The plan for Everlyn Kemboi was pretty simple for Saturday’s Quad-City Times Bix 7 road race.
“Today was the day I said I was going to win. … I was ready to win,” said Kemboi after running away with the title in the last mile. “It felt great. It was almost perfect today.”
In her second Bix 7, the 30-year-old ran 35:30, the third-fastest women's time in Bix history.
Everlyn Kemboi approaches the finish line of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 to win the female division on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
The 30-year-old Kenyan relied on her strong late kick to outdistance fellow countrywomen Veronica Loleo (35:57), Priscah Cherono (36:11) and Hilda Olemomoi (35:36). Waverly, Iowa’s Kassie Parker ran 36:47, a 75-second PR for the distance and rounded out the Top 5 finishers in the 52nd version of the race.
However, it was a different tactic during the race that set up Kemboi’s first Bix 7 victory in just her second run through the streets of Davenport.
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After running from the front for the first mile, she said that she tucked into a pack for the next five miles.
“There were two girls who were my friends, and I said I wanted to stay behind them,” Kemboi said of her fellow Kenyans who comprised that lead group. “The goal was to just stick with them. I always have a problem sticking to people, but I was like, ‘I’m going to stick to them today.’
“I knew if I could hold on with them until the sixth mile that I would win.”
And that was exactly what happened in a race that Parker said went out much faster than anticipated.
“The weather was almost perfect,” Kemboi said. “My plan was not to go for the record. I will get that someday. Today, it was just to win.”
Everlyn Kemboi breaks the tape at the finish of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 to win the female division on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
Her closing time was just nine seconds off the record of 35:30 set in 2022 by Fiona O’Keeffe. Susan Chepkemei (35:24, 2004) has the second-fastest Bix women’s time.
Kemboi noted that her experience here last year in a fourth-place finish was key to her Saturday victory. She brought in plenty of course knowledge, but also confidence.
“It helped so much,” she said of last year’s run in the lead pack. “I knew I could win this race.”
Kemboi won the season championship of the Professional Road Runners Organization with her victory and, according to Bix 7 officials, earned $15,000 — the Bix 7 first-place prize of $12,500 plus a $2,500 bonus for winning the PRRO circuit points standings.
She said the money was also secondary to the victory that added to her solid season. She finished second in the Pittsburgh Half-marathon and San Blas Half-marathon, third in the Gate River Run 15K, fourth in the Utica Boilermaker 15k and sixth in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. She was first in the PRRO points standings entering the Bix 7.
