowa, native who was among the elite field at the Bix 7 six times and who finished second in the men's masters race Saturday.

"We went through the course on Friday night, and he gave me what pointers he could. This is a course where experience is a key,'' said Ryan Jacobs, a Notre Dame junior who finished 16th overall with a time of 35 minutes, 55 seconds.

"I had a shoe problem, so it was kind of a rough run for me. That first hill wasn't as bad as I anticipated but I learned that the fourth through sixth miles are where the race is won. I'll handle it better the next time.''

Family ties

Race director Ed Froehlich wasn't the only person in his family in the spotlight Saturday.

Froehlich's wife, Sandra, was second in the 60-64 age group with a time of 1:00.43.

Repeat the feat

Seven Bix 7 competitors repeated as age-group champions in the classification they won a year ago.

Repeating in the men's race were Jim McCoy of Madison, Wis. (50-54), and Terry Stewart of Brooklyn Park, Minn. (55-59).

The other five repeat champions came from the women's race, where Danielle Nowasell of Grinnell, Iowa (16-19), Jan Daker of Belleville, Ill. (60-64), Kathy Loper of San Diego (65-69), Judy Kirchoffer of Waukesha, Wis. (70-74), and Louis Gilmore of Janesville, Wis. (75-79) all took top honors.

Loper was the race's overall women's champion in 1978.

Orlando to Q-C

The field Saturday included eight members of the Dr. Phillips High School boys cross country team from Orlando, Fla.

This is the second time 1997 Pleasant Valley High School graduate Angie Dannenfeldt has brought members of her team - a third-place finisher in Florida's Class 4A state meet a year ago - to her hometown for a week of training that includes competing in the Bix 7.

"We come here instead of going to a big, expensive team camp and the guys love it,'' Dannenfeldt said. "We run on all the cross country courses I ran on in high school and we train on some hills, which is something we don't get to do in Florida.''

The team visits area colleges, runs a bit with members of PV's team, has a camp out at Maquoketa Caves State Park and soaks up the chance to run with and meet the elite entries in the Bix 7.

"It's a great experience for the guys and it builds team heading into our season,'' Dannenfeldt said.

New guys unfazed

Eight of the top 10 men's finishers in Saturday's race were running the Bix 7 for the first time. Besides winner Meb Keflezighi, the only other one who had seen the rugged, up-and-down course was sixth-place finisher Josh Moen, a former Wartburg College runner.

Most of the newcomers figured the course wasn't quite as daunting as they expected.

"It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be,'' third-place finisher James Carney said. "Looking at it, that hill looked really intimidating.''

"It wasn't nearly as steep as I thought it would be,'' added Anthony Famiglietti, who finished second.

Brian Olinger, who took fourth, doesn't do that many road races but liked the Bix because it's unlike most road events.

"It's almost like a cross country race on the roads with all the hills and undulations out there,'' he said.

Record-setting runs

Master's age-group records were set by eight different age-group champions.

Men winning their age groups with best-ever Bix 7 times for the age group were Terry Grendon of LeClaire, Iowa (40-44), Angelo Rinchiuso of Decatur, Ill. (60-64), Ron Brault of Fond Du Lac, Wis. (65-69), Ronn Baker of Omaha, Neb. (70-74), Sabio Rangel of Muscatine, Iowa (75-79) and Chet Wildemuth of Blue Grass, Iowa (80-and-over).

Two women's age-group records fell. Kirchoffer of Waukesha, Wis. (70-74), and Patricia Zelinkas of Dubuque, Iowa (80-and-over), established new records.