Running: Moline firefighter Houtekier hits Bix 7 jackpot

Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 07:07 PM

Ben Houtekier was working on his Chevrolet Suburban truck. That’s all.

Then, at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, he received a phone call that he said changed his life. On the phone was Quad-City Times Bix 7 race director Ed Froehlich, asking Houtekier a question.

“Ben,” Froehlich said, “would you like to be this year’s Bix 7 jackpot runner?”

After hearing those words, Houtekier, the 29-year-old firefighter from Moline who used to watch his mother, Veronica, run the Bix 7, said he is ready to accept the challenge. Now his family will watch him try to win a race that last year had 13,158 people cross the finish line.

As the jackpot runner, Houtekier receives a 3½-mile head start in the 7-mile race. If he is the first person to cross the finish line, Houtekier will win $3,400.

“To know that it’s only going to be me out there for a while is something I will never forget,” said Houtekier in a news conference outside of Davenport North High School.

But for Houtekier, the July 26 race will not just be about him. He has fellow firefighter Bob Juarez to think about.

Juarez, who is a 43-year-old Davenport firefighter, fell 20 feet from a ladder June 12 while fighting a fire at the Trissel, Graham and Toole Insurance Co. warehouse on River Drive. Juarez is paralyzed from the waist down.

When finding out about his fellow firefighter, Houtekier wanted to use his jackpot runner recognition to help out. That’s when the Davenport Fire Department Credit Union established the Robert Juarez Relief Fund. With the fund, Houtekier has asked individuals to pledge money for every quarter of a mile he leads during the Bix 7 race.

“I’m the one that’s running, but to have the motivation to know that I’m doing something for somebody at the same time is a great thing,” Houtekier said “We firefighters stand together. Our lives depend on each other. We have to take care of our own.”

For Froehlich, seeing Houtekier give back to Juarez is something he hopes fans will get behind.

“This event gets better every year,” said Froehlich, who has been race director for 29 years. “He’s the perfect example of why we have the race. Four years ago we started this jackpot race to get local people excited about a local runner.”

Some of the runners who will participate in this year’s race already have backed Houtekier by pledging to fund. One of Houtekier’s friends, Jama Fahrenkrog, said she is not shocked by Houtekier decision.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Houtekier is a very loyal friend. When any of his friends are in trouble, he always has been there to try to care to them.”

Although Houtekier said he is happy to help Juarez, he said he also wants people to know he is ready to win. Last year Houtekier ran the Bix 7 in 48:50, giving him a 7-minute pace for each mile. This year, he’s looking to finish in a faster time.

He said he has read articles about last year’s jackpot runner, Christy Lazaridis. She won the race last year and told Houtekier to enjoy the moment.

“For me it was the coolest and the scariest thing I have ever done,” Lazaridis said. “I told him to stick to his training plan and try not to let things distract him.”

Even if Houtekier said the past week has been a whirlwind, he understands the once in a lifetime opportunity he has been given not only for himself, but for Juarez.

“I’m going to be ready. I will remember this race.” he said. “What can I say? This should be my best Bix 7 run ever.”